The February edition of Portland’s Sustainability Series will feature Conservation Scientist for The Nature Conservancy in Maine, Molly Payne Wynne. Her presentation, Restoring Great Rivers: Amazing Work in Maine and Around the World, will take place in the Rines Auditorium.

Maine’s rivers are experiencing an incredible comeback. In 2009, only 2,331 sea-run fish were counted migrating up the Penobscot River and its tributaries. Thanks to a remarkable project to remove barriers and reconnect spawning habitat to the sea, in the spring of 2018, the count had exploded to 2.8 million fish!

Sadly, in many places throughout the world where people depend on river fisheries to provide food, threats to migrating fish and their spawning habitat are increasing. But a global effort is underway to connect people to their rivers and the natural phenomenon of mass fish migrations—World Fish Migration Day.

Join us for a look at how this growing event inspires people on every continent to celebrate free-flowing rivers, the fish that live in them, and the communities that depend on both.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – view event flyer

About the Speaker: Molly Payne Wynne, Conservation Scientist for The Nature Conservancy in Maine, , oversees studies that expand our understanding of migratory fish in Maine and scientifically documents the impacts that restoration work is having on these fish, other wildlife, and the ecosystem. She coordinates ecological monitoring of the Penobscot River Restoration Project, manages collection of road-stream crossing data, and conducts a myriad of public outreach, education, and citizen science efforts including organizing and garnering support of World Fish Migration Day. Molly earned her Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and her Master of Science at the University of Southern Maine where she studied the microchemistry of fish ear-bones.

The Portland’s Sustainability Series is co-hosted by the Portland Public Library and the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative. Sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes through time. The Portland Sustainability Series presents a diversity of speakers to share different aspects of the work moving Maine to greater endurance and sustainability.