Coastal Conversations 4/27/18

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Sears Island: Past, Present, and Future

What is the history of Sears Island, starting from the Wabanaki, into the colonial era and intop the recent past?
Sears Island’s history of multiple industrial development proposals and its eventual conservation.
What is Friends of Sears Island, the legal management entity, doing to engage the public on the island?

Guests
Susan White, President, Friends of Sears Island
Rolf Olsen, VP, Friends of Sears Island
Stephen Miller, Isleboro Islands Trust
Ashly Megquire, Outreach coordinator, Friends of Sears Island

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Coastal Conversations 3/23/18

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Coastal and Ocean Issues: Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum and The First Coast

Key Discussion Points:
a) Storytelling and clips from audio interviews collected at the 2018 Maine Fishermen’s Forum
b)Fishermen, law-makers, and students talk about changes they are seeing on the coast and concerns for the future.
c) One central theme of these interviews was the importance of passing on fisheries knowledge tothe next generation.
d) The First Coast, a project focused on capturing stories of the Maine coast, is on the road now and collecting stories.

Guests:
Galen Koch, The First Coast

Interviews recorded at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2018, and aired on todays show: Bob Williams, Dan Harriman, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Senator Angus King, Tyler Childers and Anson Kelley.

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Coastal Conversations 2/23/18

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Seaweed ecology: what makes a healthy intertidal zone

-What is the intertidal zone
-What are the seaweed species in Maine and what ecological role to they play (habitat, food webs etc)
-Changes in the timing of species’ life cycles and how temperature and other parameters can trigger phenological mismatches and other food web challenges.

Guests:
Jessie Muhlin, Associate Professor of Marine Biology, Maine Maritime Academy
Amanda Klemmer, Assistant Research Professor of Food-web ecology, University of Maine
Hannah Webber, Research and Education Projects Manager, Schoodic Institute

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Coastal Conversations 1/26/18

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Maine coastal and ocean issues: Biotoxins and Red Tide, From Marine Ecology to Public Health

Toxic algal blooms and red tides: what are they, why do they happen, and what species do they impact?
Recent blooms in Maine, including new species and species that have been here for a long time.
Given that humans can get sick from consuming shellfish that have accumulated biotoxins in their tissues, what are the state and the shellfish industry doing to ensure public health?

Guests:
Barry King, Shellfish Biotoxin monitoring program, Maine Department of Marine Resources
Fiona De Koning, co-owner, Acadia Aqua Farms

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Coastal Conversations 11/24/17

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel


Maine coastal and ocean issues: Whale mortalities in the Northwest Atlantic

Key Discussion Points:
1. Why did 16 right whales die in the Gulf of Maine and Gulf of Saint Lawrence in 2017?
2. What is the role of climate change in these mortalities?
3. How does the movement of prey affect whale movements?
4. How does Canada differ from the US in how it manages ocean uses and how that management correlates to whales ecology and movement? ?
5. How do necropsies (animal autopsies) help determine cause of death?

Guests:
Sean Todd, the director of the marine mammal research group Allied Whale, and professor of oceanography at College of the Atlantic
Zack Klyver, lead naturalist at Bar Harbor Whale Watch company and founder of Flukes international whale tours.

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Coastal Conversations 10/27/17

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel
Engineer: Amy Browne

Maine coastal and ocean issues: Congestion and Transportation Planning in Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island Communities

1. What are the visitation trends and why are they on the rise?
2. What is the impact of increasing numbers on the Island, both positive (such as economic), and challenging (such as closures of parking areas).
3. What are the transportation planning options and how can people be involved in voicing their concerns.

Guests:
John Kelley, Management Assistant, Acadia National Park
Martha Searchfield, Executive Director, Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce

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