Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Commemorates 100 Years of Wildlife Management Area Conservation

 Posted by Wayne G, Barber & Photo by Wayne G. Barber 

MILTON, Vt. – The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, along with a broad array of supporters, allies and partners, is commemorating a century of protecting and improving land in Vermont for wildlife species and those who care for them.

In 1920, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department purchased 1,000 acres of land at the estuary of the Lamoille River, creating the Sandbar Waterfowl Refuge, that ultimately became the state’s first wildlife management area (WMA). On Thursday, September 10, current and former department employees gathered there with partners representing other organizations around Vermont to commemorate the last century of protecting wild lands. The event featured speakers from Fish & Wildlife, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, Vermont Audubon, and Tom Berry from Sen. Patrick Leahy’s office.

Department biologists led attendees on a guided walk through the WMA to discuss and observe active habitat improvement projects such as prescribed burns, timber harvests, grassland restoration, and waterfowl management. The gathering recognized the key partnerships and funding sources that have contributed to the conservation of approximately 135,000 acres across Vermont’s WMAs since 1920, concluding with the acquisition of the department’s 100th WMA in Shrewsbury on August 3, 2020.

“Owning and managing wildlife management areas are vitally important to meeting our mission, which is to protect and conserve the fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the people of Vermont,” said Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter. “These areas represent some of the most unique habitats and natural communities in Vermont and exemplify a century’s worth of foresight and thoughtful management to conserve Vermont’s wildlife and natural heritage. Together with our partners, we take great pride in protecting the intrinsic value of these habitats and their wildlife and providing all Vermonters with access to public land and natural resources for hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife watching, and nature photography among other uses.”

Conservation and management of all WMAs is funded through sporting license sales, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Fund, and the Vermont Habitat Stamp. Private donations both directly and through conservation organizations, as well as the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, Federal funding for wetland restoration and recreation as well as other sources have also contributed essential support to this effort.

Join the effort and help continue wildlife conservation with your own Vermont Habitat Stamp: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/vthabitatstamp

 

Maine Secures Public Access to Bald Mountain Pond

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo by Wayne G. Barber 

Cold, clear Bald Mountain Pond in Northern Maine welcomes anglers, hunters, hikers, and paddlers from across the country. Anglers enjoy the remote fishing opportunity for wild brook trout that reach upwards of three pounds, and the Department now owns the boat launch that assures there will always be access to the pond.

Hikers on the Appalachian Trail skirt the far shore, threading through century-old forests, taking in views of Mount Katahdin, and bedding down for a night in the sturdy hikers’ shelter just a few steps from the pond’s banks. Many thru-hikers even call reaching this spot the highlight of their journey.

The timber companies that once owned the pond and the surrounding forest historically allowed recreational access to the area—but that arrangement was more of a tradition than a guarantee.

When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity emerged to protect this extraordinary place, we teamed up with more than a dozen partners to permanently open access to this spectacular stretch of the Appalachian Trail. Now, a locked gate will never stop future visitors. The 2,620 acres surrounding Bald Mountain Pond’s rugged shoreline, and an iconic stretch of the Appalachian Trail, will remain protected from development and open to the public forever.

First Roach Pond, Maine

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photos by Wayne G. Barber 

First Roach Pond

First Roach Pond
Location	Piscataquis County, Maine
Coordinates	45°39′N 69°23′W[5]
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	6.5 mi (10.5 km)[2]
Max. width	1.1 mi (1.8 km)[2]
Surface area	3,320 acres (1,340 ha)[6]
Max. depth	123 feet (37 m)[7]
Water volume	176,410 acre⋅ft (217,600,000 m3)[6]
Surface elevation	1,227 ft (374 m)[5]

First Roach Pond is the largest of the Roach Ponds and extends across the north part of Frenchtown Township. Roach River enters the north side of the pond 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream of Second Roach Pond, and overflows a dam at the west end of First Roach Pond 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream of Moosehead Lake. Spawning tributaries Inlet Brook enters the east end of the pond, and Lagoon Brook enters the south shore of the pond near the dam. The pond offers good habitat for lake trout and land-locked Atlantic salmon. Lake whitefish disappeared from the pond in the 1970s, and brook trout populations have been declining since yellow perch became established in the 1990s. The outlet dam is intended to provide a barrier against migration of white perch and smallmouth bass from Moosehead Lake Water level was low today. Fred Spink caught his first Salmon right here a few years back.

Catamounts in New England ?

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo by Wayne G. Barber 

This one I found at Moosehead Lake, Kamp-Kamp Indian Store Built 1893 Greenville, Maine.

Vermont’s last known cougar, also known as a mountain lion or catamount, was killed in 1881 in Barnard. In 2011, a cougar was hit by a car and killed on a Connecticut highway. Subsequent DNA testing found that the animal was from South Dakota. There is no question about it: cougars are not only being seen in eastern North America, some are attempting to recolonize their former habitats.

Where once it was flatly dismissed as impossible in the so-called “developed” East, scientists have now documented cougar dispersals and reoccupation of a growing list of eastern states and provinces.

Full Corn Moon 9-2-20

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

This week, for the first time in three years, the September full moon is in a unique situation: it's happening so early in the month — a timing that gives it an entirely different name, the Corn Moon, instead of the Harvest Moon — that it sets the stage for October to have two full moons, meaning a rare blue moon will shine this Halloween, on Oct. 31.

This full moon, named for the East Coast corn harvest, will reach peak fullness at 1:22 a.m. EDT (5:22 UTC) on Wednesday, Sept. 2, according to NASA. 

Usually, September's full moon is known as the harvest moon, as it's typically the full moon closest to the first day of fall, known as the fall equinox. But this year, the autumnal equinox falls on Sept. 22, making the Oct. 1 full moon the harvest moon, according to Wayne G. Barber Host of the Outdoor Scene radio program. 

Maine: Three Die in Separate Weekend ATV Crashes

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

AUGUSTA, Maine -- A third man was killed in an ATV crash yesterday.

At approximately 5:30 last night in Lang Township, Maine, Tyler Curry, age 29, of Groton, Massachusetts was riding alone on a private access road after leaving the group he had been riding with earlier in the day. Just prior to crossing a bridge, Curry exited a left turn and his ATV began sliding toward the edge of the road at a high rate of speed, and he straddled the outside edge of the bridge before he slid off the bridge and into the river. It appears that Curry was thrown from the ATV as he fell. Curry was not wearing a helmet. Two men who came to fish the river discovered the body and called 911 at 6:20 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency service personnel due to injuries sustained in the crash.

Speed appears to be a factor in the crash, and the Maine Warden Service continues to investigate. Rangeley Fire, Rangeley PD & US Border Patrol all assisted the Maine Warden Service. No further information is available currently.

The Maine Warden Service Reminds all ATV riders to:

• Always Wear Your Helmet
• Always Ride Under Control
• Always Ride Sober
• Stay On Marked Trails

“ATV riding can be a wonderful way to enjoy the outdoors when they are driven properly,” said Game Warden Corporal John MacDonald. “Always wear your helmet, always ride under control, always ride sober and stay on marked trails.”

Earlier in the day…

In Anson, Maine, a 69-year-old Freedom man was killed this morning when he was thrown from the ATV he was riding on a trail in Solon.

Roland Robitaille was second in a line of seven ATVs riding on a trail behind the Solon Road in Anson at approximately 10:40 this morning when he went over a bridge on the trail, lost control of his 2017 Yamaha Grizzly ATV, rolled, and was thrown off the ATV.

Robitaille, who was not wearing a helmet, was found face down in the trail by the by the ATVs following in his group, with severe trauma to his head and chest. His group called 911, and performed CPR until rescue personnel arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, and was transported to a funeral home in Skowhegan.

The Maine Warden Service was assisted by the Anson Fire Department, and Anson-Madison Rescue. No more information is available at the time.

In The Forks, Maine, a 32-year-old Readfield man died when he lost control and flipped his ATV.

Joshua Violette was the fifth ATV traveling in a group of nine ATVs on the Divide Road in the Forks when he hit a depression in the road, lost control and flipped his 2007 Polaris Sportsman 500 ATV at approximately 10:00 a.m. this morning. Violette died at the scene. His passenger, 33-year-old Ashlie Dostie of Mt. Vernon suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Reddington Fairview Hospital in Skowhegan. Neither Violette or Dostie were wearing helmets.

The Maine Wardens Service, West Forks Fire and Rescue, and Upper Kennebec Valley Ambulance all responded to the incident. No further information is available currently.

Penobscot River Salmon Run Surges for Second Straight Year

Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Atlantic salmon are endangered, with only a few runs remaining in Maine rivers.

In encouraging news, preliminary* numbers of endangered Atlantic salmon returning to Maine’s Penobscot River for 2020 are the highest since 2011. On July 28, Maine’s Department of Marine Resources reported 1,426 salmon returns, up from 1,076 in 2019. These numbers are a vast improvement from 2014, when only 248 Atlantic salmon returned to the river to spawn. The Penobscot River hosts the largest remaining run of Atlantic salmon in the United States, but numbers are just a fraction of what they used to be—75,000 to 100,000 Atlantic salmon used to return to the river to spawn.

“There’s a lot of variability in the salmon runs, and high years can be followed by low years,” cautions NOAA Fisheries Atlantic Salmon Recovery Coordinator Dan Tierney. “We have a long way to go to recover the species, but it’s great to see that we’re moving in the right direction.

Counting Fish in a Box

Every year, returning fish pass through the Milford lift, a fish elevator with a viewing window. Installed in 2014 by hydroelectric dam owner Brookfield Renewable Energy Group, the fish lift provides access to the river above the dam, which otherwise would not be passable.

The fish swim into a box at the base of the Milford Dam, and when filled, the box rises to the top of the dam, and lets the fish out. Staff from both the Maine Department of Marine Resources and Brookfield record the fish as they pass through the viewing window.

In addition to increasing numbers of Atlantic salmon, there is good news for other sea-run fish (fish that move from rivers to sea). Alewife and blueback herring returns have increased dramatically from approximately 2,000 in 2011, to 585,000 in 2015, to more than 1.9 million this year. American shad are up from 2,000 in 2015 to more than 11,000 this year. Other species counted in the lift this year include sea lamprey, white sucker, striped bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, brook trout, and shortnose sturgeon.

Taking Action for Atlantic Salmon Recovery

In 2015, we listed Atlantic salmon as a Species in the Spotlight to help focus resources, grow partnerships, and engage the public in helping save the “King of Fish.” We released a joint Atlantic Salmon Recovery Plan with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2019, and are continuing to work in several areas to recover the species.