Funding Sources
Casco Bay Estuary Partnership
Important Habitat Protection Fund
Funded by the Environmental Protection Agency through the locally-based Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, this fund supports fish and wildlife habitat protection initiatives in the Casco Bay watershed--with a focus on coastal habitat. Lands protected with these funds must have important habitat values documented in the statewide Beginning with Habitat initiative, or confirmed by other verifiable biological sources. Funds can be used to support the up-front costs of habitat protection, such as survey, appraisal and natural resource inventory, and the funds can also be used to purchase land in fee or easement Generally, grants vary in size from a few hundred dollars to $30K. Funds are distributed to high priority projects on a first-come, first-served basis and have provided nearly $350,000 to help permanently protect over 3,500 acres at 20 sites in the Casco Bay watershed.
Download fact sheet on Habitat Protection near Casco Bay (117 KB PDF)
See a slide show highlighting four projects supported by the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership Important Habitat Protection Fund.
For more information, contact: Chris Fichtel, Maine Coast Heritage Trust (207-729-7366; cfichtel@mcht.org) or Karen Young, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (207-780-4820; kyoung@usm.maine.edu).
Habitat Protection Fund application form (download in Word format [919K] or PDF format [108K])
Habitat Protection Fund guidelines (61K PDF document)
