Pleasant River Wildlife Foundation

Key Facts

Pleasant River Wildlife Foundation (PRWF) is spearheading the Heads of the Estuaries Partnership, an expansive landscape-scale initiative that also engages active involvement of Downeast Coastal Conservancy and Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and enjoys enthusiastic support from other local, state and federal conservation organizations and agencies that share a vision to protect high value coastal wetland and waterbird habitat stretching more than 30 miles from Gouldsboro Bay to Machias Bay. The Heads of the Estuaries Partnership has identified five Priority Areas — Machias Bay, Little Kennebec Bay, Mason Bay, Pleasant Bay/Crowley Island and Back Bay. In all of these Areas, we focus on:

1) permanently protecting internationally significant intertidal and adjacent freshwater habitat for waterfowl (notably, the American black duck), wading birds, shorebirds and woodcock, and

2) to the extent compatible with wildlife habitat protection and management, assuring permanent public access to undeveloped land and waters for traditional recreational uses, such as clamming, worming, hunting, birdwatching, boating, and walking.

Ambitious land protection projects have already been realized in the broad region of downeast coastal Maine (including coastal islands, commercial timberlands and Atlantic salmon river corridors). Now, we believe it is time to direct focused effort on protecting high priority coastal mainland properties that provide exceptional habitat for waterbirds, that are most highly threatened by poorly planned or sited residential (particularly second home) development, gravel mining and other commercial activities, and where guaranteed public access is critical for local residents.

From 2008-2013, the Heads of the Estuaries Partnership (HEP) will be focused on protecting:

• • 25 miles of coastal shorefront,
  • 5,000 acres of upland adjacent to intertidal or exceptional nearcoast freshwater habitat, and
  • 2,500 acres of intertidal wetlands and fresh water wetlands.

In its first 2-1/2 years, the Heads of the Estuaries Partnership has been gratified to receive a generous grant from the Land for Maine’s Future Program, three grants from the National Coastal Wetlands Grant Program, a grant from the Landowner Incentives Program, two Small North American Wetlands Conservation Grant, a Large North American Wetlands Conservation Grant and an Open Space Institute grant. Additional grants are pending or will be submitted this winter and spring.HEP projects already completed or in progress will permanently protect more than 4,700 acres and 19 miles of coastal shorefront.

Update