Press Release for Environmental Stewardship Award August 16, 2013 From: Acadia Birding Festival May 29 –June 1 2014 The Acadia Birding Festival (ABF), is proud to announce the first “Environmental Stewardship Award” presented to Frenchman Bay Partners in recognition of the collaborative ecological effort spearheaded by Mount Desert Island resident and scientist, Dr. Jane Disney. This prestigious award recognizes ecological stewardship beneficial to the internationally important Gulf of Maine Avian community. Frenchman Bay Partners is recognized as an organization helping to change the world through Environmental Stewardship. Michael J. Good, MS, Founder and Director of Conservation for Acadia Birding Festival, made the public announcement during the August 9th Annual Human and Environmental Sustainability Summit “Finding Common Ground” held on the campus of Mount Desert Island Marine Biological Laboratory. While presenting Frenchman Bay Partners this award Michael Good stated that “ the collaborative efforts of Frenchman Bay Partners ensure broad stakeholder participation needed to revive ecological systems in greatest need throughout the Frenchman Bay watershed. The Mount Desert Island community of Birders and bird enthusiasts from around the world, who share this vision, will benefit from this stewardship and the thriving ecosystems we all greatly desire and need for sound economic development in the region.” “Acadia Birding Festival strongly supports the collaborative work of Frenchman Bay Partners and the Maine Birding Community would like to recognize this Ecology-based collaboration with this prestigious Award” said Michael . The Frenchman Bay Partners (FBP) is a consortium of businesses, municipalities, educational institutions, land trusts, organizations, individuals and marine industries including clammers, fishermen, aquaculturists, and mussel draggers who have been meeting since 2010 to address issues affecting the ecological and economic sustainability the bay. Following the steps outlined in the Conservation Measures Partnerships’ Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, they have developed a Bay Plan focusing on four conservation areas: migratory fish, eelgrass, mudflats, and subtidal benthic habitat. All four conservation areas benefit the Down East Avian community and are meeting stringent criteria which are the foundation of Acadia Birding Festival. The Frenchman Bay Partners developed out of the conversations that Dr. Jane Disney, FBP president and director of the Mount Desert Island Biological Lab’s Community Environmental Health Lab, initiated with mussel draggers to establish eelgrass restoration areas. The group has since expanded to the 55 members it includes today. Frenchman Bay Partners believe that the local adaptive planning process is a viable alternative to top down legislative action and can lead to effective management of our shared resources. This local, collaborative, approach to marine planning is unique to the Frenchman Bay Partners and provides a framework for resource users and other stakeholders, who sometimes find themselves in opposition, to work together as allies toward a shared vision with a strong ecological foundation. With the collaborative relationships in place, partners are finding it easier to secure funding for joint projects. After setting goals and developing strategies for each of those areas, they have begun projects that work toward those goals, including the “610 Project” (named for the Partners’ goal of opening 610 acres of closed mudflats in Frenchman Bay) in which a clammer liaison is working with the Hancock County Planning Commission and the FBP to develop a guide for opening clamflats; alewife monitoring in Flanders stream; using Remotely Operated Vehicle video footage and a grab sampler to collect data on the bethic community in historically important fishing grounds to provide baseline information that will inform goal-setting; and partnering with mussel draggers to establish over 200 acres of eelgrass restoration areas where no dragging will take place. More information can be found at frenchmanbaypartners.org, The FBP has also created a Bay Atlas, led by partner College of the Atlantic which is available on the COA website at coa.edu/frenchmanbayatlas.htm. The 16th annual Acadia Birding Festival May 29 to June 1, 2014 takes place on Mount Desert Island, offering outdoor recreation and educational opportunities for the traveling public to celebrate and academically study the arrival, behavior and wonder of our breeding and native birds through field and boat trips with local and invited ornithologists and birders, keynote presentations, and seminars. ABF is based on sound ecological and strict ecotourism standards, and proud to acknowledge that all proceeds support local communities and conservation. To learn more about the festival, please visit acadiabirdingfestival. Michael J. Good, MS Founder of Acadia Birding Festival
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 11:31:15 +0000
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