BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2024
I live on a lake. I have summer guests. They love the loons calling at night. All night. Sometimes the loons won’t shut up. I know I should be grateful. A lot of tourists long for this experience. In fact, Mainers should be universally proud of their loons. The population has nearly doubled over the southern half of the state. Half of Maine’s loon population had disappeared. Threats contributed to the decline: lakeshore development, harassment by watercraft, boat wakes, poisoning by ingesting lead sinkers. Today, not only has harassment decreased, but people are more eager to report violators. Maine has phased out the smaller lead sinkers. Anglers are more careful when discarding spent fishing line. However, some threats have increased: bald eagle and snapping turtle predation, the illegal introduction of non-native fish. Maine is doing its part to restore the species, so I guess I’ll have to live with occasionally interrupted sleep. ~ Bob Duchesne