The effects of climate change are all around us: extreme heat and cold weather; forest fires raging in the west; floods devastating crops and land in the Midwest; rising sea levels and storm surges taking lives in the south; shorter, more erratic winters here in the northeast. We must act.
Conservation is one of the many tools that can help alleviate the effects of a changing climate. Protected lands provide ecosystem services and natural resiliency, which is why nations around the world, including the U.S., are committed to the goal of conserving 30% of the planet’s land and waters by the year 2030.
Lying at the heart of the Northern Appalachian-Acadian Forest, the most intact, unfragmented ecoregion east of the Mississippi, Maine’s forest houses more than half of the largest globally important bird area in the United States. The cold waters of the area support the last stronghold of native wild Eastern Brook Trout in the U.S. The Western Maine Mountains are home to more than 139 rare plants and animals, including 21 globally rare species, and provide core habitat for marten, lynx, loon, and moose. Maine’s vast North Woods have a significant role to play in mitigating and adapting to a changing climate. Our 17.5 million acres of forest absorbs 60% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions annually, while harboring a wide range of wildlife. Unfragmented forests offer microclimates and habitat connectivity, and shelter cold waters, all of which add up to tremendous resilience in the face of change.
