News & Announcements
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January 4, 2006
Project Coordinator Contact:
Stewart Fefer
(stewart_fefer@fws.gov;
207-781-8364 x17)
One Million Dollar NAWCA Grant Awarded to Help Protect York River, ME
One million dollars from the federal North American Wetland Conservation
Act (NAWCA) was obligated this week, providing the dollars needed for Gulf
of Maine Coastal Program to administer a Large NAWCA grant and help the
York Land Trust acquire more than 200 acres of salt marsh and upland buffer
in the upper reaches of the York River in southern Maine. An additional
700 acres of wetlands, forested uplands, vernal pools and coastal lands
valued at more than $2 million have been provided as non-federal match
in support of the grant. The York River, a wetland complex long recognized
for its significant habitat values, is the last large salt marsh in southern
Maine not significantly protected in conservation ownership. Because development
pressures are severe in southern Maine, the York Land Trust is working
in concert with federal, state, and other local conservation partners to
protect the remarkably pristine York River corridor while it remains intact.
Gulf of Maine Coastal Program staff, along with Andrew Milliken and Mitch Hartley in the Division of Migratory Birds in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Regional Office provided substantial technical support in developing the successful grant proposal. Last winter, Gulf of Maine Coastal Program Outreach Specialist Lois Winter worked closely with the Mt. Agamenticus to the Sea Coalition (MtA2C) -- including three local and three statewide land trusts, Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Rachel Carson NWR -- to develop the conceptual framework for a Large NAWCA proposal. Lois also served as liaison to the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition, researched and wrote the biological components of the proposal and coordinated closely with partners who developed the budgetary components of the proposal. Gulf of Maine Coastal Program biologists Bob Houston and Jean Fujikawa provided habitat maps and wetland calculations. The York Land Trust submitted the completed North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant proposal for consideration in March, 2005, and we received word that the grant was awarded in October, 2005. Gulf of Maine Coastal Program agreed to administer the grant.
“This most recent Large NAWCA grant in the York River is one of twelve Large NAWCA grants our office has supported, as an active member of the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition,” commented Gulf of Maine Coastal Program’s Project Leader Stewart Fefer. “Since the early 1990’s, Large NAWCA grants alone have brought nearly $10 million federal dollars to Maine. Together with non-federal matching funds, the Large NAWCA dollars have helped protect nearly 1.5 million acres of high value wetlands and upland buffer in Maine,” continued Fefer. Statewide, Gulf of Maine Coastal Program looks forward to continuing its work with the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition, and in southern Maine, Gulf of Maine Coastal Program expects to support future federal grants to protect the York River corridor -- for more than 100 species of waterbirds and at least 28 species of fish that depend on the York River -- and for people that also need scenic vistas, a sense of wildness and opportunities for outdoor recreation in their lives.