The disconnect between the tourism industry and the local environment is wider than I thought. I took a family fishing on Saturday that arrived on the shore of a pond fifteen miles from the salt water telling me that they were there for a morning of mackerel fishing. The reservation had been made for them by the hotel which was their only source of information. Clearly we have to get better at providing information to not only the public but also the professionals in the business.
No the temperatures have not started to drop significantly and frost is not imminent but things are definitely about to change. Fish are hungry and seem to be feeding all day. Shorebirds are massed on the mudflats outside of Thomaston Harbor feeding to build up fat reserves for their migrations. Crickets have started to chirp in the evenings and there is one in the house every time you turn around. For those of you that look for signs of an early winter I have already cut up my firewood for next winter.
I attended a meeting of the staff and board of the Maine Conservation School last evening. We had an interesting discussion of what changes the staff sees as needed at the school. One of the issues we discussed was fees and how to hold them down to make the program affordable for as many Maine kids as possible. A part of the discussion that we did not have was what value the school is delivering to the kids and are they getting a good return on their investment of time and money.
