Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance: Maquoit and Middle Bay Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance Maquoit and Middle Bay Biophysical Region • Casco Bay Coast WHY IS THIS AREA SIGNIFICANT? The Maquoit and Middle Bay Focus Area includes Rare Animals several peninsulas, protected embayments and more Bald Eagle than a dozen islands. Spartina saltmarsh, a rare natural Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow community, inter-tidal mudflats, and eelgrass beds Rare Plants support rare animals as well as fish, invertebrates, Wild Leek waterfowl, wading birds, and other wildlife, including commercially valuable species. Rare and Exemplary Natural Communities Salt-hay Saltmarsh OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION Significant Wildlife Habitats » Work with willing landowners to permanently protect Inland Wading Bird and Waterfowl Habitat remaining undeveloped areas. Tidal Wading Bird and Waterfowl Habitat » Encourage town planners to improve approaches to Shorebird Area development that may impact Focus Area functions. Seabird Nesting Island » Encourage landowners to maintain enhanced riparian buffers. » Monitor and remove invasive plant populations. » Identify and restore tidal restrictions and undersized culverts. » Educate recreational users about the ecological and Public Access Opportunities economic benefits provided by the Focus Area. » Wolf’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport For more conservation opportunities, visit the » MDIFW Mere Point Boat Beginning with Habitat Online Toolbox: www. Launch, Brunswick beginningwithhabitat.org/toolbox/about_toolbox.html. » MDIFW Wharton Point, Brunswick Photo credits, top to bottom: Steve Walker, MDIFW (photos 1-4), Garth McElroy (bottom photo) 1 Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance: Maquoit and Middle Bay Steve Walker, MDFIW FOCUS AREA OVERVIEW The Maquoit and Middle Bay Focus Area extends from Brook/Cousins River saltmarshes are approximately 190 acres Harpswell Neck in the east to the lower Royal River at the in size and extend west of Interstate 95. village of Yarmouth in the west. This Focus Area includes the lower Royal River, the Cousins River, the Harraseeket River, Spartina saltmarshes provide excellent spawning habitat for Maquoit Bay, Merepoint Bay, Middle Bay, peninsulas such as diadromous fish, species that use both marine and fresh- Wolfe’s Neck and Merepoint Neck, and more than a dozen water habitats during their life cycle. The saltmarshes within islands in the protected waters of these embayments. Maquoit and Middle Bay may account in part for the high fish diversity in the lower Royal River. The Royal and Cousins Rivers The diversity of habitats within the Maquoit and Middle Bay both support seasonal runs of diadromous fish species, includ- Focus Area provide for an extraordinary array of ecological ing alewives, shad, and smelt. values. The Focus Area includes several saltmarshes located along the Royal River, the Cousins River, and at the head of These saltmarshes provide breeding habitat for a number of Maquoit Bay. Spartina saltmarshes are considered a rare com- migratory bird species, including the rare saltmarsh sharp- munity type in Maine, although many examples occur on con- tailed sparrow, which has been documented at Cousins servation land. Like many saltmarshes, the occurrences in Ma- River saltmarshes and at the small saltmarsh at the head of quoit and Middle Bay were farmed for salt hay by early settlers. Maquoit Bay. The saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow is a secretive There are two major zones of vegetation within saltmarshes. species with very narrow habitat requirements found only in The low marsh is located on the lower elevations that border coastal saltmarshes of the eastern United States. They breed the mudflats of the river and the drainage channels within the from southern Maine to the Delmarva Peninsula and winter in saltmarsh. This low marsh zone is dominated almost exclu- coastal areas from Massachusetts to Florida. Widespread loss, sively by saltwater cordgrass. There is a high marsh zone that degradation, and fragmentation of coastal saltmarshes along is dominated by saltmeadow cordgrass and black grass with a the eastern seaboard are the biggest threats to this species. mix of other typical saltmarsh species including goosetongue, Habitat preservation and restoration are the most important seaside goldenrod, sea milkwort, and sea lavender. The Pratt factors for conserving the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow. 2 Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance: Maquoit and Middle Bay Eelgrass beds are scattered throughout the Focus Area, with the largest ones located in upper Maquoit Bay and the mouth of the Harraseeket River. Others of notable size are located in Ecological Services of the Focus Area the upper portion of Middle Bay and at the mouth of the Royal • Nutrient export to marine food webs River. Eelgrass forms extensive underwater meadows in shal- • Nursery for juvenile fish and shellfish low bays and coves, tidal creeks, and estuaries. It is a flowering • Contributes to biodiversity by providing plant that reproduces by seed and by vegetative growth. Eel- habitat to both rare and common species grass beds are among the most productive plant communities in the world, and they are ecologically important because they serve as a nursery, habitat, and feeding area for many fish, wa- Economic Contributions of the Focus Area terfowl, wading birds, invertebrates, and other wildlife, includ- • Tourist destination for wildlife ing commercially valuable fish and shellfish. Eelgrass reduces observation, paddling, hunting and water pollution by absorbing nutrients, and it dampens wave angling energy and slows currents, which helps stabilize sediments • Protective buffer for storm surge and buffer shorelines. Because of its important ecological • Supports local marine resource industries functions, loss of eelgrass beds can result in reduced fish and wildlife populations, degraded water quality, and increased shoreline erosion. Marine worms are abundant in the intertidal flats of this Soft-shell clam flats are plentiful, especially in the lower Royal region. The largest concentrations are found in upper Maquoit and Cousins River drainages in Yarmouth. These productive Bay, the mouth of the Harraseeket River, and in the broad flats yield large numbers of clams for both harvesters and coves on the northern side of Cousins Island. Marine worms wildlife. in Maine include commercially harvestable bloodworms and sandworms. These worms live in muddy and sandy habitats The waters of the lower Royal and Cousins rivers are excellent along the coast that are also economically valuable for shell- feeding areas for migratory shorebirds, as are sections of the fish and ecologically critical as feeding grounds for migratory Harraseeket River and upper Maquoit Bay. A significant por- birds and other species. Although populations and landing tion of the waters of this Focus Area are mapped as Waterfowl numbers have fluctuated over the years, marine worm land- and Wading Bird Habitat and many waterfowl overwinter ings have declined overall since the 1950s. in the larger bays. Upper Goose Island in the lower portion of Middle Bay supports one of the largest heron rookeries in Breeding populations of horseshoe crabs are found in three New England. There is one Seabird Nesting Island within the distinct areas: Middle Bay, the east shore of Maquoit Bay, and Focus Area. Seabird Nesting Islands provide nesting places for the Harraseeket River. Horseshoe crabs occur in protected a wide range of seabirds that may include terns, puffins, guil- sandy beach areas, nearshore shallow waters, intertidal flats, lemots, razorbills, Leach’s storm petrels, and eider ducks. and deep bay waters from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. Spawning occurs in late spring on protected sandy There are several known nesting sites for bald eagles in this beaches at high tides of the new and full moon. Males arrive Focus Area, including Williams Island and Sow and Pigs in the first and await the females who will lay up to 80,000 eggs in lower portions of Maquoit Bay, and Fogg Point at the mouth a spawning season, less than 10 of which will reach adult- of the Royal/Cousins Rivers. Bald eagles nest along sea coasts, hood. Horseshoe crabs feed primarily on clams and worms, inland lakes and major rivers. Once abundant in Maine, bald and in turn are fed upon by shorebirds (including the State eagles were nearly extirpated throughout their range because Endangered least tern and the State Endangered and Federally of widespread use of environmental contaminants. Due to a Threatened piping plover), crabs, gastropods, many fish spe- wide variety of efforts, bald eagles have now made a dramatic cies, and sea turtles. Shoreline development and subsequent recovery. Management will continue to ensure that declines habitat degradation is a potential threat to Maine populations. of the past are not repeated, and that habitat and a clean en- Maine’s small populations have generally been overlooked for vironment persist to promote population growth and expan- commercial and pharmaceutical uses. If they were harvested sion. Bald eagles and thier nests are protected by the USFWS for commercial purposes these small populations would likely under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. be depleted. In 2003, taking and possession of horseshoe crabs became prohibited in Maine. 3 Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance: Maquoit and Middle Bay CONSERVATION CONSIDERATIONS crossing structure