North American Wetlands Grants Awarded to MCHT & Partners
Two Maine Coast Heritage Trust projects were recently awarded funds from a federal program aimed at protecting valuable wetlands and bird habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) program granted $1 million in funds to support MCHT’s efforts to conserve lands at Cobscook Bay and along the Bold Coast in Washington County. In addition, $1 million in funds were allocated to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on behalf of the Lower Kennebec Estuary project, in which MCHT is a partner. Both proposals were endorsed by the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition, a group of conservation partners established in 1989 to support habitat conservation efforts in the state. Lands conserved with grant funds will also open new areas to compatible public access.
Cobscook Bay and the Bold Coast have been recognized as offering high-quality habitat for water-dependent birds and some rare or endangered species, such as the yellow rail and least bittern. The area also offers relatively undisturbed habitat for 14 species of breeding waterfowl, 29 species of migratory ducks or geese and 16 species of wintering sea ducks, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s partners in the project are Quoddy Regional Land Trust, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local landowners.
The Lower Kennebec estuary is one of the nation’s largest intact systems of saltwater, freshwater and brackish tidal marshes. The area provides critical breeding, migrating and wintering habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, wading birds and fish, including several endangered and threatened species.
