WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Host: Glen Mittelhauser Producers: Glen Mittelhauser and Daaby Tingle In this episode, Glen continues his conversation with herpetologist Steve Ressel, exploring the remarkable adaptations that allow Spring Peepers to produce their powerful calls night after night. The discussion also examines how female frogs distinguish among dozens of calling males and why some males are far more successful at attracting mates than others. More information about Maine Natural History Observatory can be found on our website at mainenaturalhistory.org/. About the hosts: Glen Mittelhauser founded Maine Natural History Observatory (MNHO) in 2003 to fill the need for an organization that specializes in collecting, interpreting, and maintaining datasets for understanding changes in Maine’s plant and wildlife populations.  Glen received his Bachelor’s in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic in 1989 with a focus in the biological sciences and received his Master of Science degree in Zoology (with a focus on ornithology and statistics) from the University of Maine in 2000. Glen was the Managing Editor for Northeastern Naturalist and Southeastern Naturalist for 18 years and has served as external graduate faculty for 3 graduate student committees at the University of Maine.  Glen currently serves on the Baxter State Park Research Committee. Logan Parker is an Ecologist residing in Waldo County, Maine. Logan started the Maine Nightjar Monitoring Project in 2017 and brought the project (and his passion for bird conservation) to MNHO when he joined the team in 2018. Logan is heavily involved in the ongoing Maine Bird Atlas where he both coordinates and participates in the project’s special species surveys. When “off the clock”, Logan enjoys birding, writing, gardening, and working alongside his wife, Hallee, on their off-grid home in the Maine woods. Logan is also a wildlife photographer and shares photos and field notes through his project, Here In The Wild.

The post Nature Notes: A Maine Naturalist Afield 8/2/26: Maine Frogs with Steve Ressel, Part 3 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Shaina Fraser from Families First in Ellsworth is here today with an invitation to their annual fundraiser and some information about the programs that will benefit Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 7/31/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Ellsworth’s Downtown Summer Concert series The Witherle Memorial Library in Castine invites the public to join Ms Orado for a showing of Disney Pixar’s A Bug’s Life on the library’s big screen tonight. Finding Our Voices will mark their 5th anniversary as a nonprofit Saturday, with Dance Into the Light, a music festival fundraiser at a lavender farm in Appleton Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust’s Monthly Meetup is coming up on Sunday The League of Women Voters of Maine will mark the 61st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on August 8th with a special zoom presentation called Unite & Rise for Voting Rights Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 7/30/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Author Cara Benson on her new book, An Armsfull of Birds: A Personal Field Guide to Love, Loss, and Commitment and her upcoming appearances in Maine, including one at Left Bank Books in Belfast on August 8th, Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 7/29/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Bucksport’s Wednesday on Main The Blueberry Blues film showing/fundraiser for the Wild Blueberry Collective, tonight at the Colonial Theatre in Belfast. Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 7/28/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne ACLU-Maine’s summary of new laws offering protections against ICE – and a petition to urge state officials to fully enforce the laws from day one — which is Wednesday Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 7/27/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Glen Mittelhauser Producers: Glen Mittelhauser and Daaby Tingle Continuing a conversation with herpetologist Steve Ressel, this episode explores the breeding ecology of Maine’s frogs, from the brief, explosive breeding season of Wood Frogs to the territorial calls of Bullfrogs. Steve also describes surprising research showing that female Gray Treefrogs can assess the quality of potential mates simply by listening to their calls. More information about Maine Natural History Observatory can be found on our website at mainenaturalhistory.org/. About the hosts: Glen Mittelhauser founded Maine Natural History Observatory (MNHO) in 2003 to fill the need for an organization that specializes in collecting, interpreting, and maintaining datasets for understanding changes in Maine’s plant and wildlife populations.  Glen received his Bachelor’s in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic in 1989 with a focus in the biological sciences and received his Master of Science degree in Zoology (with a focus on ornithology and statistics) from the University of Maine in 2000. Glen was the Managing Editor for Northeastern Naturalist and Southeastern Naturalist for 18 years and has served as external graduate faculty for 3 graduate student committees at the University of Maine.  Glen currently serves on the Baxter State Park Research Committee. Logan Parker is an Ecologist residing in Waldo County, Maine. Logan started the Maine Nightjar Monitoring Project in 2017 and brought the project (and his passion for bird conservation) to MNHO when he joined the team in 2018. Logan is heavily involved in the ongoing Maine Bird Atlas where he both coordinates and participates in the project’s special species surveys. When “off the clock”, Logan enjoys birding, writing, gardening, and working alongside his wife, Hallee, on their off-grid home in the Maine woods. Logan is also a wildlife photographer and shares photos and field notes through his project, Here In The Wild.

The post Nature Notes: A Maine Naturalist Afield 7/26/26: Maine Frogs with Steve Ressel, Part 2 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Harold Greene, author of The Architects of Control-A Political Thriller, described as “An exhilarating tale of political intrigue and corruption set against the backdrop of rural Maine.” A coalition of groups including supports of the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine plan to rally at West Market Square in downtown Bangor Saturday morning at 11, then march to the Cross Center where Maine Democrats will be deciding on a Senate candidate, to urge them to select a candidate who will oppose funding endless wars and focus on addressing issues in the US Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 7/24/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Art Under the Elms – Castine Points North, the nonprofit organization behind the Camden International Film Festival will show the 2nd offering in their summer film series tonight at the Strand, followed by a community discussion. Time and Water (2026) is directed by Oscar-nominee, Sara Dosa – Rockland The Castine Historical Society is offering self-guided House & Garden Tours tomorrow Native Gardens of Blue Hill’s annual open garden day is coming up this Saturday. Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 7/23/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Revolutionary Belfast! Brenda Harrington and Stephanie Holman from the Belfast Free Library are here with news of upcoming events marking the Semiquincentennial, including viewing sessions for a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence for a limited time. Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 7/22/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.