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Among the many successes of this year’s legislative session is a modest update to state law that will significantly protect biodiversity in the face of accelerating landscape change.
LD 736 allows the Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) to expand Maine’s ecological reserve system, which is a network of public and private lands that was created in 2000 to protect select examples of all the different types of ecosystems found in Maine. Ecological reserves also offer premier sites for recreation, including hunting and fishing.
The ecological reserve system has proven to be a successful experiment, but to fully realize its potential, we need more reserves across the state.
BPL currently manages 97,000 acres across 19 reserves, including well-loved places and significant natural areas like the Bigelow Range, Deboullie, the Cutler Coast, Donnell Pond, and St. John Ponds. These ecological reserves provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and offer long-term research opportunities to improve our scientific knowledge, especially to help us better understand how climate change is impacting our environment. By better understanding natural processes, ecological reserves help land managers make better decisions about working lands.
Expanding the state’s ecological reserve system is one of the best ways we can protect a rich diversity of plant and animal life, which is a win for conservation and Maine people. We wish to thank members of the Maine Legislature and Gov. Janet Mill’s administration for supporting this important piece of legislation.
Mac Hunter
Bucky Owen
Emeriti professors
Department of Wildlife Ecology
University of Maine
Orono
