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Friends of Merrymeeting
Bay P.O. Box 233, Richmond, Maine 04357 www.FriendsofMerrymeetingBay.org |
Contact us |
What's NEW?
Current Issues:
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Please visit our
Cybrary
More information about Merrymeeting Bay
Merrymeeting Bay Current Study
In Memory of Linwood Rideout |
![]() Photo: Ed Friedman |
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. |
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.
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. |
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.netMembership: 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: