Maine

Appalachian Mountain Club
Conserving the Pleasant River Headwaters Forest in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness
Purchase and permanently conserve a 26,740-acre parcel of working forestland known as the Pleasant River Headwaters Forest. Project will expand existing fish habitat restoration efforts to benefit threatened species like native brook trout and Atlantic salmon; conduct sustainable forestry operations; offer the public access to outdoor recreation opportunities; and advance the overall ecological and economic health of the region.
$500,000

Atlantic Salmon Federation
Install a Fishway to Restore Passage for River Herring at Baskahegan Lake and Crooked Brook (ME)
Construct a fishway at the Crooked Brook Dam in the town of Danforth, Maine that will connect the Crooked Brook and Baskahegan Lake in the upper Penobscot River. Project will reconnect 8,960 pond and lake acres and 137 stream miles to the Penobscot with the potential to add 2 million adult river herring to the system and benefit other species including Atlantic salmon, American eel and sea lamprey.
$198,000

Canaan Valley Institute
Coordinating Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture Strategies and Goals (multiple states)
Continue the activities of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture in the historic range of the species. Project will refine the strategic objectives and key conservation priorities of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture using the results of the recently completed status assessment of wild brook trout at the catchment scale.
$74,999

Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance
Electronic Monitoring Innovations in the New England Groundfish Fishery (MA, ME, NH, RI)
Support the implementation and advancement of electronic monitoring in the New England Groundfish fishery at an operational scale serving as a national example of the third party audit model. Project will reduce the cost of video review, increase fishermen compliance and reduce barriers to entry for interested fishermen through on-deck innovations and advances in artificial intelligence.
$275,437

Downeast Salmon Federation
Restoring Tidal Flows to Schoppee Marsh and Increasing Coastal Resilience of Machias (ME)
Restore more than 50 acres of salt marsh at the Machias Bay estuary in eastern Washington County, Maine. Project will produce a feasibility study and adaptive management strategies in preparation for the production of a full engineering design to restore the salt marsh, provide sea-level rise and storm surge protection, protect habitat for salt marsh fish, wildlife and plant species, and provide education and outreach opportunities.
$107,780

Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation
Fishing Net Collection in Portland, Maine
Develop logistics for the collection of fishing nets from local New England fishermen who are looking for ways to properly dispose of their end of life nets. Project will develop locations and proper disposal options to recycle or convert to energy 280 tons of fishing gear, reducing unwanted bycatch of many marine species.
$136,610

Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Maximized Retention Electronic Monitoring the New England Groundfish Fishery (MA, ME, NH, RI)
Prepare the maximized retention electronic monitoring program for implementation in the New England groundfish fishery. Project will continue collecting data for fishing year 2021 with a focus on testing catch handling methods for high-volume fishing vessels and collaboratively identify and overcome steps necessary to implement this program through outreach and stakeholder workshops.
$500,000

Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association
Piloting Electronic Monitoring in the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Fleet- Year Three (MA, ME, NH)
Continue developing and piloting an electronic monitoring program for the northern Gulf of Maine scallop fleet to test feasibility on small scallop vessels and demonstrate the data it provides. Project will engage three new vessels, bringing the total to six, refine protocols and processes for electronic monitoring in scallop fisheries and work closely with federal agencies to develop a viable monitoring option that works under new regulations which are expected to be implemented.
$120,960

Maine Department of Marine Resources
Increasing Access to Fish Habitat and Aquatic Connectivity through Stream Restoration (ME)
Complete removal of one barrier and the partial removal and installation of a technical fishway within the Sabattus River, Maine. Project will reduce flooding risk attributed to catastrophic failure of derelict dams, reduce the barriers to fish passage in the Sabattus River and increase access to high quality fish habitat, increase overall aquatic connectivity in the Androscoggin River drainage, restore several river miles of impoundments to free-flowing river and improve water quality.
$1,548,528

Manomet
Managing American Oystercatchers and Minimizing Coastal Engineering Impacts Along the Atlantic Coast (multiple states)
Coordinate the American oystercatcher recovery initiative, implement best management practices for disturbance and predation management along the U.S. Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast of Florida and develop long-term improvements in coastal engineering protocols to restore habitats critical to focal shorebird species. Project will support the goals of the Atlantic Flyway Business Plan by creating a framework for long-term protection, restoration and creation of shorebird habitat at key sites.
$189,999

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
Developing a Framework for Ropeless Fishing in New England (MA, ME, NH, RI)
Characterize the issues and challenges associated with the integration of on-call or ropeless fishing gear technology into New England fisheries. Project will evaluate the issues using semi-structured interviews and workshops with experts in the field, synthesize perspectives and analyze the technical, legal and socioeconomic challenges and opportunities to develop a set of recommendations for further work, including in situ testing and policy development.
$170,861

New England Marine Monitoring
Kept Catch Data from Electronic Monitoring in the New England Groundfish Fishery (MA, ME, NH, RI)
Develop machine learning tools that use existing electronic monitoring data to collect information on kept catch in the New England groundfish fishery through testing three catch monitoring approaches across a variety of vessels. Project will derive kept catch data useful for science and management from video already being collected in the New England audit and maximum retention electronic monitoring programs and explore how this impacts program costs.
$225,962

Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust
Restore Critical Habitat in the Cupsuptic River for Eastern Brook Trout by Installing Bridges (ME)
Reconnect over 4 miles of headwater streams critical to spawning and cold water refugia for native eastern brook trout within the Cupsuptic River watershed of western Maine. Project will remove two undersized culverts at road stream crossings and install bridges that allow for natural stream processes and upstream and downstream passage of aquatic organisms.
$60,000

Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission
Developing a Regional Coastal Resilience Plan for Southern Maine
Develop a regional coastal resilience plan for a 10-municipality region in southern Maine through collaborative engagement of municipalities, local land trusts, regional conservation organizations and state natural resource agencies. Project will assist communities, the region and the state to better prepare for impacts of coastal hazards and will identify land use strategies, adaptation measures and nature-based solutions for making the region more resilient to coastal flooding.
$130,000

Spatial Informatics Group Natural Assets Laboratory
Surveying Changes in Forest Bird Populations after 30 Years of Commercial Forest Management (ME)
Evaluate how the 10 million acre commercial forestland of north-central Maine is supporting national-scale bird conservation today and recommend landscape-level changes in management that would better support declining species. Project will revisit a comprehensive survey of birds in this managed forest landscape from 30 years ago, recreate the study in present time and demonstrate how commercial forestry can advance national-scale bird conservation goals.
$125,000

Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
Building Capacity for Sustainable Young Forest Habitat Management in Maine – II
Implement on-the-ground habitat restoration to increase New England cottontail populations in southern Maine, where populations have responded to habitat improvements, but where an urgent need remains to expand and connect habitats. Project will conserve and manage an additional 300 acres of habitat using a new Tool for Engaging Landowners Effectively program approach to develop robust partnerships with landowners in the region.
$81,089