Welcome to Casco Bay Estuary Partnership

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CBEP Water Quality and Stewardship projects

Water Quality and Stewardship - Recent and Ongoing Projects

Education and Outreach

Education is a central component of CBEP's stewardship efforts. We support educational events for school children, businesses, and the general public:

- Programs for school children
- Maine Clean Boatyards & Marinas Program
- Think Blue and YardScaping stormwater education programs
- Educational signs for Portland's waterfront

Water Quality & Environmental Monitoring

CBEP supports several volunteer-based water quality monitoring programs, in order to enhance understanding of water quality trends in the Bay and watershed:

- Friends of Casco Bay: Citizen Stewards Water Quality Monitoring Program
- Presumpscot River Watch: River Monitoring Program
- Lakes Environmental Association: Sebago Lake Region Monitoring Program

Additional monitoring efforts supported by CBEP:
- Volunteer Lake Monitoring Association (invasive plant patrol)
- Horseshoe Crab Spawning Surveys
- National Coastal Condition Assessment: Acadian Province

Place-based Programs

The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership has focused considerable effort on the Presumpscot River and its watershed. In 2003, a management plan was finalized and the Presumpscot River Watershed Coalition was formed to pursue implementation of the Plan. Notably, CBEP and PRWC received EPA Targeted Watershed funding totaling $739,942 in 2006 for this work, which was completed in 2009. CBEP and PRWC also received funding through the Environmental Funders Network Quality of Place Initiative for the Presumpscot Land Conservation: Vision, Values & Priorities project, a collaborative initiative to develop shared vision, values and priorities for land conservation in the lower Presumpscot River watershed. Completed Presumpscot products are available at:
- Presumpscot River Stakeholders Plan: The Future of a Changing River
- Presumpscot Watershed Initiative | executive summary/factsheet
- Presumpscot Land Conservation: Vision, Values & Priorities

To help cultivate a sense of stewardship among watershed residents, CBEP supports community-based restoration activities with funding, technical advice, and logistical assistance. Examples include:
- Casco Bay Youth Conservation Corps: hands-on water quality improvement projects
- Chandler Brook: tree planting
- Highland Lake - Mill Brook: restoring fish passage
- CBEP Community Based Habitat Enhancement Program
- CBEP Water Quality Monitoring Equipment Loaner Program

Subwatershed management planning efforts foster stewardship in targeted regions within the watershed. CBEP supports and participates in the following subwatershed initiatives:
- Presumpscot River Watershed Coalition
- New Meadows Watershed Partnership
- Long Creek Restoration Project
- Pleasant River Watershed Management Plan
- Capisic Brook Watershed
- Trout Brook Planning Project

Sharing Information through State of the Bay Conferences

Every five years, CBEP hosts a State of the Bay conference, designed to share information among diverse stakeholders about environmental management and science related to the Casco Bay watershed. The conferences foster ongoing dialogue and problem-solving, promote networking and new partnerships, allow technology transfer, and encourage further action to protect the Bay and its watershed.

Visit CBEP Publications to see a complete list of CBEP reports and archives