LIVERMORE FALLS – The Maine Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America held an open house on April 24.

The event allowed members of the organization and the public an opportunity to tour the chapter’s new office headquarters and to encourage volunteers to sign up during Earth Day Week for the statewide organization’s many conservation projects.

Leading a discussion on outdoor ethics, Robert Kimber, a well-known Maine author and conservationist, spoke to those attending. Kimber asked how people decide, as concerned conservationists, what acceptable parameters might be for ethics in the outdoors that recreationists could function within.

He also pointed out that in any discussion of ethics, a safe atmosphere where “courteous discourse” can take place should always be encouraged so that people can listen and respond to each other’s opinions without concern for reprisal.

Taking the cue, a group discussion regarding the upcoming bear referendum followed Kimber’s address.

Both sides of the controversial issue were represented by participants as well as more mainstream thoughts on where hunting in Maine stands in general.

Concluding the event was a hands-on demonstration of the Department of Environmental Protection’s watershed model representing a typical town in Maine.

Providing information to local residents about how watersheds function will be a focus of the Maine chapter in the tri-town communities of Jay, Livermore Falls and Livermore.

The objective is to encourage beneficial behaviors within local residencies and area businesses to reduce nutrient or other pollution in the Androscoggin River watershed.

A realistic diorama of the Androscoggin River and its associated communities from Canton through Turner is being constructed by members of the Maine Chapter.

For more information about the Maine Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, contact Debi Davidson, president, P.O. Box 103, Livermore Falls, ME 04254, 897-6295.

Copy the Story Link