Friends of Merrymeeting Bay
P.O. Box 233, Richmond, Maine 04357
www.FriendsofMerrymeetingBay.org

Contact us

What's NEW?


...

Current Issues:

Please visit our Cybrary
... a Cyber-Library in which we collect materials pertinent to Merrymeeting Bay


More information about Merrymeeting Bay
can be found HERE

The above link takes you to a Merrymeeting Bay website developed as a cooperative venture between Friends of Merrymeeting Bay and Bowdoin Central School


Merrymeeting Bay Current Study

In Memory of Linwood Rideout
April 16, 1917- June 10, 2007
For many of us, if there was one man who epitomized the essence of Merrymeeting Bay, it was Linwood Rideout, a legend in his own time. We will miss him, a long-time friend of the Bay. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Read more about Linwood here.



Photo: Ed Friedman

Teachers! Our volunteers can bring this BOBCAT, and other local critters, into your classroom!

We have an incredible collection of taxidermy mounts of local critters which are available for teaching purposes.

When not out visiting kids, these critters can be viewed at the Bowdoinham Public Library. Please contact us at fomb@gwi.net (666-3372) for more details.


Speaker Series 2008-2009

Join us in our 12th season in which we cover our usual broad range of topics including Endangered Species Win for Atlantic Salmon, Growing Up the Hard Way (Next to Swan Island), Wildlife Rehabilitation, Land for Maine’s Future, Brown-Tail Moths, Return of the Endangered American Chestnut Tree, Community-Based Lobster Science, and Legal Advocacy. Click on the above link for the schedule.

OUTSIDE 2008!
Typical events include several paddles around Merrymeeting Bay, a shoreline cleanup, an outing to Swan Island, and a variety of nature walks including mushrooms, mud plants, and geology. Please let us know if there are outings you would like to see us offer.


Photo: Watts Brothers
American Eels:
An Endangered Species?

Visit www.glooskapandthefrog.org to find out more.


One earth, one Maine, one voice-- join Maine ECO!

Now you can connect with your legislators and other key decision-makers right from your computer. Friends of Merrymeeting Bay and several environmental groups from across Maine have launched Maine ECO (Environmental Citizens Online). Our technology alerts you when important environmental decisions are being made and converts your email into a personalized message that is faxed or emailed directly to your legislators or other state and federal decision-makers. It's easy to join this great service-- click here to sign up.

 

Become a Habitat Steward!
The Univesity of Maine's Cooperative Extension Program
offers training in making our communities better places for wildlife.
To become a Habitat Steward
you agree to attend 30 hours of training in wildlife management, home landscaping, native plants, mapping, and site inventory.
After completing your training, you agree to spend some time
sharing the information you've learning with homeowners and community members.
You can also fulfill your volunteer committment by working on educational programs
with a local organization (such as Friends of Merrymeeting Bay).
For more information about the Habitat Stewards program, please visit:
http://www.umext.maine.edu/HabitatStewards/Default.htm


 

ABOUT FRIENDS OF MERRYMEETING BAY

Organization:

Mission: To preserve, protect, and improve the unique ecosystems of Merrymeeting Bay. We fulfill this mission through education, research, membership activities, and the promotion and stewardship of conservation easements.
Founded: 1975
Steering Committee Click link for list of current Steering Committee members
Staff: Executive Coordinator
Misty Gorski
phone: 207-582-5608
email: fomb@gwi.net
Membership: Approximately 400 members

Become a member today! In a typical year, dues from individual members, like you, account for 30% or more of our annual budget. We can't do it without you.

Click here for a Membership form

The Merrymeeting News Our quarterly newsletter contains a variety of Bay-related information. We use it to keep our members up-to-date on our activities and on the lastest issues to affect the Bay. We also regularly print work by local artists and writers. Check it out!
Geographic area(s) of coverage: Mid-coast Maine riverine delta consisting of the Kennebec, Androscoggin, Cathance, Muddy, Eastern and Abagadasset Rivers and surrounding towns.
By-laws Click link for by-laws

Activities:

Education

Bay Days: Two days, one in spring, one in fall, on which we invite local 4th graders and homeschooled children to the shores of the Bay for a day of outdoor educational activities. Typical topics include geology, archaeology, ecology, art, invertebrates, fish, watershed modelling, bird walks, and plant & forestry walks. We have developed a Bay-based curriculum guide which uses the Bay as a tool to teach many of the requirements of the Maine Learning Results program. Click here for pictures of Spring Bay Day 2003.

Our School Outreach Program links up local elementary school teachers with volunteers willing to come into their classrooms and share expertise about a variety of Bay-related topics (e.g., ecology, birds, geology, archaeology, local history, botany, wetlands, etc). We also have a program that brings taxidermy mounts of local critters into classrooms around the Bay.

Healthier Kids, A Healthier World  The No Child Left Inside Coalition has produced “Get ’em Outside” a five-minute video celebrating the value of environmental education and is popular on YouTube.

Conservation and Stewardship

We work with individuals from around the Bay to protect conservation land through easements. In our capacity as a land trust, we believe that conservation easements granted by willing landowners are one of the most effective means of protecting the Bay over the long term.

Conservation Accomplishments to Date

Project Status # of Parcels Acres Shoreline (ft.) Shoreline (miles)
Completed
Easements 12 456 17,426 3.30
Owned in Fee 1 90 5,300 1
Lead partner in land protected and turned over to state 11 756 36,650 6.94
Total Completed 24 1,302 59,356 11.24
Actively in Process (not included in above tally)
Easements 2 25 1,450 0.27
Lead partner in land protected and turned over to state 0 0 0 0
Total In Process 2 25 1,450 0.27

Research and Advocacy

Water quality We are monitoring a variety of water qualtiy measures, including dissolved oxygen and pH, at 16 sites on Merrymeeting Bay and its tributaries. In the summer of 2005 we piloted a program to add fecal coliform testing to our monitoring program.

Research We are engaged in a number of research projects including a major study of circulation patterns in the Bay, and continued work on using freshwater mussels to test for toxins.

Adovcacy We continue to advocate for local critters such as the American eel. We also work on issues surrounding toxins, sediment, shoreside land use, boat traffic, and fish passage at dams.

Events

Winter/Fall Speaker Series A series of lectures, October - May, covering a variety of Bay-related topics.

Summer Outings We offer a number of opportunities to visit the Bay and to learn more about its ecology and wildlife. We are offering several canoe/kayak tours, a walking trip on Swan Island, a mushroom walk, and a shoreline cleanup.

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and depend on memberships, grants, volunteers, and cooperation with other organizations to achieve our goals.
 
 

* Member of The Maine Land Trust Network *

 

Contact Information:

Chairman
Ed Friedman
42 Stevens Road
Bowdoinham, ME 04008
Phone: 207-666-3372
Fax: 666-8481
E-mail: edfomb@gwi.net
Executive Coordinator
Misty Gorski
18 Grandview Lane
Richmond,ME 04357
Phone: 207-582-5608
email: fomb@gwi.net
Last Updated:

Head towardsthe bay!