About Us
What We Do
Gulf
of Maine Coastal Program is one of 21 Coastal
Program offices in the
United States, established by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to build
partnerships to identify, protect and restore nationally significant
habitat for fish, wildlife and people. We direct our attention to conservation projects
in the coastal watersheds of Maine that provide habitat for migratory
birds (especially waterbirds),
searun fish and federally threatened and endangered species. We work
closely with other federal and state agencies, non-government conservation
groups, willing landowners and other local partners to identify and assess, protect and restore:
- seabird, wading bird and eagle nesting islands,
- coastal wetlands and upland buffer, with an emphasis on high value waterbird habitat,
- estuaries, rivers and riparian corridors that support all of Maine’s native diadromous (searun) fish,
- rivers and riparian corridors that support Atlantic salmon in federally listed rivers and the Penobscot River,
- lands and waters that support other coastal federally endangered and threatened species, such as: shortnose sturgeon, bald eagle, roseate tern and piping plover,
- large blocks of contiguous and intact habitat, and
- lands that support the purposes of Maine’s coastal national wildlife refuges.
Using
a voluntary, collaborative approach, and by working with others who
have similar goals, we seek opportunities to protect and restore
high value habitat. We
are committed to working in respectful partnerships, with flexibility,
creativity, and a “we-can-do-it-together” outlook.
Since the early 1990s, we have worked with many partners to:
- Identify and assess habitat values for:
- priority trust species throughout the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Maine watershed
- coastal nesting islands in Maine,
- Atlantic salmon in surveyed Maine watersheds,
- all twelve species of diadromous (searun) fish statewide, and
- restoration site priorities in Scarborough Marsh, Maine's largest salt marsh.
- Permanently protect nearly 1.6 million acres of important fish and
wildlife habitat in Maine, including:
- nearly 200 coastal wetlands,
- 60 coastal islands,
- 65 habitat protection projects along Atlantic salmon rivers
- four landscape-scale northern forest projects, and
- 18 uplands
- Restore fish and wildlife habitat at more than 160 sites, including:
- 77 salt marshes and other coastal wetlands,
- 12 seabird nesting islands,
- 69 river and riparian sites (including 11 dam removal and 18 fishway installations or repair projects), and
- six native grasslands and pine barren sites.
- Leverage U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) funds with other federal, state and private funds at a ratio of $1 USFWS to $4 of other funds
- Bring more than $43 million in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funds to Maine conservation projects.
Using a voluntary, non-regulatory approach and by identifying individuals and organizations with common interests and goals, we have achieved far more than any of our organizations could have accomplished alone.
For a summary of our accomplishments, in partnership with others, check out the Gulf of Maine Coastal Program fact sheet (PDF 139K).
