Talk of the Towns 6/8/22: An Interview with Paul Anderson

Producer/Host: Ron Beard

Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities

Over the last 40 years, Paul Anderson has had a key role in understanding and communicating marine science in Maine. As a micro-biologist for the Department of Marine Resources, he helped establish protocols so citizen-scientists could contribute data helping assure that clams harvested from Maine flats were safe to eat. He led the University of Maine’s Sea Grant program, with its emphasis on extension, education, and research. And after several years at the helm, he is stepping down as head of the non-profit Maine Center for Commercial Fisheries, based in Stonington, helping further the organization as a partner in scientific research.

Recently, Paul sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Talk of the Towns host, Ron Beard. Anderson reflected on his work, some of the changes he has seen and what might lie ahead in Maine’s marine economy.

-What were the highlights of your career in marine science, including your work with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, University of Maine Sea Grant and the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries?
-What makes Maine’s marine ecosystem most interesting?
-How have citizens gotten involved with collecting environmental data?
-What are the most interesting connections between marine science and how people make their livings along the coast and the quality of life and the environment?
-Through you career so far, what are some of the ‘ah-ha” moments when you saw marine science and resource management come to the forefront of solving problems or developing new approaches?
-Any reflections to share with young folks about careers and jobs in marine-related science, management and fisheries?

Guest: Paul Anderson, Executive Director, Maine Center for Commercial Fisheries

About the host:
Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Maine: The Way Life Could Be 6/7/22: The “Water, Water Everywhere, But…” edition

Producers/Hosts: Jim Campbell and Amy Browne

This series is made possible in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission

Welcome to this edition of Maine: The Way Life Could Be, a series in which we look at challenges and opportunities facing Maine in the lifetimes of people alive today.

Today, we focus on water. Water is a very big topic, especially for a coastal state like Maine. As we look ahead, we need to take into account possible changes to seawater, surface freshwater, and groundwater and their effects on life in the state. That is a lot to cover and we can’t go into great detail but we can provide an overview of things we may all need to think about as we look forward to our lives here in Maine.

We do that by reporting on existing research about water issues that are already becoming visible – and that will certainly be even bigger issues in our future. Later in the program, we will also be talking with people who are, in different ways, on the front lines of some major current water issues that may be even bigger in our common future.

Guests:

Nickie Sekera lives in Fryeburg, Maine and hears tractor trailers loaded with water extracted from wells in her town passing her house as they haul that water out of state. That experience has motivated her to become knowledgeable about Maine’s laws and about corporate large scale extraction from Maine’s groundwater. She is the cofounder of Community Water Justice She also works with the Sunlight Media Collective, reporting on related topics, especially those that impact indigenous communities.

Former State Representative Ralph Chapman is a materials scientist who has studied the effects of mineral mining in Maine historically, and some of the mineral mining activities being proposed today and tomorrow here in Maine. He worked on legislation that would have to addressed some of the shortcomings he identifies in Maine’s mining rules revision while he was in the legislature.

For more information:

WERU’s Dawnland Signals, hosted by Maria Girouard and Esther Ann of Wabanaki Reach, report on Safe Drinking Water for the People of Sipayik, 4/21/22

Scientific Assessment of Climate Change and Its Effects in Maine, Maine Climate Council Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, August 2020

Maine’s Climate Future, 2020 Update, Ivan Fernandez, Sean Birkel, Catherine Schmitt, Julia Simonson, Brad Lyon, Andrew Pershing, Esperanza Stancioff, George Jacobson, and Paul Mayewski. University of Maine

Maine Won’t Wait: A Four Year Plan for Climate Action, Maine Climate Council, December 2020

Maine Principles of Ownership Along Water Bodies, Maine Law Review, Knud E. Hermansen & Donald R. Richards, Maine Principles of Ownership Along Water Bodies, 47 Me. L. Rev. 35 (2018).

Notes for Talk on Groundwater Law, Peggy Bensinger, May 1, 2020 meeting of Maine’s Water Resources Planning Committee

The non-partisan Gulf of Maine Research Center

The University of Maine’s [Senator George J.] Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

About the hosts:

Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Outside the Box 6/6/22: “Better than GDP”

Producer/Host: Larry Dansinger

About the host:
Larry Dansinger (no pronouns) of Bangor came to Maine in 1974 and has been here ever since. Some of Larry’s activities since then: Done community organizing on numerous issues through INVERT and then Resources for Organizing and Social Change (ROSC), committed civil disobedience several times, grown a garden yearly since 1977, joined various food cooperatives and two men’s groups, refused to pay federal income taxes for war, lived on a community land trust for 23 years, and met a wonderful partner whom Larry has loved for over 40 years. Larry has produced Outside the Box features on WERU since 2007 and continues to look for unique ways of seeing almost any problem or situation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Pet Sounds 6/5/22: Setting up an Aquarium

Producer/Host: Dr. John Hunt

About the host:

My Sunday morning short has been running for about 11 years. I’ve cover a wide range of animal related topics from COVID to porcupines.

After graduating from Michigan State University Veterinary School in 1982 I practiced at three different veterinary hospitals in the Hartford, Conn area for 5 years. Then I bought a small part time clinic in Bucksport and turned it into a full time small animal surgery and medicine hospital. From 1987 to 2014 I enjoyed serving the Bucksport-Orland area pet owners. My kids grew up in Bucksport. I was a Boy Scoutmaster for a few years, and coached cross country and track in the Bucksport school system for 20 years. I’ve written three books working on a fourth.

I sold my practice and retired from practicing medicine in 2014. Since “retiring” I’ve continued Pet Sounds and my monthly Lets Talk Animals show on WERU. I’ve been teaching at local community colleges, officiating at high school track meets, writing and started a blog on line.

I enjoy hiking, reading, writing and anticipate spending more time with my first grandchild.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Nature of Phenology 6/4/22: Atlantic Salmon Returning

Producers: Hazel Stark & Joe Horn
Host: Hazel Stark

Depending on the river and region, salmon begin to return in great numbers in April following the spring melt and will continue to arrive throughout the spring, summer, and fall.

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com

About the host/writers:

Joe Horn lives in Gouldsboro, is Co-Founder of Maine Outdoor School, L3C, and is a Registered Maine Guide and Carpenter. He is passionate about fishing, cooking, and making things with his hands. He has both an MBA in Sustainability and an MS focused in Environmental Education. Joe can be reached by emailing [email protected]

Hazel Stark lives in Gouldsboro, is Co-Founder and Naturalist Educator at Maine Outdoor School, L3C, and is a Registered Maine Guide. She loves taking a closer look at nature through the lens of her camera, napping in beds of moss, and taking hikes to high points to see what being tall is all about. She has an MS in Resource Management and Conservation and is a lifelong Maine outdoorswoman. Hazel can be reached by emailing [email protected]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Cosmic Curator 6/4/22: Me First

This is your Cosmic Curator, Tom Yaroschuk with a look at what’s going on in the zodiac for today Saturday June 4th, and the days ahead.
The day begins with the Moon in its home sign of sensitive, nurturing Cancer. The moon rules emotions, feelings, our sensitivities. In Cancer, its is feeling the influence of every planet – so expect a very emotional day with some unexpected ups and down. It will take some effort to keep an emotional even keel…

About the Host:
Tom Yaroschuk is a Vedic Astrologer. His intention is to help people understand their karma and the issues they may confront to cultivate more fulfilling lives. Tom is writing a memoir of the spiritual lessons derived from his work in a Homeless Day Center in between a career as an award winning television and documentary producer.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download