None The Nature Conservancy in Maine Press Releases Search All Press Releases Laura Sewall (207) 442-7205 lsewall@suscom-maine.net The Kennebec Estuary Collaboration 92 Front Street, Bath, ME

Kennebec Estuary Collaboration Formed

Executive Director Hired to Increase Local Land Conservation

BATH, MAINE — March 28, 2007 — Recognizing that the salt marshes, shellfish beds and large forested areas of the Kennebec Estuary are seriously threatened by rapid residential and commercial development, two local conservation groups have joined forces to increase the pace of land conservation. The newly formed Kennebec Estuary Collaboration will focus on new land conservation and the stewardship of conservation lands within the Lower Kennebec River Region.

The Collaboration is a partnership of the Phippsburg Land Trust and the Lower Kennebec Regional Land Trust. The two organizations are partnering by sharing an Executive Director and an administrative assistant. By working together, the groups hope to foster community-based conservation and stewardship, and to increase the efficiency of their work in the lower Kennebec region.

The Collaboration recently hired its first executive director, Laura Sewall of Phippsburg. Sewall will focus on building capacity for both land trusts and working with landowners interested in conservation. Sewall, the great-granddaughter of Bath Shipbuilder Arthur Sewall, has a long-term connection to the area.

“I am returning to family roots and giving something back to the river and surrounding lands where my ancestors made their living,” said Sewall.

The Kennebec Estuary is the largest tidal estuary on the East Coast north of the Hudson and drains five rivers. Containing over 20% of Maine’s tidal marshes, this system provides critical habitat for endangered and threatened species, including osprey and eagles, short-nosed sturgeon, piping plover, and least and roseate terns.

The Lower Kennebec River is blessed with a significant amount of conservation land. In addition to important habitat for wildlife, these lands protect drinking water and provide local residents with access for fishing, hunting, clamming and other recreational activities.

“Keeping land in this region open for these traditional uses is going to take a collective effort involving numerous partners,” says Sewall. “According to the State Planning Office, poor land use planning combined with the current pace of development will leave the midcoast region with strip malls and suburban sprawl by 2025—unless we choose otherwise.”

“Right now, these towns still have the ability to choose what they want to look like,” says The Nature Conservancy’s Will Brune. “Working with communities to help implement the conservation and open space goals of their comprehensive plans will be a big part of the Kennebec Estuary Collaboration’s work.”

“This partnership is about pooling our resources to be more effective and strategic in preserving the habitats and species of the Kennebec Estuary,” says Jack Witham, President of the Lower Kennebec Regional Land Trust. “By working together, we will be better able to keep up with the accelerating development pressures in the region.”

The Kennebec Estuary Collaborative is supported by The Nature Conservancy, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the Maine Coast Protection Initiative, the Merrymeeting Trust and the partnering land trusts.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.