Outreach and Education
Bowdoin College students in Professor Ed Laine's Geology class completed their service-learning project for TLC. Students Brendan Dickinson, Jonathan Ellinger, Elliot Jacobs, Julie Karlson, Sanida Kikic, Emily Scott, Ellen Strickland and Sadie Weischhoff braved nasty weather at odd hours to collect data on substrate, biota, and rocks in Lowell's Cove. Their project featured comparisons between areas where lobsters were likely to be found versus sites without lobsters. They presented their results at a poster session at Bowdoin on December 8 and plan to post their final report on the web. Thanks especially to Service Learning Coordinator Cathryn Field for acting as a liaison between the students and TLC.

Freelance writer Meg Warren of Brunswick recently wrote a web-based article on lobster science for Riverdeep, an educational portal featuring math and science for K through 12 students (www.riverdeep.net). The article features work by The Lobster Conservancy as well as Lew Incze and Rick Wahle of Bigelow Laboratory. To research the article Warren observed and assisted TLC volunteers Polly Wilson, Anne Barrett, and Corie Bibber Logan in the field.

Press Coverage
In November, lobsterman Peter Prybot wrote an article for the Gloucester Daily Times entitled "Lanesville team contributes to interstate lobster research." The article features the adventures of TLC volunteers Pat Earle, Astrid and Carson af Klinteberg, and Cindy Dunn.

Keep an eye out for some upcoming articles on The Lobster Conservancy in Islands magazine (due out in March), the Chronicle of Higher Learning, and European news magazine Der Speigel. Please alert us if you see them before we do. Over the winter we will post new articles on the press page of our web site (www.lobsters.org/press/press.php), so surf on in once in a while.

Biologist Dan Yule of Northwest Marine Technology, the company that makes the microwire tags we use, has posted an article on the company's web page (www.nmt-inc.com/Applications/CWT/Lobster/Lobster.html) about Diane's pioneering method of multiple tag-and-recapture of juvenile lobsters.

Do you read "Ask the Lobster Doc?" Since April 1999, Diane has been writing a monthly column for fishermen in Commercial Fisheries News detailing interesting facts on lobster biology. Pick up Commercial Fisheries News at your local newsstand to learn more about these fascinating creatures. You can also read archived version of these articles on our website (www.lobsters.org/ldoc/ldocindx.php).

Grant Announcements
Things are shaping up well for TLC for 2001. We thank Darden Environmental Trust and the Michael D. Dingman Foundation for general support of our research programs next year. Maine Community Foundation is graciously acknowledged for supporting our proposal for Strategic Planning to help chart TLC's future course. We are also pleased to report that we have received grants to continue our long-term research on juvenile lobsters from the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, Greater Piscataqua Community Foundation, and Up East Foundation – thank you. We are thankful to Davis Conservation Foundation for supporting our research on reproductive biology of adult lobsters at the Lobster Life Studies Center. We are still trying to raise matching funds for our research projects. We are also pleased to announce that Maine Sea Grant will be supporting a new collaborative project between TLC, New England Aquarium, and Maine Department of Marine Resources entitled "Environmental impacts of lobster pounds: monitoring impacts, modeling holding capacity, and assessing policy."

Fund Raising
With the holiday season upon us, you may be searching for unique gifts that support a good cause. Look no further! The Lobster Conservancy can offer some fresh ideas. Our newest gift item is a T-Shirt with a red cartoon of a lobster family and the words "The Lobster Conservancy; We're Counting on You." The shirts, designed by Steve Alexander, are white Hanes Beefy-Ts and come in Medium, Large and X-Large. These are priced to sell at $13. TLC also sells low-profile caps that sport a red lobster and the words "The Lobster Conservancy, Friendship, Maine." Hats are khaki with either blue or green brims and are priced at $18 (all prices include shipping). You can take a look at these gifts and print out mail-in order forms at www.lobsters.org/tlcstuff.html.

Our Adopt-a-Lobster program continues to be a popular gift. Lobsters' "parents" receive a certificate of adoption, a description of their lobsters, color photos of representative lobsters, and periodic updates. The adoption program helps support our tag-and-release program, which is entering its 9th year. For more information, visit our web site, or contact us directly by phone (207-832-8224) or e-mail.

Finally, a huge thank you to the individuals and local businesses who were able to respond to our recent Annual Appeal. As our organization grows so does our need for new sources of support, and donations of any size are very helpful. If you are receiving this newsletter by e-mail, but did not receive our Annual Appeal letter, it means we don't have your correct snail-mail address in our files. Please let us know if you would like to receive future mailings by sending us your current address.

Thanks once again to all the volunteers who shared in our research programs this year. We wish you and your loved ones safe and happy holidays and all the best for the New Year.

Yours in TLC and Friendship,

Sara Ellis, Executive Director and Diane Cowan, Senior Scientist