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Maine Field Office
Environmental Contaminants Program
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Recent Work and Upcoming Projects

Recent Work

Off-Refuge Study (Liver Contaminants in Bald Eagle Carcasses from Maine):  Over the last three decades, the Maine bald eagle population has grown substantially.  Over time these birds die from natural or other causes, and carcasses are recovered whenever possible.  Since 2006, fifty livers have been extracted from bald eagle carcasses and submitted for contaminant analysis.  Many of these birds were banded shortly after birth and provide valuable information on contaminant burdens in known-age birds.  Preliminary results indicate that mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls accumulate to very high levels in some birds.  The final round of liver extractions for the study was completed in February 2008 and a final report should be completed by 2010.  Collaborators in the project include the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Penobscot Indian Nation, FPL Energy Maine Hydro, and the BioDiversity Research Institute.  

Image: Bald Eagle nestling (USFWS Photo)
 

Image: Raccoon (Photo by B. Wells)

 

 

On-Refuge Study (Organochlorines in Raccoons at Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge):  Aroostook NWR in northeast Maine was established following the closure of Loring Air Force Base.  The former military base is a Superfund site that has undergone extensive investigation and remediation.  Although a large-scale cleanup and restoration was completed in the floodplain of the East Branch of Greenlaw Brook, pockets of organochlorine contamination may still exist.   

In collaboration with the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, we have been extracting abdominal fat samples from trapper-collected carcasses on the refuge and from reference areas to determine organochlorine levels.  If elevated organochlorine levels are found on animals from the refuge, additional cleanup in the brook may be warranted.

Inter-agency Agreement Study (Contaminants in Atlantic Sturgeon and Shortnose Sturgeon):  The Maine Field Office is collaborating with NOAA Fisheries to assess contaminant exposure in sturgeon.  Muscle, gonad, and liver tissue were extracted from dead Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon recovered along the eastern seaboard.  These tissues have been analyzed to determine levels of organochlorine compounds (e.g., PCBs, DDE) and trace elements (e.g., mercury, lead).  To date, we have processed wild fish recovered from Cape Cod and  the Penobscot River, and also hatchery-reared sturgeon from a USFWS hatchery in South Carolina.
 
Image: Atlantic sturgeon (Photo by S. Mierzykowski, USFWS)

 
On-Refuge Study (GOMSCAN):  The Service is co-investigator with the BioDiversity Research Institute, National Audubon Society, and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in the Gulf of Maine Seabird Contaminant Assessment Network (GOMSCAN).  Non-viable eggs along with blood and feather samples from several species (e.g., common tern, common eider, Atlantic puffin, black guillemot, double-crested cormorant, herring gull) are examined for a variety of contaminants. 

 

Image: Oiled Piping Plover (Photo by S. Mierzykowski, USFWS)

Spill Response:  The Maine Field office is working with biologists from the Canadian Wildlife Service and  Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to develop wildlife response protocols for cross-border spills.  

Upcoming Projects

On-Refuge Study (Endocrine Disruption in Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass from Region 5 National Wildlife Refuges):  Following in the footsteps of a successful investigation of endocrine disruption on the Potomac River, Region 5 of the USFWS has developed a region-wide study to examine endocrine disruption in bass.  In Maine, smallmouth bass were collected from the St. Croix River near Moosehorn NWR in September 2008 and will be collected from the Penobscot River near Sunkhaze Meadows NWR in 2009.  Plasma will be examined for sex steroids and vitellogenin, and gonads will be examined for sexual maturing and abnormalities.

Image: FWS Biologist with largemouth bass

Image: Small arms range at Moosehorn NWR

 

Refuge Cleanup (Small Arms Range at Moosehorn NWR):  A site assessment was conducted in November 2005 at a former small arms firing range along Youngs Road in the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge's Baring Division.  Surficial soils, soil cores, surface water, and sediment were collected and analyzed for lead content.  Contract oversight was provided by staff from Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Ecological Services - Maine Field Office, and the Region 5 Engineering Branch.  The nature and extent of lead contamination in the berm, firing line, and nearby drainages was determined and approximately 50 cubic yards of Pb-contaminated soil from the berm was deemed hazardous and slated for removal.  In September and October 2008, approximately 100 tons of Pb-contaminated soil was excavated and transported to a licensed hazardous waste facility in New York.     

 


CAP (Contaminant Assessment Process):  CAPs are retrospective analyses of potential contaminant issues at National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs).  The Maine Field Office is working with refuge staff to complete CAP reports or updates for six divisions of Rachel Carson NWR in Kennebunk and four islands that are part of the Maine Coastal Islands NWR.   
 

Superfund Technical Assistance (Callahan Mine):  In 2008, the Service provided technical assistance to the Environmental Protection Agency and Maine Department of Environmental Protection in the review of the baseline ecological risk assessment for this former mine site in Brooksville.  Additional technical support will be provided in 2009 during the development of the Feasibility Study.

 

Image: Goose Pond beside Callahan Mine NPL Site (Photo by S. Mierzykowski)

 

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