2005 Targeted Watersheds Grants:
Presumpscot River and Casco Bay
Maine
WHY IS THIS WATERSHED SPECIAL?
The Presumpscot watershed encompasses 205 square miles, and the Presumpscot River flows
27 miles from Sebago Lake into Casco Bay and the Gulf of Maine. Although it is primarily
forested and agricultural land, this region is rapidly being developed. The river has a history of
extensive industrial use since the early 1700s. By the 1950s, the river was so polluted that fumes
from the river peeled paint off nearby homes. Prior to industrialization, there were abundant,
healthy salmon, alewive, shad and eel fisheries. These have since been decimated.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
In recent years the water quality has improved in the river as a result of the cessation of pulp mill
discharges in the 1990s, and anadromous fish are returning with the removal of the Smelt Hill
Dam in 2002. However, the improvements in the watershed have opened the doors to increased
watershed and shoreline development pressures, which have caused increased amounts of
impervious surface and non-point source pollution. The Targeted Watersheds Grant will focus on
tackling high priority environmental problems:
• Excess sedimentation from roadways and livestock activities is causing deterioration offish
spawning areas.
• Excess nutrients and toxics are present in the river as a result of increased development.
• The loss of riparian vegetation is causing thermal impacts, which impair the water quality for
cold water fisheries.
RESTORATION ACTIVITIES
Together with the Presumpscot River Watershed Coalition, the Casco
Bay Estuary Partnership will use Targeted Watersheds Grant funds to
improve water quality and land stewardship by:
• Stabilizing or replacing 46 eroding stream crossings to reduce soil
erosion and sediment deposition in the watershed.
• Installing forested buffers along five sites to restore riparian areas.
• Establishing a Presumpscot River Youth Conservation Corps to
engage area youth in direct stewardship through hands-on
implementation of buffer enhancement and water quality
improvement projects.
• Developing a cost-share program with agricultural landowners for
streamside fencing and alternative watering systems to reduce
livestock impacts on streams, including bacterial, sediment and
nutrient contributions.
• Implementing a golf course environmental certification program
to encourage improved management practices to reduce
in-stream levels of nutrients, pesticides and herbicides.
• Introducing the "Yardscaping" program to local neighborhoods to
reduce pesticide and fertilizer runoff.
Tim Bennett of Presumpscot River Watch
prepares sampling equipment for
deployment into the river. Credit: Matt
Craig, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership.
EPA840-F-07-001G
www.epa.gov/twg
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A STRONG PARTNERSHIP FOR CHANGE
The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership is working with a
diverse group of partners including:
• Presumpscot River Watershed Coalition
• Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation
District
• Presumpscot River Watch
• Friends of Casco Bay
• Maine Board of Pesticide Control
• Maine Department of Environmental Protection
EPA's Targeted Watersheds
Grants
EPA's Targeted Watersheds Grants program is
a competitive grant program designed to
encourage collaborative, community-driven
approaches to meet clean water goals.
Betty Williams of the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation
District guides the Presumpscot River Youth Conservation Corps as they
install infiltration steps on an eroded trail to the Presumpscot River.
Credit: Lisa Vickers, Presumpscot River Youth Conservation Corps
For More Information
Contact:
Matt Craig, PWI Project
Manager
Casco Bay Estuary
Partnership
mcraiq@usm.maine.edu
207-228-8359
www.cascobay.usm.maine.
edu/
Funding: $739,942
2005 Targeted Watersheds Grants - Presumpscot River and Casco Bay
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