States receive grants to monitor bats

Little Brown Bat with White Nose Syndrome

Vermont has received a grant for $22,000 to monitor bat populations left nearly destroyed by White-Nose Syndrome.

Bat biologist Scott Darling, of the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the state will use the money to continue monitoring known colonies of northern long eared bats and little brown bats in an effort to learn what led some bats to survive .

The grant is from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which awarded funds to 29 others states, which included many in New England, and places as far south as Alabama and as far west as Hawaii. Altogether the grants total $962,981.

White-Nose Syndrome is believed to be caused by a fungus, which appears as a white substance on the bats' noses. Scientists think it affects how well the animals hibernate, causing them to burn energy in a time when the should be conserving it. Bat populations have declined by 90 percent in some places, and Vermont has placed the most affected species on its endangered list.

In April, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife launched its "Got Bats," campaign, which encouraged people to go to the department's Website, www.fishandwildife.com, and report the locations of bat colonies of all sorts, from ones that live in attics, to caves.

Northern Long Eared Bat

"Grants like these provide essential support to our state partners in responding to white-nose syndrome," said Dr. Jeremy Coleman, national WNS coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . "Responding to the rapid spread and severity of this disease has been difficult for state agencies and other partners. Providing funds directly to states helps to improve capacity for response within those states, but also provides support for critical research projects and strengthens our national response effort overall."

According to the service, White-Nose Syndrome was first detected in New York in 2006 and has spread across North America killing upwards of 5.5 million bats. In Bennington, bat caves in Dorset and Pownal were noted to have suffered massive loss of bats that hibernated there.

The grant was funded through the Endangered Species Recovery fund. It total, states asked for $1,183,480. Requests ranged from $14,646 to $50,000.

Others states in the Northeast received the following:

* Maine, $24,099.

* New Hampshire, $14,646

* Rhode Island, $22,819

Maine blueberries producing biggest crop in a decade

Maine’s wild blueberry growers are expecting their biggest crop in more than a decade. 115,000 pounds more than the 2010 crop, which the USDA estimated at 95 million pounds.

This year’s crop is projected to come in between 90 million to 95 million pounds, with the monthlong harvest kicking into gear the first week of August. If the yield reaches 90 million pounds, it would be the largest harvest since 2000, when production reached a record 110 million pounds.

Maine’s blueberry crop has averaged from 80 million to 85 million pounds a year the past five years, said David Yarborough, blueberry specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

“This year we’re maybe looking at another 10 million pounds, perhaps 90 to 95 million,” he said. “It’s contingent upon weather conditions between now and the end of August. If we have a drought it won’t hold true, but if we have a lot of rain it could exceed that.”

August typically marks the beginning of the blueberry harvest in Maine, which is the No. 1 wild blueberry state by far, with 60,000 acres of fields.

Wild blueberries grow naturally in Maine and eastern Canada and are different from cultivated berries, which are larger and grow on high bushes. Cultivated blueberries are commercially grown in about 10 states.

A small amount of Maine’s crop is sold fresh, but 99 percent is processed, making its way into blueberry muffins, cereal, yogurt and other food products.

Growers in 2011 averaged nearly 91 cents a pound for their harvest, up from 61 cents in 2010 and 36 cents in 2009, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Last year’s harvest was worth $75 million.

The price is holding up for wild blueberries because of what’s happening with cultivated berries.

The crop in Midwest has been hurt by hot, dry weather, said Ed Flanagan, president and CEO of Jasper Wyman & Son, a wild blueberry company based in Milbridge. There’s also been strong demand for fresh cultivated blueberries, meaning the supply going to the processed market isn’t as large as anticipated, thereby creating more demand among processors for wild blueberries.

Prices in Maine should remain strong, but probably won’t be as high as last year, Flanagan said.

“Depending on what side of the buyer-seller desk you’re on, it looks like it’ll probably be another pretty good year for blueberry sellers,” he said.

The higher prices for growers could result in higher prices for food manufacturers and consumers.

If prices go too high, food processing companies could turn to other ingredients for their end products, said Yarborough. It wouldn’t be unheard of for jam makers in Japan to stop making blueberry jam altogether if the price is too high, he said.

Food manufacturers might absorb the costs if the higher prices are short-term, but eventually they’ll have to pass them on to consumers, he said.

“If the berries are higher and that’s a significant part of the product, then consumers will pay more for it,” he said.

Growers don’t want the prices to go too high, Flanagan said.

“If the price of blueberries gets too high, then the product development departments, let’s say it’s a muffin baker, they’ll start putting more chocolate chip muffins on the shelf rather than blueberry muffins,” he said. “We really need to be mindful of that.”

Woman falls 60ft off Champlain Mountain in Maine (UPDATE)

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, Maine --- Members of the University of Maine community were in mourning on Monday following a student's tragic death over the weekend.

Shirley Ladd of Barnstead, New Hampshire died from injures she received after falling at Acadia National Park. Ladd was hiking the Precipice trail on Champlain Mountain at the park with a friend. She was somewhere near the top of the trail when she fell about 60 feet.

Park rangers responded to the scene and called in about 30 people to help, including members of the Bar Harbor Fire Department as well as Mount Desert Island Search and Rescue. Ladd was taken by Life Flight to Eastern Maine Medical Center where she died Saturday evening.

She is remembered as a hard working senior at U. Maine. The 22-year-old worked for campus recreation for a number of years. Her directors say she always did her job with passion. "She had a wide effect on all of us...so it {the tragedy} came as a real shock," said Jeff Hunt, who is the university's director of campus recreation, "and we're all very sad about his and trying to support each other and trying to work through it."

Park rangers at Acadia are still trying to figure out what caused Ladd to fall. Anybody who was on the Precipice Trail last Saturday and might have witnessed the fall is asked to contact park headquarters at (207)-288-8791.

Previous story:


Rangers say a New Hampshire woman fell 60 feet while hiking a difficult trail in Acadia National Park and later died of her injuries.

Ranger Ed Pontbriand tells WCSH-TV ( http://on.wcsh6.com/QpipnM) that the 22-year-old woman fell Saturday while climbing a precipice trail up Champlain Mountain. The ranger tells the station that the trail requires hikers to climb up ladder-like iron rungs.

After she fell, her fellow hikers called 911 and a nearby nurse began treating her. Emergency personnel lifted the woman up a 250-foot rock wall and carried her a mile across the top of the mountain. She was flown to a hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Pontbriand tells the station that the rescue took 5 ½ hours and included 31 people. Park officials haven’t released the woman’s name. –– Information from: WCSH-TV, http://www.wcsh6.com

Here kitty kitty!

NOT

Christian Bale visits CO theater shooting victims

Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

Actor Christian Bale visits Aurora shooting
victim Carey Rottman.(Special to The Denver Post)

AURORA, CO (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) One of the victims of the Colorado movie theater shooting took to Facebook on Tuesday to share a photo of a surprise visitor.

Carey Rottman, a Wisconsin native who played football at Winona State in Minnesota, received a visit from "The Dark Knight Rises" star Christian Bale.

TMZ reports Bale visited the hospital around 4 p.m. on his own. He was not representing Warner Brothers during the trip.

Christian Bale was in the Denver metro area Tuesday to meet
with victims of the Aurora theater shooting.
In this photo released by Swedish Medical Center in Englewood,
Colorado, via Twitter, Bale meets with Swedish staff members.
(Swedish Medical Center)

Rottman's father has previously told the Associated Press that his 27-year-old son was expected to undergo another round of surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday. It will take about one year for Rottman to fully recover.

Bale also visited with six other victims of the mass shooting, as well as the first responders who were on the scene shortly after a shooter began firing into the crowded theater, reports the Denver Post.

Bale asked that the media not be notified about his trip to Aurora.

Christian Bale, who stars in
"The Dark Knight Rises," and his wife, Sibi Blazic,
on Tuesday afternoon visit a growing
memorial to victims of the Aurora theater
massacre, which left 12 dead and 58 wounded.
The couple also spent time at Medical Center of Aurora.
(Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

Read more: http://ow.ly/cu3Ao













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Will the Oxford Maine Casino be forced to shut down? (UPDATE)

Maine Superior Court nullifies Oxford Casino development permit

OXFORD — One year — nearly to the day — after the Maine Board of Environmental Protection issued a permit granting development of the Oxford Casino, the permit was nullified by Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy. 


 “The law is pretty clear that without a permit they can’t operate. And, presumably, if the department (DEP) doesn’t shut them down, the Gambling Control Board will.” 


According to the suit, “in its rush to permit the casino project, the applicant (BB Development) failed to conduct the studies necessary to affirmatively demonstrate that either Phase I or the full project proposal meets legal standards.” And, that rather than “correct these errors and omissions, the department (BEP) actually accelerated the permitting process,” granting the permit in “less than half of the 180-day statutory review period, despite ongoing staff concerns regarding the lack of data,” violating state law and its own rules in the process by not considering cumulative environmental impact of the entire project when complete.

Full Story 







UPDATE:

Maine's radio news team including news director, Dave Alpert; reporter, Ed Fairbanks and Augusta chief, Mal Leary have provided the following which you can hear:

The Oxford Casino will remain open, despite a court decision that nullifies its Department of Environmental Protection site permit.  The DEP says it will follow a judge's order and reopen the permit review process, but won't pursue closing down the casino. Attorney Stephen Hinchman, representing the Androscoggin River Alliance, which challenged the DEP's granting of the permit, says the DEP is now violating state law by allowing the casino to continue to operate.  Hear him.

CO shooting suspect seemingly aloof in court appearance

Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

In Maine? Take The Casco Bay Ferry to Peaks Island, Little Diamond Island, Great Diamond Island, Long Island, Chebeague Island, and Cliff Island.

Take The Casco Bay Ferry to Peaks Island, Little Diamond Island, Great Diamond Island, Long Island, Chebeague Island, and Cliff Island.