Continue harpswell heritage land trust s (hhlt) ability to assist conservation partners in maine in the protection of additional wildlife habitat

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Gulf of Maine Coastal Program (CFDA 15.630) provides $110,000 to the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust (HHLT) to assist conservation partners in Maine with protecting additional wildlife habitat. Key activities include:

• Producing GIS-based habitat maps to support USFWS habitat protection initiatives in the Gulf of Maine watershed, incorporating data from multiple sources.
• Managing GIS data and mapping needs for the USFWS Gulf of Maine Coastal Program by distributing data and products to federal, state, and non-governmental partners.
• Participating in cooperative conservation partnerships to provide additional assistance, as staffing permits, to projects protecting and restoring fish and wildlife habitat.
• Assessing marsh parcel ownership in southern Maine to prioritize restoration and easement protection opportunities.
• Developing a land protection plan and environmental assessment to expand the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge acquisition boundary.

The award period is from January 15, 2025 to January 15, 2027.

Hhlt, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and wildlife service gulf of maine coastal program, rachel carson national wildlife refuge, and other conservation partners will produce habitat maps using GIS and shared data. These maps will support habitat protection initiatives of the service that depict habitat from the service s gulf of maine watershed-wide GIS habitat analysis, nalcc nature network, wetland and cover information from national wetland inventory, habitat data from state agencies, and current conservation ownership status of nearby lands from multiple sources. Hhlt will also assist in managing GIS data and mapping needs for service s gulf of maine coastal program by distributing GIS data and products to federal, state and non-government organization (NGO) partners involved in cooperative conservation projects. Hhlt will also participate with federal and state agencies and other NGO s in cooperative conservation partnerships by providing additional assistance, as needed and as available staffing permits, to support projects designed to protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat. Consultant will assess marsh parcel ownership in southern maine for prioritizing restoration and easement protection opportunities in coordination with the gomcp. Additionally, the contractor will assist the gulf of maine coastal program with the development of a gomcp sharepoint site or a similar site for file storage and program information sharing. GIS consultant will develop a land protection plan (LPP) environmental assessment for expansion of the rachel carson national wildlife refuge acquisition boundary. This effort proposes to protect in perpetuity in fee title and conservation easement some 6,000 acres of salt marsh migration lands and some 9,000 acres for future salt marsh buffer and public access (priority public use) purposes. These lands would be added to the 5,800 acres of lands that the refuge already manages (within a currently approved 14,684-acre acquisition boundary) along 50 miles of coastline in york and cumberland counties. The LPP will expand the current refuge acquisition boundary to account for climate change, biotic and abiotic variables, and a growing human population in southern maine. This includes data on sea-level rise, salt marsh migration potential, trust resource distribution and abundance, landscape connectivity, the existence of core and connector habitats, the state of maines wildlife action plan and human population growth data and projections for york and cumberland counties. The service will provide the funding for the contractor to complete proposed activities, coordinate closely with the contractor to complete the objectives listed, and provide government equipment and supplies to contractor. Furthermore, the service will review and approve any proposed modifications to the scope if work or budget and provide guidance, technical support and or review as needed.