State delegates and members of the council of national trustees has elected James Konkel of Cape Elizabeth to the Ducks Unlimited board of directors.

Konkel has been a member of DU since 1979, and has served in many capacities as a DU volunteer.

Konkel has served on the national development committee, and at one time or another has held all DU officer positions for the state of Maine.

He has also been a regional vice president and a regional chair for Habitat 2000, a comprehensive fundraising campaign that culminated with more than $9 million raised for DU.

“This is an exciting time for us and all the conservation work we do,” Konkel said. “We have accomplished so much yet there is so much more to do.”

With more than 1 million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest wetlands and waterfowl conservation organization. According to DU, the U.S. has lost more than half of its original wetlands, and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.

Fish populations topic of talk

The Merryspring Nature Center in Camden will welcome Ed Friedman and Kathryn McGee from the Friends of Merrymeeting Bay as their next speakers in the brown bag lecture series on Tuesday at noon.

Their talk will focus on the dramatic improvements in fish populations and spawning success since recent dam renewals on the Kennebec River.

When Europeans first explored the Kennebec, alewives and striped bass ran upriver far beyond Waterville, salmon and shad headed even farther upstream.

A series of dams choked off access to fish species, and industrial pollutants degraded the water quality. By the mid-19th century, many great runs of fish on the Kennebec were gone.

The Friends of Merrymeeting Bay is working to restore and protect Kennebec fisheries, along with the myriad life forms that depend on the Kennebec River and the bay.

Friedman and McGee will detail the group’s efforts and successes, with a particular focus on the improvement in fisheries since the removal of Edwards Dam in Augusta.

The public is encouraged to bring a lunch to enjoy during the talk in the Hexagon at the Merryspring Nature Center. For more information call 236-2239.

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