The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded $650,000 to a University of Maine project investigating the impacts of climate change on wild blueberry ecosystems and economics. Wild blueberry fields provide important crops for the state of Maine. They also support ecosystems by providing water regulation, nutrient cycling, […]
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WMTW (Channel 8 in Portland) featured University of Maine research into how warming waters can make non-native smallmouth bass more aggressive toward endangered juvenile Atlantic salmon. Smallmouth bass also more voraciously eat local food supplies at higher water temperatures.
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The Bangor Daily News noted the University of Maine is partnering with 10 municipalities and the Penobscot Nation to support residents and improve infrastructure in Penobscot County in the face of a changing climate as part of a new initiative called Penobscot Climate Action.
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Darren Ranco, professor of anthropology and chair of Native American Programs at the University of Maine, spoke with Maine Public about the new CODE RED exhibit at the Maine Historical Society in Portland. The exhibit, which Ranco co-curated, explores Indigenous knowledge and environmental stewardship, how humans have previously shaped the environment and the ramifications of […]
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USA Today interviewed Maine State Climatologist Sean Birkel for a fact checking article titled “April 1895 v. April 2023 temperature comparison does not disprove climate change.” According to Birkel, also assistant professor with a joint appointment at University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the UMaine Climate Change Institute, determining whether global warming has occurred by […]
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In a story about Wyman’s Blueberries importing and raising bees, the Bangor Daily News highlighted the University of Maine’s Wyman’s Wild Blueberry Research and Innovation Center in Old Town. In time, the research opportunities created by the center will improve predictions about how the berries respond to field conditions, varying precipitation levels and climate change, […]
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Maine Public interviewed Susanne Lee, faculty fellow at the University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, about what people can do to minimize food waste and the carbon emissions it generates. “It’s household food waste, that’s really our biggest problem,” Lee says. Connecticut Public, New England Public Media, New Hampshire Public […]
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In an article about a record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, Axios used data from the University of Maine Climate Reanalyzer to create a map of forecast temperature departures from average during Monday through Wednesday May 17 in degrees Fahrenheit. The Climate Reanalyzer was developed by Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist and assistant professor […]
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The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District named faculty in the University of Maine’s School of Forest Resources Outstanding Conservation Educators of the Year. Nicole Rogers, assistant professor of silviculture; Jay Wason, assistant professor of forest ecosystem physiology; Shawn Fraver, associate professor of forest ecology; Jessica Leahy, Henry W. Saunders Distinguished Professor in Forestry; […]
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The Ellsworth American reported on a University of Maine study that found the bacteria present on lobster shells is highly dependent on water temperature, indicating that climate change may have a direct impact on this important element of lobster’s health.
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