Nickie Sekera: Groundwater Challenges - Emerging Threats in Pursuing Economic Solutions to the Climate Crisis in Maine
Join us for May’s Member Meeting to learn more about groundwater and the emerging threats in pursuing economic solutions to the climate crisis in Maine. This engaging talk will explore the complexities and challenges faced as we strive for sustainability and economic health in Maine.
This event is open to the public — invite your friends!
Nickie Sekera
Nickie Sekera is the co-founder of Community Water Justice, a decentralized network of people working for strong water protections at the community level across Wabanakiyik (Maine). She is a founding board member of the Saco Headwaters Alliance, Fryeburg Water District Trustee, and in 2022 was appointed by the Speaker of the House to the Commission To Study The Role of Water As A Resource In Maine. She is also a journalist with Sunlight Media Collective, a collective of Indigenous and non-indigenous journalists, media makers and activists, centering the stories and experiences of Wabanaki people. Nickie also has experience as an administrator of a wilderness medicine school and extensive human rights and environmental justice advocacy for Burma. Most invaluably, Nickie is a mother of a son that joins her in this work.
Meeting Details
Monday, May 20, 2024
7:30-8:30pm EST via Zoom
Passcode: 389257
Rolf Olsen: Offshore Wind Port Update
Our April Member Meeting speaker is Rolf Olsen, who will share his insights about the offshore wind port proposed for Sears Island.
Dwayne Shaw: Putting Humpty Dumpty back together again: Restoring Maine's rivers and Wild fish. Proving it can be done!
Learn about river and wild fish restoration at our Monthly Member Meeting with Dwayne Shaw. This meeting is open to all!
Dwayne Shaw is Executive Director of the Downeast Salmon Federation, where he has led the development of the Federation’s fisheries and land conservation programs since 1989, beginning with the removal of the Pleasant R. Dam and the renovation of the facility as a hatchery and fisheries research center in Columbia Falls. In 2000, he led the removal of the East Machias R. Dam and received the National Coastal America Partnership Award from President George W. Bush. The East Machias site is now home to the DSF Peter Gray Hatchery.
Dwayne holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies / Fisheries Concentration from UM Machias (1984). Mr. Shaw has conducted research at UM Darling Marine Center and was employed as a Manager and Research Director at the Beals Island Regional Shellfish Hatchery for 10 years. Dwayne also served as a fisheries biologist in the U.S. Peace Corps / Nepal. Mr. Shaw has served on numerous fisheries boards and advisory committees including the ME Sea Grant Public Advisory Committee and the Federal Recovery Team for Endangered Atlantic Salmon. Dwayne has held certifications as a US Coast Guard Licensed Captain and ME Licensed Master Guide.
Meeting Details
Monday, March 18, 2024
7:00-8:00pm EST via Zoom
Open Meeting
Are you interested in learning more about the conservation of Belfast Bay, sustainable aquaculture in Maine and our plans for the future?
Lately we've been hearing things like... Isn't the Nordic fight a done deal? Aren't you wrapping up? We’re here to tell you, we’re just getting started! There's so much more to come. Join us as we share what's coming next.
Nancy E. Smith, Executive Director GrowSmartMaine
Nancy E. Smith, Executive Director GrowSmartMaine
Nancy E. Smith has lived and worked in Maine since 1981 and joined GrowSmartMaine in April 2010. She maintains the fiscal health of the organization while overseeing programming at the local level, and leading advocacy for smart growth outcomes at the state, local, and federal levels.
Nancy is a former Maine State Representative, farmer, and forester.
We hope you will join us to hear about her work.
GrowSmartMaine advocates for policies and projects that advance Maine’s business and economic growth and development in balance with the conservation and enrichment of our greatest assets; the beautiful and productive built and natural environments that are the bedrock of our cultural and economic heritage.
For more information
Carter Newell: Science Driven Practices for Safe, Sustainable Seafood
Carter Newell: Science Driven Practices for Safe, Sustainable Seafood
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As founder of Pemaquid Mussel Farms, Carter Newell has put his Ph.D. in marine biology to work for more than four decades. His study of mussel biology and coastal marine ecosystems has made him one of today’s leading shellfish aquaculture scientists.
Carter Newell and his company represent the ecologically responsible business model that Friends of Harriet L Hartley Conservation Area endorses.
Join us to hear his story.
Click here to visit the website at Pemaquid Mussel Farms
Carter Newell has been farming shellfish since 1982, founded Pemaquid Mussel Farms and Pemaquid Oyster Company, and has a M.S. in Oceanography and a Ph.D. in Marine Biology. In addition to being the captain of the mussel barge Mumbles and the Oyster Girl 2, he is active studying estuaries, modeling bivalve growth, developing aquaculture GIS systems, scuba diving, and playing the fiddle.
Meeting Details
Monday, February 13, 2023
6:00-7:00pm EST via Zoom
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Jonathan Fulford, Adventures at Sea
Jonathan Fulford, Adventures at Sea
The story of his recent sailing trip to Newfoundland and Labrador
A long time environmental activist and experienced sailor, Jonathan made this trip in part to observe the effects of climate change on sea levels, marine life, and the communities that depend on the ocean for their livelihood.
Most of us will never have the chance to see this beautiful and far-away land.
Join us for an opportunity to experience it through his eyes!
Bonita Johnson: Maine Oyster Farmer
Bonita Johnson: Maine Oyster Farmer
In our continuing series highlighting local aquaculture farmers, this month's guest speaker Bonita Johnson will share her story of growing oysters in Maine.
FHLH supports small-scale aquaculture as a viable way to harvest the ocean's bounty. Farms like Bonita's contribute to the local economy and our local food movement. We look forward to hearing about her work and hope you will join us.
Meeting Details
Monday, November 14, 2022
6:00-7:00pm EST via Zoom
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Sarah Redmond, Springtide Seaweed--Restorative Aquaculture: A Positive Alternative
Sarah is a "dedicated seaweed farmer, tending the wild ocean garden and inspiring others about all things Maine seaweed. Her company, Springtide Seaweed, is the largest organic seaweed farm in North America. Sarah has been a leader is seaweed aquaculture since 2010 through the development of new nurseries and educational programs, crops and products, sea farmer training programs, the first organic certification programs for seaweed crops, and through major facilitation of the industry."
Her work has been groundbreaking. But it is far from done...as small scale, sustainable ocean farming in Maine...and around the world...is confronting a considerable challenge from large industrial aquaculture efforts.
We hope that you will join us for an informative and interesting discussion.
More about our Restorative Aquaculture: A Positive Alternative series:
Friends of The Harriet L Hartley Conservation Area supports local, restorative aquaculture farming. We believe there are viable and positive alternatives to industrial scale fish factories.
In the next few months, we will hear from experts and Maine farmers who are actively involved in aquaculture projects that renew and rejuvenate the Gulf of Maine, provide many local jobs, and contribute to our vibrant local food movement.
Steve Miller from Isleboro Island Trust
Steve Miller, Isleboro Island Trust, to speak on the industrial development of Sears Island
We are honored to have Steve as our speaker for June's meeting, and look forward to learning about the Island Trust's concerns regarding the current attempt to develop a major manufacturing, assembling and launching facility on Sears Island, even though MDOT consultants say it can be built at Mack Point.
Steve Miller is one of Islesboro Islands Trust’s (IIT) founders. In 1985 he became Executive Director of the land trust, where he continues to provide leadership in IIT conservation, environmental education, and advocacy, leavened on occasion with comic relief. Long involved in issues that affect Penobscot Bay, Steve served on the executive committees of the Penobscot Bay Alliance and Pen Bay Network, and as the coordinator of the Penobscot Watershed Coalition. He is a life-long resident of Maine and acknowledged curmudgeon. When not engaged in IIT work, he fashions walking sticks and "The Islesboro Bench" as Greyfeather Woodcraft, captures scenic Islesboro photographs, and explores the island’s beaches and woodlands.
The Environmental Law Institute joins us to speak about FHLH's exciting new project- Fish Forward: Best Practices for Maine Aquaculture
Listen to the audio from the meeting
Meet the ELI team
John Pendergrass, Vice-President, leads the Research and Policy Division, which conducts legal and policy research and analyses of pressing environmental and natural resource issues in the U.S. and globally. He also leads the Institute's Educational Program and the Institute's Publications Division.
Before becoming Vice President, he was a Senior Attorney, Director of the Judicial Education, State Center, and Climate and Energy Programs, and Co-Director of International Programs at ELI.
Cynthia R. Harris is the director of Tribal Programs and the deputy director of the Center for State, Tribal, and Local Environmental Programs at ELI. Her projects focus on Indigenous issues, climate change adaptation, water quality and conservation, product life-cycle management, and green infrastructure. She presently coordinates ELI’s project team administering the Local Government Environmental Assistance Network an EPA Compliance Assistance Center.
Elissa Torres-Soto is a Staff Attorney at ELI. Her work currently focuses on international projects, particularly on the Inter-American region. She works on a variety of issues at ELI, ranging from the mitigation of environmental, social, and economic impacts of gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon to domestic environmental and natural resources law and policy topics.
Lincoln Millstein on the surge of outside interest in commercial-scale aquaculture ventures in Maine
Listen to an audio recording of the meeting
We are very pleased to welcome Lincoln Millstein as this month's guest speaker. Lincoln is a retired media executive, long-time journalist, and dedicated pamphleteer. He lives in Somesville on Mount Desert Island and writes an on-line newsletter, The Quietside Journal.
Lincoln is extremely well-informed on the surge of outside interest in commercial-scale aquaculture ventures in Maine. His recent posts examine and critique the American Aqua net-pen proposal for Frenchman Bay, the Nordic plan for a land-based salmon-raising factory in Belfast, and the Office of the Public Advocate report which recommended that the Public Utility Commission turn down CMP's request to upgrade its grid until the legal challenges to Nordic's project are resolved.
News from Humboldt County Nordic Aquafarms West Coast Project
News from Humboldt County: Nordic Aquafarms West Coast Project
Hank Sims is a reporter who has worked in Humboldt County, California for the last 20 years. He is the editor of the Lost Coast Outpost, a locally-owned news website serving the California's North Coast. Nordic Aquafarms, Inc. chose the "brown field" site left by a departing paper mill as the site for their second, land-based salmon-raising plant. Hank has followed the evolution of Nordic's arrival in Humboldt County from the beginning. He looks forward to discussing the similarities and differences between the East and West Coast sites, the communities affected, and the environmental factors at play.