One million dollars from the federally funded North American Wetlands Conservation Act has been awarded to the Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Initiative. The act and its grant program are designed to promote long-term conservation of North American wetland ecosystems, and the waterfowl and other migratory birds, fish, and wildlife that depend upon that habitat.

The Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Initiative is a coalition of ten partners representing federal and governmental agencies, statewide land protection organizations and three local land trusts. Partners include: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, Great Works Regional Land Trust, Kittery Land Trust, York Land Trust and York Rivers Association.

The grant will be administered by the Northeast Region's Gulf of Maine Coastal Program office, located in Falmouth, Maine. The funds will be used by the York Land Trust to acquire as much as 200 acres of salt marsh and upland buffer in the upper reaches of the York River, permanently protecting important habitat and securing recreational access for all. Land valued at more than $2 million and totaling over 700 acres is being used as required nonfederal match for this grant.

The one million dollar NAWCA contribution is in addition to another $1 million in federal funds recently awarded through the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. A variety of state, municipal and private funding sources, as well as gifts from generous landowners account for the other $6.5 million that has been raised for land protection in the region.

"Local involvement, including generous gifts from private donors and $350,000 from the Town of York over the past two years, has been a major catalyst in helping to leverage sizeable support from all of these sources. It’s exciting to see what is possible when local people galvanize to protect our shared heritage," said Doreen MacGillis, Executive Director of the York Land Trust.

"The Land for Maine’s Future Program has also been very important in acquiring valuable lands in the Mount Agamenticus to the Sea region. State funds helped us apply for this federal source of funding," added Ken Elowe, Director, Bureau of Resource Management for Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Chairman of the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition. “Without all of the financial support from state, non-government conservation organizations, towns and local residents, the federal dollars would simply pass Maine by.”

With this most recent grant now secured, the Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Coalition has raised a total of $8.5 million, moving closer to its ambitious $10 million fundraising goal. The coalition is an 18-member group including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, several state conservation agencies, Ducks Unlimited, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, The Nature Conservancy, and local land trusts. The Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition has been nationally recognized as a model for conservation efforts throughout the nation. Since 1987, the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition has worked to protect high value habitat through an innovative partnership of public and private entities. By taking advantage of the collective strengths of each Coalition member, this habitat protection success story continues to grow and evolve.

The Gulf of Maine Coastal Program, along with the Northeast Region Division of Migratory Birds provided substantial technical support in developing and writing the grant proposal.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

— FWS —