Even low levels of mercury can harm memory, attention span, language and motor skills. The coastal area from Kittery to Acadia National Park has poor air quality for a significant number of days each year, including enough ground level ozone to cause chest pain and difficulty breathing. Ground level ozone is especially dangerous to children and the elderly and can permanently damage the lungs and cause chronic respiratory problems. Maine wildlife is threatened by a variety of factors. Naturalists have been concerned for years about the decline in the loon population.
New studies indicate that high levels of mercury are affecting the birds ability to reproduce.
We have the only surviving population of Atlantic Salmon in the nation, but its numbers have declined so drastically that it is currently under review for listing as an endangered species under the Federal Endangered Species Act. In another example of being disturbingly out of touch, the Maine Legislature in 1995 took the authority to decide which species are endangered away from scientists and made it a political rather than a biological decision. We can do better to protect and restore our natural resources. Non-governmental groups around the state are playing an important role in advocacy and land preservation. There are currently 73 land trusts across the state, and numerous citizen groups from Friends of the Boundary Mountains to Penobscot Bay Watch, yet their work is only part of the solution.