One of the projects I have been working on this winter as part of my being Executive Director of the Maine Professional Guides Association is the formation of a coalition of outdoor sporting groups. Not an easy task to be sure but one that is clearly needed to protect our natural resources going forward, especially given the dire condition of our state budget over the next few years. We had one large meeting in April and a small steering comittee meeting in May with lots of positive energy for making the effort work.
Yesterday morning when I got up there was a strong smell of smoke in the air, when I went out to give the dogs their morning exercise it was stronger. We spent the day driving our youngest son to the University of Rhode Island to start his summer job and you could smell it to well south of Portland.
This morning it is thick in the air limiting visibility and you can certainly smell it. Where could it be coming from? At first I assumed that it was a neighbor burning brush but after I realized the area covered I knew it had to be something much bigger.
After hearing very encouraging reports from southern Maine I was looking forward to the the coming striper season. A trip down onto the saltwater section of the Saint George River has me encouraged. First water clarity has not been this good for several springs now. There was good clean green seawater well above the Route 1 bridge in Thomaston. Water temperature was in the 60’s another very positive sign.
