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Maine Field Office Environmental Contaminants Program | |
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Maine EC Home | Recent & Upcoming Work | Programs | FAQs | Links | |||||||||
Contaminant Reports | Technical Assistance & Cooperative Projects | |||||||||
Recent Work and Upcoming Projects |
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Recent Work |
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Off-Refuge Study (Liver Contaminants in Bald Eagle Carcasses from Maine): Over the last three decades, the Maine bald eagle population has grown substantially. Over time these birds die from natural or other causes, and carcasses are recovered whenever possible. Since 2006, fifty livers have been extracted from bald eagle carcasses and submitted for contaminant analysis. Many of these birds were banded shortly after birth and provide valuable information on contaminant burdens in known-age birds. Preliminary results indicate that mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls accumulate to very high levels in some birds. The final round of liver extractions for the study was completed in February 2008 and a final report should be completed by 2010. Collaborators in the project include the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Penobscot Indian Nation, FPL Energy Maine Hydro, and the BioDiversity Research Institute. |
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Spill Response: Last September, the Maine Field office participated in the CANUSLANT 2007 Exercise. Working with biologists from the Canadian Wildlife Service and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, wildlife response protocols for cross-border spills were practiced including the transport of birds across international borders. | ||||||||
Upcoming Projects |
On-Refuge Study (Endocrine Disruption in
Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass from Region 5 National Wildlife Refuges):
Following in the footsteps of a successful investigation of
endocrine disruption on the Potomac River, Region 5 of the USFWS has
developed a region-wide study to examine endocrine disruption in bass.
In Maine, smallmouth bass will be collected from the St. Croix River
near Moosehorn NWR and from the Penobscot River near Sunkhaze Meadows
NWR. Plasma will be examined for sex steroids and vitellogenin,
and gonads will be examined for sexual maturing and abnormalities. |
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Refuge Cleanup (Small Arms Range at Moosehorn NWR): A site assessment was conducted in November 2005 at a former small arms firing range along Youngs Road in the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge's Baring Division. Surficial soils, soil cores, surface water, and sediment were collected and analyzed for lead content. Contract oversight was provided by staff from Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Ecological Services - Maine Field Office, and the Region 5 Engineering Branch. The nature and extent of lead contamination in the berm, firing line, and nearby drainages was determined and approximately 50 cubic yards of Pb-contaminated soil must be removed.. Funds have secured to begin the site clean-up in 2008.
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Superfund Technical Assistance (Callahan Mine): In 2008, the Service will provide technical assistance to the Environmental Protection Agency and Maine Department of Environmental Protection in the review of the baseline ecological risk assessment for this former mine site in Brooksville.
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Maine EC Home | Recent & Upcoming Work | Programs | FAQs | Links |
Contaminant Reports | Technical Assistance & Cooperative Projects |