SACO (AP) — The University of New England has transformed a recently donated island off the coast of Saco into a “living laboratory” to allow students the opportunity to examine marine life and the effects of climate change.
The Portland Press Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1QRi77j ) Ram Island had been previously used as a vacation destination for private owners before it was donated to the school by Portland real estate developer Art Girard.
UNE Marine Sciences Department Chairman Barry Costa-Pierce says the one-acre island and its waters are home to songbirds, harbor seals and dogfish sharks in addition to various intertidal flora and fauna.
Girard’s family purchased the island in 1999 for $140,000. Ownership of the land was transferred to the Biddeford university in December 2014.
Girard called the gift “a match made in heaven.”
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