DOWN EAST magazine • April 2023
Atlantic puffins in Maine represent a globally recognized victory in wildlife conservation — and they offer a poignant warning about climate change in New England. They were nearly lost to 19th-century hunters after their meat and eggs. By 1902, Maine’s last pair clung to existence on Matinicus Rock, 18 miles off the midcoast. In 1973, biologist Steve Kress and National Audubon launched Project Puffin, an effort to reestablish the bird. It was the world’s first restoration of a seabird to an island where humans had killed it off. The 50th anniversary of Project Puffin finds the Gulf of Maine one of the planet’s fastest-warming ocean bodies, causing disruptions to food webs that put even highly adaptable puffins at risk. In the summer of 2021, extreme rain and heat events brought massive breeding failure to Maine’s colonies. Last summer, calmer conditions led to a rebound in puffin chicks. That rebound “symbolizes that we are not yet at the point of no return,” Petit Manan supervisor Hallie Daly said.