Maine is a state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Lower 48. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest, respectively. Maine is the largest state in New England by total area, nearly larger than the combined area of the remaining five states. Of the 50 U.S. states, it is the 12th-smallest by area, the 9th-least populous, the 13th-least densely populated, and the most rural. Maine's capital is Augusta, and its most populous city is Portland, with a total population of 68,408, as of the 2020 census.
The wolverine, also called the carcajou or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself.
The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost 2,200 miles (3,540 km) between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy claims the Appalachian Trail to be the world's longest hiking-only trail. More than three million people hike segments of it each year.
Mount Katahdin is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Maine at 5,269 feet (1,606 m). Named Katahdin, which means "Great Mountain", by the Penobscot Native Americans, it is within Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County, and is the centerpiece of Baxter State Park. It is a steep, tall massif formed from a granite intrusion weathered to the surface. The flora and fauna on the mountain are typical of those found in northern New England, with the summit hosting fragile and endangered alpine tundra.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation", the ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973. The Supreme Court of the United States described it as "the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation". The purposes of the ESA are two-fold: to prevent extinction and to recover species to the point where the law's protections are not needed. It therefore "protect[s] species and the ecosystems upon which they depend" through different mechanisms. For example, section 4 requires the agencies overseeing the Act to designate imperiled species as threatened or endangered. Section 9 prohibits unlawful 'take,' of such species, which means to "harass, harm, hunt..." Section 7 directs federal agencies to use their authorities to help conserve listed species. The Act also serves as the enacting legislation to carry out the provisions outlined in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Supreme Court found that "the plain intent of Congress in enacting" the ESA "was to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost." The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). FWS and NMFS have been delegated by the Act with the authority to promulgate any rules and guidelines within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to implement its provisions.
Baxter State Park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park in Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County in north-central Maine, United States. It is in the North Maine Woods region and borders the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument on the east.
Euchloe ausonides insulanus, the island marble butterfly, is a subspecies of the Euchloe ausonides and is found in the San Juan Islands in Washington in the northwestern United States. The butterfly was thought to be extinct and was last observed on Gabriola Island, British Columbia in 1908. The species was rediscovered during a prairie butterfly survey in San Juan Island National Historical Park in 1998. After this rediscovery, surveys were conducted throughout the presumed range and found a few populations on San Juan Island and Lopez Island, but no remaining populations in Canada.
Pink Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.
The Miami blue is a small butterfly that is native to coastal areas of southern Florida. It is a subspecies of Thomas's blue. Once common throughout its range, it has become critically endangered, and is considered to be near extinction. Its numbers have recently been increased by a captive breeding program at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Oeneis chryxus, the chryxus Arctic or brown Arctic, is a butterfly of subfamily Satyrinae found in the far northwest regions of Canada and the United States. The brown Arctic has highly variable colorings, which tend toward light yellow to orange brown wings that help camouflage it against its mountainous rocky habitat. The larvae feed on local grasses and take two years to develop. This longer development period results in flights of adult brown Arctics only once every two years. The butterflies feed on nectar from various plants as their primary food source.
Callophrys irus, the frosted elfin, is a species of Lycaenidae that is native to North America.
Oeneis nevadensis is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is commonly known as the great Arctic, Nevada Arctic, great grayling, Felder's Arctic, or Pacific Arctic. It is native to northwestern North America.
Pyrgus centaureae wyandot, the Appalachian grizzled skipper, is a small, brown, gray and white butterfly known to inhabit parts of the Appalachian highlands and Northern Michigan. It can be identified by its characteristic checkered wing pattern formed by the scales on the fore- and hindwings. The butterflies are known to prefer sites with minimal vegetation, such as open areas in hardwood forests, as well as sites of recent disturbance. The skipper's main larval food plants include Canada cinquefoil and wild strawberry depending on the specific population's range. The butterfly is listed as a federal species of concern and holds a state endangered title in Ohio and New Jersey.
Gnaphosa borea is a ground spider species with Holarctic distribution. It is found in boreal forests in Russia, in the United States and in Canada.
Speyeria zerene hippolyta, the Oregon silverspot, is a threatened butterfly that is found in the U.S. states of California and Oregon. It is a subspecies of Speyeria zerene.
Oeneis bore, the white-veined Arctic or Arctic grayling, is a butterfly, a species of Satyrinae that occurs in North America and Asia.
Oeneis polixenes, the Polixenes Arctic or Norique Alpin, is a species of butterfly in the subfamily Satyrinae. It has a Circumpolar distribution occurring in northern parts of North America the Arctic Urals, Kamtchatka, Yakutia, Chukchi Peninsula, and northern Siberia.
