To say we've had crazy weather this winter in Maine would be an understatement. Many lakes remained unfrozen as we headed into the winter, then finally iced over, only to unthaw in a warm spell, and freeze again with the next cold snap. These conditions have made it tricky for all of us planning on …
loons
Fish Lead Free: Recycle Time!
We recycled 218 POUNDS of lead fishing tackle this past week! Maine Audubon has been collecting lead tackle from anglers across the state for about ten years through our Fish Lead Free initiative to reduce loon deaths. It only takes a loon ingesting one small piece of lead tackle to result in the …
Numbers are in for Maine Audubon’s 40th Annual Loon Count
(Above photo: This striking photo was taken by Elizabeth Payne, an annual loon counter; used by permission) And just like that we have 40 years of loon count data for the state of Maine! On July 15, 1503 volunteer loon counters headed out to 374 lakes to gather important data, allowing Maine …
Loon Count: Forty years and still counting!
The morning of Saturday, July 15, dawned with clouds and light drizzle. But that did not deter the hundreds of volunteers who fanned out across the state on several hundred Maine lakes to count loons! Those clouds along with heavy fog did make for poor visibility in some of the more northern areas, …
WIN! Gov. Mills Signs into law a bill that will help protect loons from lead poisoning
One of Maine's most iconic wildlife species will benefit from a new law signed this week by Governor Mills that phases out the use and sale of small-sized painted lead fishing tackle. Common Loons can accidentally ingest lost or discarded lead tackle when it sinks to the bottom, causing illness and …
Join Maine Audubon’s 40th annual loon count on July 15
Early Saturday morning in mid July, on the shores of hundreds of Maine lakes, people are getting coffee and tea, studying maps, prepping their boats, dusting off binoculars, and meeting up with neighbors who they may only see this one time each year: They are getting ready for the Annual Loon …
Talking fishing lead-free with the Crappie Hippie
Our very own Laura Williams was a guest on the Fish Nerds Podcast last month, talking about lead-free fishing. The podcast host, the “Crappie Hippie,” originally scheduled her for ten minutes but they had so much fun, it turned out to be the focus of the whole show. Podcast host John King (aka …
Broad Support Demonstrated for Bill to Close Loophole in Lead Fishing Tackle Laws
On May 8, advocates gathered to testify at a public hearing before Maine State Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee in support of LD 958, a bill to update existing law to phase out the sale and use of small-sized painted lead jigs to more comprehensively address lead-caused …
Bill to Help Protect Loons from Lead Poisoning on Tap in the Legislature
For decades, lead poisoning has been one of the leading causes of loon mortality in Maine, but we're working to prevent it. Loons ingest a striking amount of fishing tackle that is either lost or left behind, or in fish that have ingested tackle. When swallowing small pebbles to aid their …