$2.4M awarded for natural resource conservation of Maine wetlands
COURTESY / MAINE NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION PROGRAM
The Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program this week announced a $2.4 million round of grants designed to offset the environmental impact of development.
Eleven projects to restore, enhance or protect wetlands and other important natural resources around the state were selected to receive the latest round of funds from the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program.
The projects include a dam removal project in Vassalboro, a tidal culvert upgrade in Cape Elizabeth, and conservation of high-value wetlands at sites ranging in size from 24 acres to nearly 500 acres.
In all, $2,455,038 was awarded to restore or enhance almost 10 acres of wetlands and help conserve over 1,300 acres of wetlands and upland buffer.
The Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program "has become one of Maine’s most important tools for conservationists and developers to work together to protect fragile wetland habitats,” Melanie Loyzim, acting commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said in a news release. “It’s a win for Maine’s natural environment, and it’s a win for Maine’s economy.”
Conservation projects are in six Maine counties and include the towns of Masardis, Winthrop, Chebeague Island, Georgetown, Harpswell, Oxford, Fryeburg, Sanford and South Berwick.
Recipients include the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Kennebec Land Trust, Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, Maine Rivers, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Western Foothills Land Trust, Greater Lovell Land Trust, Three Rivers Land Trust, Great Works Regional Land Trust, and the town of Cape Elizabeth.
The conservation program is administered by the Nature Conservancy on behalf of the Maine DEP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The conservancy does not have a vote on which proposals are approved for funding.
The goal is to help offset unavoidable impacts to natural resources at one site by funding the restoration or preservation of similar resources at another site within the same region of the state. In all, more than 130 projects across Maine have been funded since the program began in 2008.
For potential developers and permit applicants, the program offers an alternative when efforts to mitigate wetland damage aren't enough. In-lieu fees are collected from approved applicants and transferred to the Natural Resource Conservation Fund. Public agencies, municipalities and nonprofit conservation organizations apply through an annual, competitive process to use these funds for restoration, enhancement, or preservation of aquatic resources in Maine.
“Heading into its 13th review cycle, MNRCP is one of the most successful of the state-wide in-lieu fee compensatory mitigation programs in New England and the country,” said Jay Clement of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Maine Project Office. “The program offers greater predictability and streamlining of state and federal wetland permitting processes which benefits developers and regulators alike and helps restore and protect Maine’s important natural resources.”
In 2021, the program will seek more projects that restore or protect coastal ecosystems, including salt marshes, eelgrass beds, and other intertidal and subtidal habitats. In recent years, the program has seen an uptick in impacts to coastal resources, and therefore will prioritize funding for projects in the coastal environment in 2021.
For more information about the Maine Natural Resource Conservation program, click here.
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