Swamp Stomp
Volume 18 Issue 32
Forty-five years ago, Stephen Kress had a goal: restore Atlantic puffins to the Gulf of Maine. While many believed that nature should be left to “take its course,” Kress devoted his life to making this goal a reality. Through the creation of the National Audubon Society’s Project Puffin, Kress was able to restore more than 1000 nesting pairs to three Maine islands and earn the title, “The Puffin Man.”
Island stewards, also called “Puffineers,” are the backbone of Project Puffin. These interns live on Eastern Egg Rock, one of the Maine islands where puffins have been restored. During the breeding season, they record details on the puffins and their behaviors. The island stewards live minimally during the 10 weeks from June to August in tents, with food and water brought to the island every two weeks. Their work has been critical to not only re-establishing Atlantic puffins to their former nesting places but also in providing data on climate change. The warming Gulf of Maine, which has warmed faster than any place on Earth except for an area northeast of Japan, has caused a change in the diets of puffins. For instance, haddock was never part of puffins’ diets prior to 2010. But in 2017, haddock made up 14% of puffin chicks’ diets on Seal Rock and 6% of their diets on Eastern Egg Rock. The warmer water has caused fish like haddock to move from their more southern environments to northern environments like the Gulf of Maine. Not only does this affect the diets of puffins, but it affects the prior and current ecosystems of the haddock. More haddock in the Gulf of Maine means more competition for the fish that already live there, which could be a serious problem for these fish populations. Moreover, the data that has been amassed over four decades on this by these island stewards is instrumental in understanding the effects of climate change.
Project Puffin is so much more than data, however, to the interns that work on Eastern Egg Rock. Project Puffin has not only given Atlantic puffin populations a second chance, but it has also opened up opportunities that have shaped the lives of the interns involved. Kevin Bell helped bring puffins from Newfoundland to Eastern Egg Rock in 1975, and today he is the CEO of Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. Nicole Faber, who has been working on Eastern Egg Rock for three summers says, “It’s incredible to live at the pace of another species. We’re following the birds and what they do. It’s not something you normally do in life. There are so many things we are shut off from, but we have to respond to the birds. It’s a good thing. You have to be OK sitting with yourself in your own brain.”
In more ways than one, Project Puffin is a story of success. Stephen Kress reinvented the future of the Atlantic puffin whilst furthering the passion so many have for protecting our planet.
Sources:
Fleming, Deirdre. “Atlantic puffin colony soars again, but only with the help of some humans.” Portland Press Herald. Portland Press Herald. July 22, 2018. Web. August 1, 2018.
“Project Puffin Story.” Audubon. Audubon Project Puffin. N.d. Web. August 1, 2018.