While less heralded than its national park system, the United States abounds in waterfront treasures that are part of the national seashore and lakeshore program. The latest TipSheet takes you on a guided tour of more than a dozen, from barrier islands and dunes to tidepools and turtles. Plus, a half-dozen reporting ideas for your own region.
"Blue Hill is the nation’s oldest continually operating weather observatory, according to executive director Alex Evans. Since 1885, staff and volunteers have relied on many of the same instruments, including mercury and alcohol thermometers, hygrometers that use human hair to measure moisture in the air, and that glass sphere on the roof tracking the hours of bright sunshine."
"When Ann McDonald went kayaking several weeks after a 2024 rainstorm, she thought the water in the Alewife Brook just outside Boston was safe. Even though sewage discharges into the brook during heavy storms, public health officials recommended waiting just 48 hours after rain for bacteria levels to drop — so when McDonald’s kayak got stuck in debris, she wasn’t concerned about dipping her arms into the water to free herself. Later that afternoon, she fell sick with diarrhea."
"Nearly four dozen water systems that provide drinking water across Maine would be at risk of violating new limits on “forever chemicals” if the state began enforcing updated rules on the toxic substances today, showing how much work they have left to do to meet new requirements."
"Top White House officials on Tuesday celebrated the start of construction on a controversial gas pipeline in Brooklyn that is backed by both Gov. Kathy Hochul and President Donald Trump."
"During his New York City mayoral campaign, Zohran Mamdani courted votes from environmentalists. He promised to expand green spaces in public schools and equip them with renewable energy, to meet the demands of the city’s building electrification laws and to increase investments in city parks."
"The Trump administration has announced it will keep flying a rainbow Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument in New York City, according to Associated Press. The announcement was made as the administration agrees to settle a lawsuit filed by LGBTQ+ and historic preservation groups seeking to block the flag’s removal, which occurred in February."
"Work to get lead out of Garden State homes has surged in recent years, fueled by an influx of federal pandemic relief money and urgency from Newark’s drinking water crisis. But it’s been years since Newark largely dealt with its water problems, with the subsequent calm taking attention away from lead issues."
"A long-term project to remove or modify dams may clear the way for endangered wild Atlantic salmon to swim freely up to the Sandy River. But it faces opposition from business and lawmakers."
"It’s been a decade since farmers began to learn that contamination from PFAS unknowingly spread across their property could devastate their lives and livelihoods, but Maine is showing it’s possible to keep farms going despite the problems caused by the “forever chemicals.”
