The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Documents from Environmental Organizations Maine Environmental Collection 2009 Colby College State of Maine's Environment 2009 Colby College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/maine_env_organizations Repository Citation College, Colby, "Colby College State of Maine's Environment 2009" (2009). Documents from Environmental Organizations. 114. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/maine_env_organizations/114 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Documents from Environmental Organizations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. State of Maine’s Environment 2009 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Colby Environmental Policy Group Colby College Environmental Studies Program Waterville, Maine State of Maine‘s Environment 2009 State of Maine‘s Environment 2009 Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................... vi State of Coastal and Marine Management in Maine ..................................... 1 Executive Summary .................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 2 Focus of This Chapter .................................................................................. 4 Methods .................................................................................................... 5 Legislation ................................................................................................. 9 Stakeholders ............................................................................................ 17 State of Topic ........................................................................................... 22 Spatial Analysis of Management and Use Boundaries..................................... 31 Scenarios ................................................................................................ 40 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 41 Recommendations .................................................................................... 42 Works Cited ............................................................................................. 42 State of Rivers and Dams in Maine ............................................................ 49 Executive Summary ................................................................................... 49 Introduction ............................................................................................. 50 Methods ................................................................................................... 51 Laws and Institutions ................................................................................. 52 Stakeholders ............................................................................................ 63 State of the Topic ...................................................................................... 67 Analysis of Migratory Fish Habitats and Dams ............................................... 84 Implications ............................................................................................. 87 Scenarios ................................................................................................. 87 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 88 Appendix A: Current and Historical Diadromous Fish Habitats ......................... 93 Works Cited ............................................................................................ 105 State of Organic Agriculture in Maine ...................................................... 113 Executive Summary ................................................................................. 113 i State of Maine‘s Environment 2009 Introduction ........................................................................................... 113 Methods ................................................................................................. 117 Legislation .............................................................................................. 119 Stakeholders .......................................................................................... 124 State of the Topic .................................................................................... 126 Implications ............................................................................................ 143 Scenarios ............................................................................................... 147 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 149 Recommendations................................................................................... 150 Appendix A Contacts ................................................................................ 153 Appendix B Sections of the 2008 Farm Bill that apply to organic agriculture.... 154 Appendix C Which Maine colleges and universities purchase organic food? ..... 155 Works Cited ............................................................................................ 157 State of Sustainable Communities in Maine ............................................ 161 Executive Summary ................................................................................. 161 Introduction ........................................................................................... 161 Methods ................................................................................................. 165 Legislation ............................................................................................. 170 Stakeholders .......................................................................................... 174 State of Topic ......................................................................................... 176 Analysis ................................................................................................. 177 Scenarios ............................................................................................... 185 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 186 Recommendations ................................................................................... 187 Works Cited ............................................................................................ 188 State of Maine‘s Environment 2009 Executive Summary State of Maine's Environment 2009 The State of Maine's Environment is a regular series of reports written by senior environmental policy majors at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The State of Maine's Environment 2009 is the fifth State of Maine's Environment report created by students enrolled in ES 493: Environmental Policy Practicum taught by Philip J. Nyhus, Environmental Studies Program. Topics in this report include four topics of importance to Maine: Coastal Marine Policy, Rivers and Dams, Organic Farms, and Sustainable Cities. In each chapter, we explore the history and context of the topic, evaluate its current state, and conclude with major findings and policy recommendations. In The State of Coastal and Marine Policy, we find that Maine‘s coastal and marine (ocean) resources play a vital role in the health of Maine‘s economy. In 2007, Maine‘s coastal municipalities employed 55% of the state‘s population and accounted for 60% of the state‘s gross domestic product (GDP). The vitality and character of these municipalities are at risk if the state‘s coastal and marine economic resources are degraded. Presently, threatened resources such as Maine‘s sea urchin and sea scallop fisheries are managed by the state and federal governments in a series of issue and species-specific management plans. The spatial boundaries of these plans geographically overlap, creating a network of interconnecting regions, management strategies, and authorities. In our assessment, we found that 68% of the geographical area in Maine‘s state waters is characterized by having 10 or more overlapping management zones and regulatory bodies. Further regional, federal, and international jurisdictional boundaries combine with these management plans to create a complicated administrative environment. This administrative environment is not conducive to the development and siting of important emerging technologies, like offshore wind farms, requiring the agreement of multiple agencies, interests, and mandates. Because of the importance of Maine‘s ocean resources, it is imperative for Maine to adopt an effective management and planning policy that can dynamically adapt to new issues and incorporate new technologies. We recommend that Maine adopt an ocean governing structure similar to a proposed National Ocean Council by President Obama‘s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force to effectively integrate issue and species-specific plans into ecosystem-based approaches to management. iii State of Maine‘s Environment 2009 In The State of Rivers and Dams, we find that the 31,752 miles of