A presentation entitled “Ocean Acidification and Midcoast Maine Estuaries” is being offered Thursday, Jan. 14 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.at the Damariscotta River Association’s Round Top Farm at 3 Round Top Lane, Damariscotta. The presentation is the result of an on-going partnership between the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center and an alliance of local water monitoring organizations called the Maine Coastal Observing Alliance (MCOA).

MCOA is a collaboration among volunteer supported organizations and researchers along the coast of Maine. The Alliance promotes the common interests of groups actively involved in monitoring Maine's estuaries and coastal watersheds in order to understand and promote the ecological health of these systems. MCOA partners are Boothbay Regional Land Trust, Damariscotta River Association, Friends of Casco Bay, Georges River Land Trust, Hurricane Island Foundation, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, Medomak Valley Land Trust, Rockport Conservation Commission and Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association (now Midcoast Conservancy).

Estuaries are places where salt and fresh water meet and mix. Land-based activities can strongly affect water bodies such as estuaries. It is crucial to understand the health of local estuaries, which impacts the wildlife that lives in and migrates through the region, local communities, visitors, and a wide variety of marine-based businesses.

Sarah Gladu, DRA Director of Education and Environmental Monitoring and MCOA chair, will outline recent volunteer monitoring efforts and goals for the future. Dr. Larry Mayer and Kathleen Thornton, scientists at the University of Maine’s School for Marine Sciences at the Darling Marine Center, will discuss data collected. They will show how waters are sampled and tested, and also interpret the meaning of these data for the community.

Located in Walpole on the eastern shore of the Damariscotta River estuary, the Darling Marine Center is the marine research and educational facility serving the University of Maine, the local community and researchers from around the world. Gladu emphasizes that the technical expertise and capacity provided by the staff of the Darling Marine Center has been, and continues to be, a tremendous resource to MCOA and the partnering organizations.

The program is free of charge though registration is recommended. The snow date is Friday, Jan. 15. For more information or to register call 207-563-1393, or email dra@damariscottariver.org. To learn more about MCOA and view the recent MCOA report, visit www.damariscottariver.org.