Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance: Kennebec Estuary Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance Kennebec Estuary Focus Area Municipalities Arrowsic Bath Bowdoinham Brunswick Dresden Gardiner Georgetown Perkins Twp Swan Island Phippsburg Pittston Richmond Topsham West Bath Westport Island Wiscasset Woolwich WHY IS THIS AREA SIGNIFICANT? Rare Animals The Kennebec Estuary Focus Area contains Bald Eagle Piping Plover Spotted Turtle Least Tern more than 20 percent of Maine’s tidal marshes, a Harlequin Duck Roseate Tern significant percentage of Maine’s sandy beach and Tidewater Mucket Arctic Tern associated dune habitats, and globally rare pitch Ribbon Snake Short-nosed Sturgeon Redfin Pickerel Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed pine woodland communities. More than two dozen Atlantic Salmon Sparrow rare plant species inhabit the area’s diverse natural communities. Eight imperiled species of animals have Rare Plants Lilaeopsis Eaton’s Bur-marigold been documented in the Focus Area, and it contains Mudwort Estuary Bur-marigold some of the state’s best habitat for bald eagles. Dwarf Bulrush Long-leaved Bluet Marsh Bulrush Estuary Monkeyflower Dry Land Sedge Smooth Sandwort OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION Yellow Pond-lily Beaked Spikerush » Work with willing landowners to permanently Clammy Azalea Long’s Bitter-cress Pygmyweed Spongy Arrow-head protect remaining undeveloped areas. Tidal Spikerush Narrow-leaf Arrowhead » Encourage town planners to improve approaches Stiff Arrow-head Sweet Pepper-bush to development that may impact Focus Area Parker’s Pipewort Small Salt-marsh Aster Mountain-laurel Horned Pondweed functions. Marsh-elder Saltmarsh False-foxglove » Educate recreational users about the ecological and Water Pimpernel Large-purple False Foxglove economic benefits provided by the Focus Area. Monitor invasive plants to detect problems early. Rare and Exemplary Natural Communities » Alder Thicket Coastal Dune-marsh Ecosystem » Find ways to mitigate past and future Pitch Pine Bog Maritime Spruce–Fir Forest contamination of the watershed. Dune Grassland Pitch Pine Dune Woodland Mixed Saltmarsh Rose Maritime Shrubland Salt-hay Saltmarsh Silver Maple Floodplain Forest For more conservation opportunities, visit the Pitch Pine Woodland Tidal Marsh Estuary Ecosystem Beginning with Habitat Online Toolbox: www. Brackish Tidal Marsh White Oak–Red Oak Forest beginningwithhabitat.org/toolbox/about_toolbox. Freshwater Tidal Marsh Spruce–Pine Woodland html. Significant Wildlife Habitats Roseate Tern Tidal Wading Bird and Waterfowl Habitat Photo credits, top to bottom: Robert Perron, Bruce Kidman, The Inland Wading Bird and Waterfowl Habitat Nature Conservancy, Margaret Pizer, The Nature Conservancy Deer Wintering Area Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance: Kennebec Estuary Margaret Pizer FOCUS AREA OVERVIEW The Kennebec Estuary Focus Area contains more than 20 coast. Recreational activities and invasive species also pose percent of Maine’s tidal marshes, a significant percentage significant threats to the Focus Area’s habitats and wildlife. of Maine’s sandy beach and associated dune habitats, and globally rare pitch pine woodland communities. This diverse Conservation priorities in the Kennebec Estuary include habi- complex of rare and exemplary natural communities provides tat for migratory fish, undeveloped shoreline for bald eagle critical habitat for more than two dozen rare plant species and nesting and roosting, intact beaches and dunes, freshwater several endangered and threatened animal species. and saltwater tidal marshes, and the upland forests that buffer these shoreline ecosystems and provide habitat for song- The Focus Area extends southward from Gardiner and Pittston birds and mammals. Publicly owned conservation lands in at its upstream end to Phippsburg and Georgetown at the the Focus Area help to protect clam flats, drinking water, and coast. Along with the mainstem of the Kennebec River, it en- community-based agriculture, and they provide recreational compasses numerous inlets and tributaries with hundreds of opportunities, such fishing, hunting, and hiking. miles of tidal waterfront. THE UPPER KENNEBEC ESTUARY Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea, where fresh wa- Merrymeeting Bay ter mixes with salt. Because of the rich supply of nutrients and At the heart of the Kennebec Estuary is Merrymeeting Bay, one varied habitats, estuaries are renowned for their productivity of the most important waterfowl areas in New England. Six and ecological importance. The Kennebec Estuary features rivers, draining one-third of the state of Maine, converge in 25,000 acres of prime waterfowl habitat, unusual freshwater Merrymeeting Bay to form an inland, freshwater, tidal delta. tidal conditions, and one of the few places in the world where major rivers come together to form an enclosed tidal delta. Extensive beds of emergent and submerged aquatic vegeta- tion support thousands of ducks, geese, rails, wading birds, The estuary faces ever-increasing development pressures, as and other water-dependent species during spring and fall more residential and second homes are built along Maine’s migrations. Wild rice is common throughout the bay, provid- Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance: Kennebec Estuary Rik Sferra ing an important food source for migratory waterfowl and Like many areas of Merrymeeting Bay, the freshwater tidal other birds such as bobolinks. The intertidal mudflats are also marshes along the Cathance River are dominated by wild rice important feeding areas for migrating shorebirds. Floodplain (Zizania aquatica). Less abundant are pickerelweed (Pontede- forests and shrub swamps serve as key migratory stopover ria cordata), water parsnip (Sium sauve), soft-stem bulrush sites for neo-tropical passerines. (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontanii), and river bulrush (Bolbos- choenus fluviatilis). Perhaps the most notable inhabitant of this Over 50 species of freshwater fish and ten species of anadro- stretch of river is the globally rare Eaton’s bur marigold (Bidens mous fish use Merrymeeting Bay, including the rare Atlantic eatonii). More than a thousand individuals of this rare plant salmon (Salmo salar), shortnosed sturgeon (Acipenser bre- live along a 300-meter section of the riverbank. Also present virostrum), and Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus). At are the rare estuary bur marigold (Bidens hyperborea), spongy least one rare mussel species, the tidewater mucket (Leptodea arrowhead (Sagittaria calycina ssp. spongiosa), Parker’s pipe- ochracea), inhabits the bay. One of the small tributaries flow- wort (Eriocaulon parkeri), and Long’s bittercress (Cardamine ing into Merrymeeting Bay is Maine’s only known location for longii). the redfin pickerel (Esox americanus). American eels, currently believed to be declining in much of their geographic range, Chops Creek are abundant in parts of the bay. A freshwater tidal marsh covering approximately 100 acres extends along much of Chops Creek. The marsh is dominated Merrymeeting Bay has some of the northeast’s best habitat for by American bulrush (Schoenoplectus pungens) at the southern rare plants associated with tidal freshwater marshes. Sev- end and wild rice (Zizania aquatica) further upstream. Pickerel- eral sites around the bay are particularly significant, such as weed (Pontederia cordata) and bull-head lily (Nuphar variega- the Cathance River, Chops Creek, Eastern River, Lines Island, tum) live near the low-tide line along the creek. A small cove Abagadasset Point, and Swan Island. a few hundred meters north of Chops Point supports Parker’s pipewort (Eriocaulon parkeri), water pimpernel (Samolus val- Cathance River erandi), pygmyweed (Crassula aquatica), estuary bur-marigold The Cathance River, meaning “crooked river” in Abenaki, is (Bidens hyperborea), Eaton’s bur-marigold (Bidens eatonii), mud- a twenty-mile, roaming river that navigates its way through wort (Limosella australis), and thousands of spongy arrowhead Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, and Topsham. The surrounding water- (Sagittaria calycina ssp. spongiosa) plants. shed is mostly rural with forests, fields, and agricultural lands. The river and the associated Bradley Pond are known for excel- Chops Creek has the highest abundance of submerged aquatic lent paddling and fishing. vegetation of all sites inventoried to date in Merrymeeting Bay. Dominant species are tapegrass (Valisneria americana) and The watershed has habitats for rare plants, waterfowl, mam- pondweeds (Potamogeton perfoliatus and others), but several mals, amphibians, bald eagles, and other flora and fauna. This other species are present. The adjoining uplands are intact area is relatively free of invasive plants, and the vegetation and forested, and sparse residential development within the helps to remove pollutants from the groundwater and surface creek’s watershed provides ample buffering and great poten- water before they enter the river. tial for conservation. Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance: Kennebec Estuary Rik Sferra Eastern River Well known as a wintering area for bald eagles, the Eastern bald eagles, white-tailed deer, and wild turkey. The island is River also features numerous rare plants and a freshwater tidal the site of a small, abandoned town formerly known as Perkins marsh. The rivershore has abrupt banks with overhanging Township, and it has long been recognized for its interesting trees, low oxbows, and meanders with extensive mudflats of history. Native American tribes, early explorers,