We support projects and undertake activities that align with the York River Watershed Stewardship Plan’s objectives to protect water quality and preserve, enhance, or promote connections to important natural and cultural resources throughout the watershed. Most projects are identified and selected through the annual York River Watershed Grants Program. The York River Stewardship Committee also initiates projects or directs funding to certain projects that are likely to have significant positive impacts on long-term river health and sustainability.
In late 2024, the Committee hired Geoff Wilson, Northeast Wetland Restoration, to design restoration plans for 130 acres of salt marshes owned by the York Land Trust and the USFWS Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.
Historic agricultural ditches, berms, and embankments from the 1700s and 1800s have changed the water flow and water levels of marshes throughout coastal New England. These changes have affected marsh plant communities, created large pools on the marsh devoid of vegetation, and ultimately prevent marsh ecosystems from keeping pace with rising seas.
Restoration designs that are in development will identify approaches to improve marsh hydrology, habitat, and long-term resilience so that marshes can naturally gain elevation with rising sea levels.
Project partners: York Land Trust, USFWS Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
In November 2024, the Committee awarded $20,000 to the Great Works Regional Land Trust for costs associated with purchasing a conservation easement for a property along the York River in Eliot. Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Maine Farmland Trust provided substantial funding for the easement purchase. The easement allows sustained agricultural and forestry uses, while maintaining natural shorelines, wetlands, and other important habitats.
The 126-acre property includes over 8,000 feet of undeveloped tidal shoreline and is part of a larger 460-acre unfragmented habitat block with wildlife corridor connections to other nearby large undeveloped areas. It contains salt marshes and natural areas where marshes can expand over time as seas rise.
This area is a conservation priority identified by many state and regional initiatives including Maine DIFW Beginning with Habitat Program’s Statewide Areas of Ecological Significance, MCHT’s Marshes for the Future, USFWS Rachel Carson NWR York River Division focus boundary, USFWS Great Thicket NWR focus boundary, Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Initiative’s focus area, GWRLT’s York Pond/York River focus area, and Eliot’s Open Space Plan, among others.
Project partners: Great Works Regional Land Trust, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and Maine Farmland Trust.