Natural Resources and ME

Overview

The Natural Resources and ME watershed experience familiarizes 5^th and 6^th grade students with the natural resources within their community and state, and with the natural resource products they use everyday. Students gain an understanding of renewable and non-renewable resources, how they rely on and can impact a healthy watershed, and how science plays a key role in the management of these resources.

Students perform scientific investigations that explore issues facing Maine’s natural resources.

• Option A: For students who have participated or will participate in GMRI’s LabVenture! Lobster: Untold Tales program, the Maine Lobster Industry Case Study provides them with the opportunity to prepare for or reflect on this program. This case study also provides students and teachers with the experience of conducting a scientific investigation.
• Option B: Students are challenged to explore a natural resource issue within their watershed community that is of interest to them. Students and teachers are given guidance in identifying, planning for, and conducting a scientific investigation about a local natural resource issue.

Following their investigations, students design a project that will raise awareness of the natural resource issue they studied within their community. Getting outdoors, doing hands-on activities, being inquisitive, connecting with community, and taking ownership of the learning process are all key components of this watershed experience.

Activities in this Watershed Experience:

1. Maine: A Natural Resource Rich State
2. Finding Balance
3. Be a Watershed
4. My Paddle to the Sea
5. Headline: Resources and Us
6. Idea Fishbowl
7. Lobster Farming
8. Predator vs. Prey
9. Through the Eyes (of a Lobsterman)
10. That’s Why
11. Natural Resources in Your Watershed
12. Raising Awareness: Maine’s Natural Resources

Inquiry Level

Activities in this watershed experience are written at the 5^th-6^th grade level using Structured Inquiry methods. Option B of the investigation and the student action activity are written with Open Inquiry and provide guidance for teachers to implement these activities with students.

Overview of Standards

Issue

Problem Statement

The Pine Tree State, Blueberry Capital, Vacationland, and the Lobster State; these are all titles by which Maine is known. Our culture and economy are strongly linked to natural resources. Natural resource use through forestry, agriculture, fishing, and recreation can have a direct impact on the health of the surrounding environment and watershed. Scientists work closely with natural resource managers and resource users to inform decisions about natural resource use while maintaining the health of Maine’s environment and watersheds.

Background Information

What is a natural resource?

Natural resources occur within the environment. Many resources are essential for our survival, while others are used for satisfying our wants. The availability of these resources can be driven by the demand for their consumption.

• Inexhaustible Resource: continuously available and its quantity is not affected by human consumption (sunlight, wind, air, etc.)
• Renewable Resource: can be replaced by natural process at a rate comparable to or faster than its rate of consumption by humans if appropriate management measures are in place (timber, fish, fresh water, deer, etc.)
• Non-Renewable Resource: cannot be produced, grown, generated, or used on a scale that can sustain its consumption rate (e.g. fossil fuels, mined materials, etc.)

Farmed products on land or in the sea are considered man-made resources even though they use natural resources such as water, land, and nutrients. This is because they are purposefully produced, grown, and managed by people. For example, there wouldn’t be acres of naturally occurring potato fields in Maine, or fields filled with dairy cows.

What are some of Maine’s natural resources?

Lobsters

You can find Maine Lobster on menus worldwide. In 2010, the Maine Department of Marine Resources reported there were over 5,000 lobster licenses in the state of Maine resulting in more than 85 million pounds of lobsters being caught (valued at more than $300 million). This same year lobster catches accounted for 37% of all marine commercial landings by weight in Maine and 69% of landings by value. The Gulf of Maine provides an ideal habitat for Maine Lobsters and supports a unique resource for our state.

Wildlife

Fish and wildlife play an important role in the lives of Maine people. Healthy land, forest, freshwater, and ocean habitats are rich in biodiversity and provide an aesthetic that defines a way of life for Maine residents while drawing many visitors to the state. However, fish and wildlife provide more than a source of enjoyment and recreation. According to the Maine Bureau of Land and Water Quality, over one billion dollars of annual economic output in Maine can be attributed to hunting and fishing. Maine’s quality of life and its economy are strongly influenced by the diversity and abundance of fish and wildlife that inhabit our state.

Forests

Over 17 million acres, roughly 90% of Maine’s land, is forested. Forests and the forest products industry (paper, timber, toothpicks, etc.) define Maine. They are a significant part of what creates Maine’s character, cultural history, and special quality of place. The Great Maine Forest Initiative works to maintain Maine’s forest resources for both environmental and economic reasons.

Water

Maine has 5,500 miles of coastline, an average annual rainfall of 42 inches (imagine if that was snow…35 feet!), 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, 6,000 lakes and ponds, wetlands that cover ¼ of the state, and the highest tides in the United States. Maine’s water resources provide for many uses including habitat for wildlife, water for crops, and gorgeous lakes and coastline for tourism. New Englanders use 0.6 billion gallons of water each day, but have 78.4 billion gallons are available daily for renewable use.

Wind

Wind is one of the few inexhaustible resources that Mainers are able to harvest. Using wind to produce clean, renewable energy decreases demand on non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels. Wind power has no emissions and is readily available in Maine on land and off shore. Although wind power has its obvious advantages, natural resources impacted by wind turbine sites (such as forests, birds, bats, ocean waters, and fish) do need to be considered. The potential for generating wind power both on and off-shore in Maine is great, with many projects in various stages of development.

Agriculture

Although agricultural products such as milk, apples, and potatoes are considered to be man-made resources, they rely on the availability and use of healthy natural resources such as soil, plants, and water for production. Creating responsible agricultural practices such as proper nutrient management and composting is of great importance to farmers. Land use also directly impacts natural habitats and natural resource availability.

What role do healthy water resources and a healthy watershed play with regard to Maine’s natural resources?

From the mountains to the Gulf of Maine, each natural resource is a part of the larger Gulf of Maine watershed. Use of natural resources, whether through agriculture, the forest products industry, fishing, or recreation, can have an impact on the quality of watershed health. These impacts are compounded as you near the ocean, having the greatest affect on natural resources in coastal communities. This requires responsible management of natural resource use to ensure minimal to no negative impact on watershed health, ensuring the availability of healthy water resources for all.

What role does science play in the management and use of natural resources?

Public pressure to resolve complex issues around natural resource use, such as environmental health, energy use, and sustainable products has resulted in policymakers and industry professionals seeking better knowledge on which to base their decisions. As a result, scientists have become more actively engaged in the creation and evaluation of policy. Natural resource management can be controversial, and diverse stakeholders often represent polarized perspectives. As policymakers create broad policy and specific programs in keeping with changing and often conflicting societal values and demands, there is a growing recognition that a knowledge base to make informed decisions is required. With the high stakes surrounding resource decisions (locally, regionally, nationally, globally), more stakeholders are calling for scientific scrutiny and involvement in making important resource allocation and management decisions.

-Integrating Science and Policy in Natural Resource Management

In Maine, science plays an important role in the management of our natural resources. For example: Scientists work closely with fishermen and policy makers to move toward and maintain sustainable commercial fisheries; Scientists provide farmers with information they need to safely use pesticides for pest management and to grow healthy crops; Scientists work with communities to monitor lakes for invasive species, and when necessary, create and implement plans to re-claim lakes overcome by invasive species; Scientists work closely with natural resource managers and industry users to provide them with the information to make sound resource use and management decisions that maintain the health of Maine’s environment and watershed.

Introduction

1. What is a natural resource? What natural resources are in Maine?

Create a working definition of a natural resource in Maine: A Natural Resource Rich State. Through outdoor exploration, individual reflection, and online research, compile a complete list of Maine’s natural resources.

2. What is the difference between a renewable and a non-renewable resource?

Play Finding Balance to discover the difference between a renewable and non-renewable resource.

3. How are Maine’s natural resources dependent upon a healthy watershed?

Create a working watershed model in Be a Watershed. Consider the different natural resources throughout the state. How they are used, and how do they rely on Maine’s watershed resources?

Imagine your paddle to the sea in My Paddle to the Sea as you read this classic children’s book and write about your own journey as you explore your watershed and its natural resources using Google Earth.

4. How do resources interact with each other? What issues are impacting natural resources?

Explore natural resource interactions and some of the issues they face by reading and reflecting on news articles in Headline: Resources and Us. Check out your own local papers to see what natural resource news is featured today!

Investigation

There are 3 different options that you have for scientific investigation within this watershed experience. Here are some things to consider as you decide which investigation option is best for you and your students:

• Do you want to give your students an experience investigating a local natural resource before tackling one of their choice? Start with Option A (structured inquiry).
• Would you like to provide your students with the opportunity to reflect upon or prepare for their LabVenture! Lobster: Untold Tales experience? Start with Option A (structured inquiry).
• During the introductory activities, did your students show particular interest in any local resources and the issues they face? Start with Option B (open inquiry).
• Are you or your students not quite ready to tackle an open inquiry investigation? Start with Option A (structured inquiry). This will provide experience and an investigation model before tackling Option B (open inquiry).
• Do you want to do both? Choose Option C, you can choose the order that makes the most sense for you and your students.

Option A: Maine Lobster Industry Case Study

**For students who have participated or will participate in LabVenture! Lobster: Untold Tales, this investigation will give students the opportunity to Dive Deeper into the question scientists are asking about Maine Lobsters, “Why are there so many?” LabVenture! Lobster: Untold Tales explores some of these reasons, and this investigation will explore some additional reasons. Students may refer to their personal websites throughout these activities to inform their investigation.

**For students who have not participated nor will participate in LabVenture! Lobster: Untold Tales, no worries! This investigation guides them through some of the major ideas scientists have explored to answer the question, “Why are there so many lobsters in the Gulf of Maine?”

Issue: NOAA Scientists have stated:

The Gulf of Maine lobster stock has shown an increase in abundance over the last 10 – 15 years. The response of the fishery has been an equal or greater increase in effort, including expansion into areas with previous low or no exploitation. There continues to be an excess of effort. This high effort is concurrent with high stock abundance, and is not likely to be supportable if abundance returns to median levels.

In other words, scientists have determined that there are lots of lobsters in the Gulf of Maine, the population is higher than ever before! But so are the numbers of lobstermen and traps. If the lobster population starts to decline, then there may be a negative impact on the lobster fishery and the many Maine communities that depend on lobstering. Lobstermen, policy makers, and scientists have a vested interest in understanding the following question:

Question: Why are there so many Lobsters in the Gulf of Maine?

Hypothesis: Students form a hypothesis for their investigation in Idea Fishbowl and create an Evidence Wall where they will post evidence they collect throughout their investigation.

Investigation: Scientists have considered many possibilities that may be contributing to the increased lobster population in the Gulf of Maine today (2011). Knowing what has caused this population increase will help lobstermen and policy makers to make decisions that will maintain current lobster populations and to prepare for a decline in population if that occurs. Tackle the scientific investigations below to discover some of the factors influencing lobster populations.

• Even though there is more lobstering going on today than there was a few years ago, the lobster population is still increasing. Explore the potential benefits the lobstering industry may have on the lobster population in Lobster Farming .
• Fishing for one species doesn’t just impact that species; it affects other species that are connected to it through the Gulf of Maine food web as well. Consider the impacts of the cod fishery on lobster populations in Predator vs. Prey.
• Maine Lobstermen take pride in their work and have played an important role in developing management strategies that have contributed to making the lobstering industry sustainable. Experience lobstering Through the Eyes (of a Lobsterman).

Conclusion: Students piece together the puzzle in That’s Why as they use evidence gathered throughout this investigation to answer why there are so many lobsters in the Gulf of Maine.

Option B: What issues are natural resources within your watershed facing? What questions are scientists asking?

Are you curious about how potato farmers deal with pests? Have you ever wondered how invasive species get here in the first place? Want to know how you can reduce water pollution in your schoolyard? Create your own Natural Resource Investigation. Natural Resources in Your Watershed guides you through designing, developing, and doing an investigation and is modeled on Option A.

Option C: Do both!

The order in which you approach them is your choice, but note that option A builds off of the LabVenture! Lobster: Untold Tales experience and uses a structured inquiry approach. Option B uses open inquiry. Students may need the experience of Option A to be more successful with Option B.

Student Action

How can I raise awareness of this natural resource within my community?

Are you proud of the natural resources in your community, in Maine? Develop a campaign in Raising Awareness: Maine’s Natural Resources that will raise awareness of local natural resources within your community through a public service announcement, brochure, inspiring art, or a project of your choice.

NOAA and other resources

NOAA: National Marine Fisheries Service

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/amer_lobster.htm

Integrating Science and Policy in Natural Resource Management

www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr_441.pdf

Maine Department of Marine Resources

http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/lobster/

Maine Bureau of Land and Water Quality

http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/docstand/nrpa/birdhabitat/background_wf/importance.htm

The Great Maine Forest Initiative

http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/mfs/gmf/index.htm

USGS

http://water.usgs.gov/watuse/misc/consuse-renewable.html

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resource

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Maine