Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 28, 2026

This policy describes what information is handled when you read vitalsignsme.org, how the operator uses it and what choices you have. The operator is the person or organisation running this publication on Maine ecology, invasive species monitoring and science education. Where the text says we or us, it refers to that operator.

Visit logs

Whenever a page of this site is requested, the hosting systems write a routine record of it. An entry can include your IP address, the time of your visit, the page you asked for, your browser and device type and the page that sent you here. We use these records to keep the site available, to find broken pages, to block abusive traffic and to see in broad terms which articles about species, habitats or teaching are being read.

Cookies and similar technology

Where enabled, the site may use cookies or similar storage. Some help pages load correctly. Others may count audiences, remember a setting, support advertising or note which link led a reader to a retailer so that affiliate attribution works, for example when an article mentions field guides or outdoor gear. Cookies placed by outside parties are governed by those parties.

Controls in your browser

Your browser settings let you refuse or erase cookies, and private windows or tracker-blocking extensions go further. If your browser sends a do-not-track or global privacy signal, we will treat it as an opt-out where the tools we use can respond to it. Blocking certain cookies may change how some features behave.

Emails and forms

If you write to [email protected], we receive your address and whatever you include, such as a correction or a description of something you observed outdoors. We use it to answer you, to fix an article and to keep a record of the exchange. Your message is never sold, and it will not appear on the site unless you have agreed to that.

Sighting details

Please avoid putting exact private property locations or personal details of other people in a message. If you do share a place where you saw a plant or animal, we use it only to understand your question and will not post it.

Newsletters

If a newsletter or sign-up form is offered, the details you enter are used to send what you requested. Every issue carries a way to opt out, and a short email to us will also take your address off the list.

Outside services

Operating a website relies on other providers, which may include hosting and delivery networks, analytics tools, advertising or affiliate networks and embedded items such as videos or maps. When your browser loads such an item, the provider can see technical details of the request, and what it does with them is set by its own policy rather than ours.

Retention

Visit records are held for a limited time, after which they are erased or merged into totals that identify nobody. Emails are kept while they remain useful for replying, correcting the site or meeting a legal duty, and are then deleted.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may be able to ask what personal information we hold, request correction or deletion, object to certain uses or withdraw consent you gave. To make a request, email [email protected] and say what you would like. Before acting we may ask you to prove the request is yours, and we will reply within whatever deadline applies to you.

Children and classrooms

Some readers are teachers and students, but the site is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. Teachers should not submit student details. Should a young person’s details reach our inbox, let us know and they will be erased.

Security

Protection here means encrypted connections and a small circle of people able to open the inbox. No system on the internet is perfectly safe, so we cannot guarantee absolute protection.

International transfers

Our providers may handle data in other countries, where privacy laws can differ from those where you live. Using the site means your information may be moved in this way.

Changes

This policy will be updated when our practices or legal duties shift, for instance if we add a new analytics tool. The effective date above shows when this version began, and continuing to use the site afterwards means you accept the updated version.