Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2002ME4B

FY 2002 MAINE WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE Information Transfer

Institute: Maine
Year Established: 2002 Start Date: 2002-03-01 End Date: 2003-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $17,887 Total Non-Federal Funds: $45,900

Principal Investigators: John Peckenham, Steve Kahl

Project Summary: One goal of the Mitchell Center is to foster increased cooperation and communication between the academic community, state agencies, environmental organizations, and private companies. The Mitchell Center is a vehicle for the State of Maine to access the substantial technical abilities of the University of Maine on issues of water resources. Information transfer is an important role in this mission. Using part-time staff and non-federal funding, the Center will continue to disseminate research results, organize meetings, participate in statewide forums, serve on committees dealing with water resource issues, work with teachers and conduct special projects. Part of the Centers mission is to be responsive to changing needs in the water resource community in Maine. Specific activities and plans may shift as new opportunities or needs arise. Therefore, Information Transfer activities are expected to include, but not be limited to: 1) Publication of a re-vamped newsletter Waterlines on a semi-quarterly schedule. The new version will be a one-page color 'headline' version of the full newsletter to be published on the internet. The full version will be sent to email subscribers. The intent is to reduce costs while increasing circulation and increasing the scope of coverage of water issues in Maine. 2) Conducting the ninth annual Maine Water Conference in Augusta. 3) Administration of Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), including several teacher workshops per year. Testing the Waters won the 1999 Governor's award for Environmental Excellence. 4) Ongoing development work for the Maine Lakes Database, a compendium of information on over 1,000 Maine lakes to be available on Internet through the University of Maine library catalog system. This is a collaborative effort with Maine DEP, the Volunteer Monitoring Program, and the Maine Lakes Conservancy Institute. 5) Participating in the Children's Water Festival, a day-long event for over 800 4th and 5th graders. 6) Develop and coordinate watershed educational activities for on-the-river learning projects with the Penobscot River and Bay Institute. 7) Establishment of a Water Resources concentration in the Environmental Engineering graduate program at the University of Maine. This new concentration complements the one established in 1999 in the Ecology and Environmental Sciences graduate program, which attracted 8 students in its first semester. The Water Resources option was added to the Geology graduate curriculum in 2000.