NEWS FROM MAINE SEA GRANT | SPRING 2014 ------------------------------ [image: Inline image 7] <http://www.facebook.com/MESeaGrant> [image: Inline image 8] <https://twitter.com/Maine_Sea_Grant> [image: Inline image 9]<https://www.youtube.com/user/MaineSeaGrant> *Register now* for the 2014 Maine Sea Grant Research Symposium<http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/research-symposium-2014> on 3 April. This year's theme is "Working Toward Resilience." *Job Opportunity!* Signs of the Seasons: A New England Phenology Program is hiring an assistant coordinator<http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/files/jobs/SOS-pd-2014.pdf> . *EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS* *Participants in the Signs of the Seasons program help scientists document the local effects of global climate change.* Volunteers across Maine and now New Hampshire record the growth of milkweed, the nesting of robins, and more. The goal is to build a rich, detailed record of the region's seasonal turns, a resource too costly to build without a network of citizen volunteers. The collected data are made available to our collaborating scientists and resource managers. Visit the program website<http://umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons/>for a list of upcoming training dates and presentations. *Maine and The Mortal Sea: Taking Stock of the Past, Present and Future of Our Living Sea <http://seagrant.umaine.edu/files/Mortal_Sea_registrn_announce.pdf>.*Please join us for an interdisciplinary exchange based on W. Jeffrey Bolster's award-winning book, The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail. Our day will begin with an illustrated lecture from Bolster, professor of history at University of New Hampshire, and will include morning and afternoon panel discussions with UMaine faculty, Maine Sea Grant staff, Maine Department of Marine Resources personnel, and members of the Penobscot East Resource Center. Space is very limited for this free one-day event. *EXTENSION HIGHLIGHTS* *Paul Anderson has been working with UMaine colleagues to engage fishing communities in the Muscongus Bay region to keep them informed as the Maine Aqua Ventus offshore wind energy research project <http://deepcwind.org/> advances. *Fishing industry leaders from New Harbor, Bristol, Friendship, Port Clyde, and Monhegan are being counseled regularly along with groups from Monhegan and Bristol to investigate options for addressing local concerns, including placement of the cable in the vicinity of shrimp and scallop fishing, potential closures to mobile gear fishing areas, and conflict with lobster gear. The next phase of design, construction, and deployment is pending a decision on a $44 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. *The University of Maine and the Maine Humanities Council will be hosting the Second Annual Maine Humanities Summit <http://umaine.edu/umhi> in Augusta on May 16.* The theme for this year's summit is the Humanities and Public Policy. Marine Extension Team member Natalie Springuel will speak on "Fisheries Heritage and the Role of Tourism in Downeast Maine Communities," as part of an afternoon panel on cultural tourism. *Leaders from the National Working Waterfront Network <http://www.wateraccessus.com/> have been sharing news of the Network's development and Sustainable Working Waterfront Toolkit with national audiences. Marine Extension Team member Kristen Grant,* who is also a National Working Waterfront Network executive committee member and Outreach and Education Committee chair, presented at the Social Coast Forum in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 20, and shared the Network's Toolkit at at demonstration session on February 19. Additionally, Network leaders presented two national webinars hosted by National Association of Development Organizations earlier this month. *The Southern Maine Beach Profile Monitoring Program <http://seagrant.umaine.edu/extension/beach-profile-monitoring/home>, with support from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, has expanded to three additional beaches:* Pine Point and Ferry Beaches in Scarborough, and West Grand Beach in Old Orchard Beach. The program was established by Maine Sea Grant, University of Maine, and Maine Geological Survey in 1999. University of Maine Cooperative Extension's* Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills Training <http://umaine.edu/ext-community/strengthening-your-facilitation-skills/level-1/>*is intended for people who want to help a group do its work and minimize the common problems people have working together. The training is being offered this spring in the Saco region. Marine Extension Team member Dana Morse continues to collaborate with Paul Rawson of the School of Marine Sciences, the shellfish hatchery at the Darling Marine Center, and colleagues in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to *advance the potential for razor clam aquaculture <http://seagrant.umaine.edu/resources-for-shellfish-growers/species/razor-clam>.*With funding from the USDA's Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center, the group will spawn razor clams in Maine and Massachusetts, and evaluate both nursery procedures and growout systems on the shellfish farms of industry collaborators. Razor clam "seed" will be ready to go out into the field later this year. A statewide effort is underway to improve the way food is grown or caught, processed, sold, transported, and consumed in Maine, with the ultimate goal of improving the vast network known as Maine's food system, improving profitability and sustainability, and reducing hunger. Dana Morse is participating in *the Maine Food Strategy <http://mainefoodstrategy.org/>,*with a particular eye toward seafood. *RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS* *Four research projects were selected for funding from the 2013 biennial request for proposals.* Project descriptions can be found on our website<http://seagrant.umaine.edu/research>, and both new and ongoing research will be the focus of our 2014 Research Symposium <http://seagrant.umaine.edu/research-symposium-2014>. *PUBLICATIONS* *Just another day in the life of the Marine Extension Team <http://seagrant.umaine.edu/blog>*. The Maine Sea Grant blog features updates from staff on their projects, programs, and daily activities. Thanks to everyone who joined us for the *Maine Green Crab Summit!* Please visit our summit page <http://seagrant.umaine.edu/green-crab-summit> for information, presentations, and to view the entire webcast of the day. *EVENTS* *Maine Water & Sustainability Conference <http://umaine.edu/mitchellcenter/mwc-2014/>* | April 1 | Augusta *Maine Sea Grant Research Symposium <http://seagrant.umaine.edu/research-symposium-2014>* | April 3 | Orono *Acadia Science Symposium <http://sercinstitute.org/research/acadia-national-park-science-symposium>*| April 16 | Winter Harbor *Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills Training <http://umaine.edu/ext-community/strengthening-your-facilitation-skills/level-1/>*| April 17 | Saco *Maine and the Mortal Sea: Taking Stock of the Past, Present, and Future of our Living Sea <http://seagrant.umaine.edu/files/Mortal_Sea_registrn_announce.pdf>* | April 26 | Darling Marine Center Maine Humanities Summit | May 16 | Augusta ------------------------------ Maine Sea Grant College Program | 5784 York Complex Building 6 | The University of Maine | Orono, ME 04469 (207) 581.1435 <%28207%29%20581-1435> | [log in to unmask] [image: Inline image 2] <http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/> [image: Inline image 7] <http://www.facebook.com/MESeaGrant> [image: Inline image 8] <https://twitter.com/Maine_Sea_Grant> [image: Inline image 9]<https://www.youtube.com/user/MaineSeaGrant> Subscribe <[log in to unmask]> | Unsubscribe<[log in to unmask]>