Projects
Protecting Habitat
We work with willing landowners, land trusts, watershed associations, town
officials and other federal and state agencies to acquire and permanently protect
high value habitat before it is lost, degraded or fragmented
by encroaching development pressures.
To-date, we have provided technical support to prioritize and help fund short-term and long-term partnerships that have led to the permanent protection of more than 1.68 million acres at 343 sites in Maine. Successful projects have included:
- riparian protection corridors extending most of the length of several of Maine's federally-listed Atlantic salmon rivers (i.e. Dennys, Machias and Ducktrap Rivers),
- dozens to thousands of acres of coastal wetlands and associated upland buffer (i.e. Cobscook Bay, Lower Kennebec Estuary, Pleasant Bay),
- dozens of seabird, wading bird and bald eagle nesting islands,
- landscape-scale blocks of intact northern forest timberland easements covering hundreds of thousands of acres,
- other smaller acreage yet high value habitat protection initiatives, often linked to nearby conservation efforts, and
- lands that support the purposes of Maine’s National Wildlife Refuges.
We use biological data from many partners, our experience with GIS mapping and our expertise in coastal Maine ecology to identify and assess important habitat and create habitat maps and databases. We share biological information with conservation partners, and if your proposed project has high value for waterbirds, searun fish and/or federally threatened or endangered species, we may be able to help inform and/or support your land acquisition effort by:
- providing you with habitat maps and biological data, and explaining how to use the information to support your habitat protection project,
- offering advice in assessing whether or not your land protection project is likely to compete successfully for USFWS federal funding sources, and/or
- providing substantial strategic advice and assistance in developing successful USFWS proposals (including writing or reviewing grant text, reviewing the budget, creating maps, calculating wetland acreages, etc).
Our office does not own and manage land; instead we facilitate acquisition of high value habitat by other organizations with the commitment and capability to permanently and effectively steward natural resources and manage recreational uses.
For more information:
- Download summary fact sheet on Habitat protection in Maine (170K PDF).
- Learn about the work of the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition
- Download fact sheet on Habitat protection in the Kennebec Estuary (250KB PDF).
- Download fact sheet on Habitat protection near Casco Bay (117K PDF).
- Download fact sheet on Maine's wild Atlantic salmon (112K PDF).
- Download our office's summary report on Diadromous Fish Habitat Protection and Restoration Projects in Maine.
- Learn about funding available and habitat protection, restoration and assessment projects completed through the Maine Atlantic Salmon Conservation Fund (MASCF).
- Learn about our habitat protection and restoration work on Maine's coastal nesting islands.
- View a slide show that illustrates and describes three habitat protection projects funded with the National Coastal Wetland Conservation Act grants (CWG) in Maine and download map and summary listing of all projects funded with National Coastal Wetland Conservation Act Grants in Maine (141K PDF).
- View two slide shows -- The first slide show illustrates and describes three habitat protection projects funded with Small North American Wetland Conservation (NAWCA) grants. The second slide show illustrates and describes three habitat protection projects funded with Large NAWCA grants. You can also download a map and summary listing of all projects funded with Small and Large NAWCA Grants in Maine (123K PDF).
- View a map (416K PDF) identifying sites permanently protected with Gulf of Maine Coastal Program support, using USFWS funding sources ((NAWCA, CWG, MASCF or Land and Water Conservation Funds).
- View a slide show highlighting four projects supported by the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership Important Habitat Protection Fund.
- Learn from five inspiring conservation success stories on Maine's coast. Coastal Choices: Conserving the Places We Value includes five videos, supplemented with two-page companion pieces that direct you to additional web resources.
- Contact: Stewart Fefer, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Gulf of Maine Coastal Program (207-781-8364
ext. 17; stewart_fefer@fws.gov) for more information on habitat protection projects.
