Little River

The Little River salt marsh, located at the southern tip of Georgetown, Maine between Sheepscot Bay and the Kennebec River, is the largest salt marsh of its size in Maine that has never been ditched, intersected by roads or negatively impacted by invasive plants. The Little River Estuary offers researchers and naturalists a unique opportunity to examine a remarkably pristine system, and the high concentration of pools on the salt marsh provide exceptional habitat for black ducks, other waterfowl, wading birds, migrating shorebirds, nesting salt marsh sparrows and migrating raptors. The salt marsh grasses provide important nesting habitat for rare salt marsh sparrows, and the streams and upland buffer support a diverse assemblage of searun fish, breeding landbirds, aquatic and upland furbearers and other wildlife.

Prior to its protection, the entire parcel was marketed as “Little River Farms” an 18-lot subdivision, with shoreland zoning requirements weaker than the state’s minimum guidelines. Only three homes were built, and the owners of the undeveloped portions of the subdivision worked cooperatively with conservation partners to support this habitat protection effort. Eliminating the threat of the subdivision eliminated a host of potential negative impacts to the marsh (i.e. septic system and landscaping runoff, dock construction, road building, utility corridors, habitat destruction, wildlife disturbance on the marsh and upland buffer).

The Coastal Wetland Grant, written by Gulf of Maine Coastal Program and orchestrated with significant support from The Nature Conservancy and the Lower Kennebec Region Land Trust, provided $250,000 to Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and ultimately helped protect 387.7 acres of coastal salt marsh and associated upland buffer and 3.7 miles of shoreline. The Little River property is adjacent to 735-acre Reid State Park, creating a contiguous preserve of 1,122.7 acres -- one of the largest and most biologically valuable assemblages of undisturbed coastal wetland and associated upland buffer still available in a contiguous tract in coastal Maine.

Projects

Funding Sources

Coastal Wetlands Grants Slideshow