Cousins River Marsh Bird Monitoring
The Cousins River Marsh Collaborative, a dedicated group of local partners including FCT, has been working together to restore and protect the Cousins River Marsh in Freeport and Yarmouth, Maine. The marsh has been heavily impacted by historical agricultural embankments and ditches disrupting the natural flow of water in the marsh. Historical salt hay farming practices has led to water pooling in some areas rather than emptying out with the natural tides causing adverse effects for the vegetation and wildlife habitats.
Earlier this year, two members of the Cousins River Marsh Collaborative were awarded grants towards the marsh work, enabling marsh restoration to begin! As a preliminary step of the restoration work, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Gulf of Maine Coastal Program and the Maine Field Office assisted Maine Coast Heritage Trust in conducting bird and vegetation surveys to inform them of the current conditions prior to restoration work. Several FCT summer interns were excited to attend and learn more about the project from the experts at USFWS and MCHT.
FCT Executive Director Carrie Kinne with a summer intern Audrey Piltch on the Cousins River Marsh this summer.