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P. O. Box 55 - Bass Harbor, Maine 04653 info@vfthomas.com |
All of the material posted on this website is for the free use of anyone who wishes to use it, with the requirement that no one using this material will ever charge anyone for access to it, either online or in print or in any other form. |
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CHAMPLAIN PROJECT A record of the natural history of Mount Desert Island and the immediately adjacent ocean. I envision the creation of a nonprofit organization, perhaps called the Mount Desert Island Natural History Society, that will be the natural history equivalent of the island’s historical societies. The new society would, among other things, (1) have its own website, (2) maintain/update the Champlain Project data, (3) develop a newsletter, (4) provide scholarships to help students and adults attend various natural history camps and programs, (5) create displays for libraries, schools, and other interested groups, and (6) create and/or support natural history collections. Until such an organization is created, I will continue to host and update the Champlain Project. You may click on the link above for an overview of the whole project or on one of the links below to explore a specific topic. checklists | online plant identification guide | mysteries | organizations and other resources SLOW(?) DESTRUCTION OF MOUNT DESERT ISLAND The page linked to by clicking here will give you a less than rosy picture of what can unfortunately be found on Mount Desert Island without looking very far. BOTANICAL LATIN Here you will find a botanical Latin glossary of words used in Latin descriptions and diagnoses of new species of plants, as well as a list of links to translations of Latin descriptions and diagnoses. |
MAINE CULTURAL HISTORY PROJECT Information about Maine’s cultural history that will be of use to casual visitors to the state as well as to serious researchers and students of history. You may click on the link above for an overview of the whole project or on one of the links below to explore a specific topic. My favorite of the following projects is the one about cemeteries. However, driving to these cemeteries and driving from a prominent place in each town to these cemeteries during the process of preparing directions to each one is costly, both in money and in the effect on the environment from the automobile exhaust created. Therefore, only when I have to travel somewhere or when someone sends me locations/directions for posting will I add to the cemeteries web pages. cemeteries | census records | cottages | deeds | genealogy | markers, monuments, and memorials | postal history | tours | town histories | town records MOUNT DESERT ISLAND MYSTERIES On Mount Desert Island, some early trails have been discontinued, and early roads have been overlaid with newer ones. There are cellar holes and foundations, as well as iron rods and stone posts that presumably mark(ed) property boundaries. This page serves as a clearing house for questions about the significance of a feature found and about the location of features that have not been found, although they are shown on early maps or in older guidebooks. CANTON CULTURAL HISTORY Canton, Maine, will celebrate its 200th anniversary as a town in 2021. In preparation for that event, the web page linked to here includes dates of important events in Canton’s history as well as information about Canton’s cemeteries; census records; markers, monuments, and memorials; postal history; and deeds. More will be added as it becomes available. |
Here are some websites that I think are worthy of your attention. Wilder Waters Community - a nonprofit in Canton, Maine, which is (1) conserving the surrounding forests and water for honorable, truly sustainable use based on ancestral practices; (2) protecting the land from destructive, unsustainable use and providing healthy, productive land for future generations; and (3) maintaining land where a rewilding community can flourish and sharing the model with new or already existing communities elsewhere through educational events, social media, and various other outlets. Delta Institute of Natural History - a school for small group instruction on a diversity of natural history topics, with focus on plant taxonomy and primitive technologies. |