Wind Energy and Right Whales

Mark Dittrick, Founding Conservation Chair
of the Atlantic Canada Chapter of Sierra Club Canada 

Wind Energy and Right Whales‏


Camden/Rockport, Maine - Sierra Club cetacean specialist Mark Dittrick will lead a presentation on the effects of off-shore wind energy on right whales at Merryspring Nature Center on Tuesday, June 12 at 12:00 pm.

The North Atlantic right whale is one of several whale species native to the Gulf of Maine. Once abundant in our oceans, the North Atlantic right whale is now endangered due to a long history of whaling, and new threats continue to arise. In addition to the perils of fishing nets and ship strikes, off-shore wind energy may be potentially harmful to North Atlantic right whale populations as well. Mark Dittrick will outline the effects of off-shore wind turbines on right whales and how these noble leviathans can be protected.

Mark Dittrick is the Founding Conservation Chair of the Atlantic Canada Chapter of Sierra Club Canada. He serves as spokesman for North Atlantic Right Whale Bi-national Early Alert Coastal Network (BEACON), a Sierra Club initiative that monitors Atlantic coastal development for potential threats to right whales in the United States and Canada.  Dittrick is also a member of the Education Committee of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium and the editorial board of Right Whale News.  In recent years his main focus has been monitoring plans for offshore renewable energy development in the Gulf of Maine and elsewhere.

This presentation is part of the Spring Talk Series at Merryspring, which is being sponsored by The First (www.the1st.com).

Admission to the Tuesday Talks is free to Merryspring members and children, with a nominal $5 fee for non-members.

Merryspring is a member-supported, non-profit nature education center and park located at the end of Conway Road just off Rt. 1 by the Hannaford shopping plaza in Camden. For more information, call Merryspring at 236-2239