DOWN EAST NOTES

Maine Public Broadcasting - Mainers can now recreate on a vast tract of land that stretches from Moosehead Lake to Baxter State Park. The Appalachian Mountain Club announced that it's purchased the 29,500 acre Roach Ponds tract, the missing link in a 63-mile-long corridor of conservation land between the lake and park. The acquisition creates a parcel of nearly 600,000 contiguous acres open to public recreation use. The club has donated a conservation easement on Roach Ponds property to the state. . . In addition, The Nature Conservancy is acquiring 15,000 acres in western Maine's Moose River Reserve, a popular remote paddling route.

Natural Resources Council - Mainers use and dispose of more than 700 million shopping bags a year. That's more than two million bags thrown away every single day.

Maine Business - A coalition of business leaders, grocery and retail associations, government officials, and environmental advocates will announce their campaign to encourage increased reusable bag use with the launch of Got Your Bags, Maine? The campaign is a public education and outreach effort aimed at encouraging Mainers to increase the usage of reusable bags for shopping and decrease the use of single use paper and plastic bags.

Which sounds good except it doesn't deal with the real problem: how does one remember to take the bags into the store? Bow Street Market in Freeport has reminders in the parking lot which helps, but there are still a lot of ecologically conscious but mnemonically impaired folk out there.