[caption id="attachment_2667" align="alignright" width="382"] Richard Dilley has volunteered for over 18 years, helping steward MDIFW lands and helping out on countless other projects for the department.[/caption] It takes a lot of good people working together to accomplish the variety of work programs undertaken by MDIFW.

By MDIFW Fisheries Biologist Nels Kramer As a follow-up to the excellent smelt article submitted by Kevin Dunham for the June blog, I would like to provide some additional information regarding the work that has been undertaken in the Penobscot Fisheries Region to address smelt spawning habitat issues. Populations of smelt have been in decline in several lakes throughout the region, primarily because of lack of access to their spawning habitat.

[caption id="attachment_2655" align="alignright" width="499"] A piping plover chick blends well into its surroundings.

Bird Atlases have been conducted worldwide with the aim of mapping the distribution, and often abundance, of species over a large geographic area and for a fixed amount of time. They follow a standardized methodology and are intended to be repeated at 20-year intervals. In North America, many states and provinces conducted first generation breeding bird atlases that collected comprehensive distribution information on breeding birds in their defined region.

By Regional Fisheries Biologist Tim Obrey In 2012 and 2013, the Department performed the first chemical reclamations in the Moosehead Lake Region since 1984 when Sawyer Pond was reclaimed after white perch were illegally introduced. A reclamation is usually the last option, the nuclear option, on the list of fisheries management techniques. We devote our careers to protecting and enhancing fisheries and aquatic habitat, so taking things to this level is often the last thing we want to do.

By Lands Management Biologist Eric Hoar Forest succession is the process where vegetation establishes and progresses over a time.  It frequently occurs following a disturbance whether it be natural such as a wind or fire event, or caused by people, such as a timber harvest.  Regardless of cause, forest succession typically begins a period of renewal and progresses through a series of stages. Following a significant event where large openings occur, grasses may initially populate the site, followed by shrub species and, over a period of time, trees will begin to establish.  T

By Wildlife Biologist Nate Webb [caption id="attachment_2605" align="alignleft" width="300"] Umaine/MDIFW Research Image[/caption] Wildlife watching is a popular pastime in Maine, and contributes nearly $800 million to the state’s economy every year.