Category: Volunteer

May 2, 2024

A Friend to Eelgrass: A Water Reporter Helps Look After a Vital Ecosystem in Peril

Susan Woodman is eager to get to the beach during the lowest of low tides to glimpse her favorite eelgrass beds. It’s 6:47 a.m. and the tide is still way out. She can spot it in the distance. Susan began photographing the eelgrass meadows at Willard Beach about a year ago as a volunteer Water Reporter for Friends of Casco Bay. “It’s become like my garden,” she says. “It’s really quite pretty, like a field of very green grass.”

A healthy bed of eelgrass growing in clean, clear water. Photo credit: Steve Karpiak.

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is a flowering marine plant that grows in shallow, coastal waters of Casco Bay and up and down the Atlantic seaboard. To the folks who named it, its long leaves looked like eels swimming in the water. For Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca, it conjures up images of ballerinas swaying together with the waves.

Eelgrass habitats are vital ecosystems.

Beyond its lovely green locks, eelgrass habitats are dynamic ecosystems that play an essential role in the health of our fisheries, oceans, and planet. The eggs and larvae of bivalves, especially blue mussels and clams, get their start in these natural nurseries. Young fish, such as herring, striped bass, shrimp, and lobster, find safe refuge amongst the tall green eelgrasses. Its rooted blades also hold sediment in place, buffering the shoreline from storm damage and trapping carbon and excess nitrogen. Because eelgrass needs clean, clear water to thrive, it is an important indicator of water quality – meaning, if you’ve got healthy eelgrass, you’ve got healthy water for fish and shellfish.

These superheroes seagrasses have been quietly keeping our oceans healthy, our fisheries abundant, and our coastlines intact.

At Willard Beach, Susan notices chunks of the eelgrass meadows are missing. She points to a series of scattered sections that had once been an unbroken expanse, now divided into patches like an archipelago of islands. Susan is certain the January storms that ravaged so much of Maine’s coast also caused significant damage to the eelgrasses at Willard Beach.

Something is happening to Casco Bay’s eelgrass. This vital ecosystem is in peril.

In 2018, Casco Bay’s eelgrass was mapped by Maine Department of Environmental Protection, revealing an extensive network of eelgrass beds. But four years later, when mapped again in 2022, 54% of all eelgrass beds in Casco Bay had disappeared – a huge loss in a short amount of time. Ivy notes, “We know eelgrass comes and goes in cycles. But a loss this catastrophic signals that something more is going on.”

Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection eelgrass mapping has been invaluable and revealed a need for more frequent and regular mapping. Maine DEP had temporary funding for the 2018 and 2022 eelgrass mapping. Soon afterward, Friends of Casco Bay helped to pass a bill that now funds the mapping of eelgrass across the entire Maine coast in five year cycles.

Without clear sunlight reaching the leaves, eelgrass struggles to thrive in cloudy waters and places where excess nitrogen feeds blooms of algae and phytoplankton. Lawn fertilizers, wastewater, stormwater, and air pollution all contribute to nitrogen pollution. Photo credit Sonny McAplin.

What’s destroying the eelgrasses of Casco Bay? The problems offer us clues…and hope for the future.

Before attempting to restore eelgrass beds, we want to understand why they are failing. Without addressing the causes of failure, planting new eelgrass will not be successful.

Friends of Casco Bay has joined a two-year collaborative pilot project. Over the summers of 2024 and 2025, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Manomet, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Team Zostera, and the scientists at Friends of Casco Bay will work together on a project to study factors putting eelgrass at risk and begin testing restoration solutions.

A team of many talents.

Friends of Casco Bay scientists, Mike Doan and Heather Kenyon, will do what they do best – collect data on water temperature, water quality, nutrient concentrations, and light availability – to examine issues such as nitrogen loading and warming waters. While our partner organization Manomet will monitor the green crabs. Team Zostera divers will get us ready for phase two by studying the seed germination cycle of eelgrass. We are asking our volunteer Water Reporters to work with us to document eelgrass washed up on shore for signs of nutrient impairment, green crab damage, and other harm. Casco Bay Estuary Partnership is managing the project.

Next year, the project team will test methods for seeding eelgrass using seeds collected by Team Zostera. In coming years, Maine may need to consider seeding more heat-resistant varieties of eelgrass from regions to the south.

The hope behind the pilot project’s efforts is to start moving on solutions and restoration before it’s too late.

The pilot project will monitor two eelgrass beds in 2024 and 2025: one off Mackworth Island and a second site in Cumberland’s Broad Cove.

Eelgrass restoration in Casco Bay might be possible. An effort to restore eelgrass beds along Virginia’s Eastern Shore began in 2000 with a few seeds from the York River. Today, these seagrass meadows have grown to 6,195 acres—providing a home for an estimated 200,000 bay scallops reared in a hatchery. Image credit: Bob Orth, Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Everyone can be part of the solution for Casco Bay’s eelgrass habitats.

To be a friend to the amazing eelgrasses of Casco Bay, we recommend these actions:

Become a BayScaper by limiting your use of fertilizers, or better yet, opting out of fertilizing your lawn and garden to reduce excess nitrogen entering the watershed (this applies to all locations in the watershed, from Bethel to the beach). If your property is next to water, plant a buffer of native plants to reduce nitrogen runoff.
Walk carefully at low tide to avoid stepping on fragile eelgrass beds.
Boat smart in shallow waters. Propellers, anchors, and mooring chains can all damage eelgrass.
Install high, narrow ramps and docks to avoid shading eelgrass beds.
Use sustainable harvesting practices to prevent damage from aquaculture moorings, lobster traps, and shellfish/worming rakes.

Volunteer Susan Woodman was heartened to hear news of our pilot project because she recognizes eelgrass as an indicator of a healthy ecosystem, as well as a potential carbon sink. “Climate change is something I worry about. How can you not?” Eelgrass is increasingly being studied as a nature-based solution to addressing the climate crisis.

You might also consider becoming a Water Reporter, like Susan.

Before the tide inches up over the Willard Beach eelgrass meadows, Susan bends her body over to get a closer look, holding a delicate green blade like the hand of a friend. She notes the length of the blades, the interesting bumps and holes in the sand, and wonders what else is living amongst the eelgrass. Susan enjoys volunteering as a Water Reporter with Friends of Casco Bay. “It feels as though you’re contributing something and looking after the beach.”

Water Reporters make a difference.

As a Water Reporter, Susan is providing an important service to Casco Bay. By photographing evidence of algal blooms, sea level rise, pollution, eelgrass, wildlife sightings, and other notable observations with an app on their smartphones, Water Reporters help us see how the Bay is changing over time. This helps us learn how our communities can make better choices. If you are interested in becoming a Water Reporter, sign up here.

While the future of eelgrass in Casco Bay is indeed in peril, Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca reminds us, “We do this work, because we’re hopeful.”

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Maine DEP’s eelgrass mapping in 2022 was funded due to the passing of legislation that Friends of Casco Bay helped to pass. Maine DEP used temporary funds to do the mapping work for both 2018 and 2022. The bill that Friends of Casco Bay helped to pass will fund the future mapping of eelgrass across the Maine coast in five year cycles.

December 21, 2023

Our Top 10 Moments of 2023

As this year comes to an end, let’s reflect and celebrate the many ways that we worked together to protect the health of Casco Bay in 2023. Here are our top ten stories of the year:

1) We won a four-year moratorium on new sources of pollution into the lower Presumpscot River. The moratorium prevents the permitting of new industrial or wastewater discharges into the river near where it empties into Casco Bay. As the Presumpscot drains two-thirds of the Casco Bay watershed, this was a big win for our waters. Portland Press Herald wrote an in-depth story on this effort. Our lead advocate, Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca won the Chief Poulin Award for her work on the moratorium. Ivy is shown here receiving the award from Friends of the Presumpscot River board member, Will Plumley.

2) More than 100 of our volunteer Water Reporters deepened their knowledge about Casco Bay. Volunteer Water Reporters attended a wide array of meet-ups and trainings all around the Bay this year. Water Reporters spent time with experts and heard the most up-to-date information about living shorelines, marsh restoration, invasive species, and stormwater pollution.

3) The “Sensor Squad” is moving science forward for Casco Bay and all of Maine’s coastal waters. Good decisions are made using good data. Led, in part, by our Staff Scientist Mike Doan, the Sensor Squad is working to ensure we are using the most accurate climate change and acidification techniques and protocols we can. This work is a part of Maine Ocean Climate Collaborative, a coalition of scientists and marine organizations from the University of New Hampshire to the border of Maine and Canada working to improve climate change data collection. Friends of Casco Bay helps to lead the Collaborative.

4) Passamaquoddy Language Keeper Dwayne Tomah was the featured speaker at our Members Annual Meeting in August. He shared the Passamaquoddy word for ceremony, “olotahkewakon,” noting that our gathering was a ceremony for our mother earth. Dwayne’s refrain throughout the evening was “We are all in this together.” Watch the inspiring talk here.

5) We maintained the strength of the permit that regulates stormwater pollution from large urban communities. You may remember that we celebrated this stricter permit as our top story of 2022. Stormwater is one of the largest sources of pollution into Casco Bay. Since the permit that regulates urban stormwater went into effect in July 2022, we have been working to ensure that it is properly implemented. In November, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection agreed with us that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection must ensure that towns covered by the permit implement low-impact development ordinances that include nine strategies designed to reduce stormwater pollution from new construction and redevelopment.

6) The City of South Portland launched 100 Resilient Yards, providing a grassroots way to bring best practices in yard care directly to neighborhoods around the city. Residents and businesses who took part in the program were given technical and physical assistance to build healthy soils that protect Casco Bay. Experts and volunteers helped residents build rain gardens, grow pollinator gardens, and more. We hope other towns around the Bay look at this program as a model!

7) We organized 15 fun coastal cleanups, including one with the surf rock band Easy Honey and one with the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust. These cleanups gave community members a hands-on way to make a direct difference in the health of our waters by preventing waste and litter from being washed into the Bay.

8) We hired Community Organizer and Volunteer Coordinator Sara Freshley! Over the past 10 months, Sara has become an integral part of our team. She’s helped deepen the knowledge of our Water Reporters, organized storm drain stenciling and coastal cleanups, and worked to expand our outreach efforts.

9) We helped organize an expired flare collection event in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Casco Bay and the Maine State Fire Marshall. The event was a great success, collecting 1,945 expired marine flares. Marine flares are pyrotechnic devices that boaters can use as a distress signal in emergencies. They burn at high temperatures, posing a serious fire hazard for long-term storage. Flares also contain toxic chemicals that can contaminate water and soil. Due to these hazardous qualities, it is illegal to throw flares in the trash, and ill-advised to store them at home.

Scenic Category Winner 1st Place, Student Category Winner, Best of Show, by Ava McKinley

10) We got in touch with our artistic side! Our online event, Water as Inspiration, brought together three regional artists to draw the connections between creativity, the environment, and climate change. We had dozens of submissions to “Frame the Bay,” our first-ever photo contest at our Members Annual Meeting. And we shared the stage with filmmaker Maximillian Armstrong at our Film Fest for Casco Bay.

As YOU know, Casco Bay is an inspiration! Thank you for helping us protect this amazing place and for being a Friend of Casco Bay.

December 19, 2023

Water Reporters Deepen Their Knowledge of Casco Bay

What are some techniques for observing the natural world around me more mindfully? How can you tell if a saltwater marsh is healthy or if it is eroding at an unnatural pace? What are some commonly overlooked invasive species that are affecting Casco Bay? How is nitrogen pollution linked to the growth of large nuisance algal blooms?

This summer and fall, Friends of Casco Bay’s volunteer Water Reporters found out the answers to these questions and more as we hosted a wide array of meet-ups and trainings all around the Bay. More than 100 volunteers attended these special events. Water Reporters spent time with experts and heard the most up- to-date information about living shorelines, marsh restoration, invasive species, and stormwater pollution.

“I am very grateful to Friends of Casco Bay for the wonderful learning opportunities they provide to me as a Water Reporter,” says volunteer Catherine Tarpy. “The events are free and give us a top-quality education about the current status and future of Casco Bay. One more thing, they’re so much fun!”

Volunteer Water Reporters take photos and observations of pollution, climate change, and ecological problems that are impacting Casco Bay. Volunteers also share observations of good news, such as rare wildlife sightings. Our staff receives notices of the posts, including latitude and longitude. Friends of Casco Bay staff then follow up with every post, which sometimes involves visiting the site of the post to further investigate.

“Our volunteer Water Reporters are on the front lines of climate change,” shared Community Organizer and Volunteer Coordinator Sara Freshley. “They are tracking changes they are seeing and helping us be the eyes of the Bay. We are working to give these volunteers the opportunity to learn more about the biggest threats to our coastal waters and to deepen their knowledge of the Bay.”

Sara organized six Water Reporter training events from June through September. She also happens to be our newest staff member.

“We are excited to have Sara aboard,” said Executive Director Will Everitt. “We created her position to double-down on the idea that it takes a community to take care of the health of Casco Bay. Sara has jumped into the work with both feet!”

Although cold weather is beginning, our Water Reporter events will continue as our volunteers post their observations year-round. Friends of Casco Bay will host online events this winter.

You can learn more about our Water Reporter program by visiting cascobay.org/water-reporter. And if you haven’t had the chance to meet Sara or volunteer yet, you can reach out to her by sending an email to sfreshley [at] cascobay [dot] org.

Thank you to Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, L.L.Bean, Allagash Brewing Company, Ferris Olson Family Foundation for Ocean Stewardship, WEX, and our members for their support of our Water Reporter program.

Volunteer Water Reporters joined Friends of Casco Bay at six meetup and training events so far this year, including a season kickoff event, a salt marsh training, an invasive species training,a mindful observation event, and a stormwater training. Invasive training photo by Perry Flowers.

August 13, 2023

Water Reporter Appreciation Event

Join our Water Reporter Appreciation event on Thursday, November 9, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Maine Beer Company.

May 5, 2023

New staff: welcome aboard, Sara!

Friends of Casco Bay is thrilled to announce the hiring of Sara Freshley as our new Community Organizer and Volunteer Coordinator.

Sara’s passion for Casco Bay and its communities is lifelong. Growing up on the Maine Coast inspired her to earn a bachelor’s degree in marine science, followed by a law degree focused on environmental and ocean law. As our Community Organizer and Volunteer Coordinator, Sara leads our Water Reporter program and organizes Friends of the Bay to support our stewardship efforts and environmental policies.

Sara is the person to reach out to if you have questions about Water Reporter, volunteering, our events, or getting organized to improve the health of the Bay. Please join us in giving Sara a warm welcome to the Friends of Casco Bay community!

To reach Sara, email: sfreshley [at] cascobay [dot] org.

April 27, 2023

Nab Data Suggest Land-Based Sources Contribute to Nitrogen Pollution

166 volunteers collected water samples from Portland Harbor to help measure and address nitrogen pollution. Here is what we found.

It was a sweltering summer morning on August 7, 2022 when 166 volunteers descended on Portland Harbor to collect water samples for nitrogen analysis.

After sending the 178 samples collected that day to the University of Maine Darling Marine Center Laboratory for analysis, the results are in.

Data from the Nab show nitrogen levels are generally highest near the shores of Portland Harbor, suggesting land-based sources contribute to nitrogen pollution. Each dot on the map represents one water sample. The dots are color coded based on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s nitrogen advisory thresholds. Green dots show healthy levels of nitrogen. Yellow dots show nitrogen levels that can harm eelgrass habitat. Red dots show nitrogen levels that can lead to low amounts of oxygen in Casco Bay, which can lower water quality and harm marine life.

The Nab data show nitrogen concentrations in Portland Harbor are generally highest near the shore. Lower concentrations of nitrogen are often observed in samples collected by boat from the mouth of the harbor and the middle of the harbor channel. These data suggest that land-based sources of excess nitrogen – a stormwater outfall, for example – enter the harbor at the shoreline and diffuse as water circulates with the tides.

“Seeing the data all together is remarkable,” says Staff Scientist Mike Doan. “Having so many samples collected at once gives us a robust image of nitrogen conditions in the harbor. Our incredible volunteers made this happen.” Mike adds that it is important to keep in mind that these data represent a snapshot of nitrogen conditions in the Bay’s dynamic ecosystem.

Mike compared data collected this summer to the data collected at our first Nab in 2016. The 2016 data also show nitrogen concentrations are highest near the shore. However, a key difference between the two Nabs was the weather.

The 2016 Nab coincided with a large storm. In fact, it was still raining when water samples were collected. Conversely, the 2022 Nab happened on a hot day during a summer drought.

Alicia Richards, Friends of Casco Bay’s 2022 Summer Intern, scoops water into a sample jar at Nabbing Nitrogen in August. 166 volunteers collected water samples that day from the shores of Portland, South Portland, surrounding islands, and by boat in Portland Harbor. The Nab focused on the harbor because it is showing signs of stress from nitrogen pollution.

“If land-based sources of nitrogen are affecting the harbor, we would expect nitrogen levels near the shore to be higher after a rainstorm than during a drought, and that is generally what we saw,” says Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca. “The next step is to use these data to see if there are specific sources of nitrogen around the harbor that can be addressed and to help set limits in Clean Water Act permits that decrease nitrogen discharges to healthy amounts.”

Excess nitrogen can come from many sources. Sometimes the source is easy to identify because it comes from a specific spot, like a wastewater treatment plant, stormwater outfall, or combined sewer overflow discharge. Other sources can be more difficult to identify because they are picked up by stormwater that sheets off the land when it rains. These sources can include fertilizers, car exhaust, pet waste, and more.

Data from the Nab are being used to help the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) develop nitrogen criteria for Casco Bay. These criteria will describe the levels of nitrogen that water bodies can safely absorb. They will also influence nitrogen discharge limits in Clean Water Act permits. Angela Brewer, who leads the marine unit of the Bureau of Water Quality at DEP, is excited to have these data.

“The Nab data provide a unique perspective that is essential to understanding the nitrogen dynamics in Portland area surface waters,” says Angela. “This perspective is only possible with Friends of Casco Bay’s extensive and dedicated volunteer network.”

Thank you to the volunteers who collected water samples with us at Nabbing Nitrogen, and to Allagash Brewing Company and our members for funding for this community science event. You made this work possible.

Why Does Nitrogen Matter?

Eelgrass meadows in Casco Bay declined in size by 54 percent between 2018-2022, a loss described as “staggering” by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in a January 2023 report. Many factors can contribute to loss of eelgrass. Nitrogen pollution is one of them, and unlike other contributing factors such as warming water temperatures, the amount of nitrogen in the Bay can be controlled at a local level. Photo credit: Steve Karpiak

Nitrogen is naturally found in marine waters. A healthy amount of nitrogen fertilizes algal blooms that form the base of the food chain in Casco Bay. But excess nitrogen from human sources such as wastewater, fertilizers, stormwater, and air pollution can cause excessive algal growth that harms the health of the marine environment. Some of the impacts of nitrogen pollution include degrading eelgrass beds (which are critical fish nursery habitat), exacerbating coastal acidification, lowering oxygen levels, and shutting down shellfisheries.

January 12, 2023

Water Reporters document historic flooding

On Friday, December 23, Water Reporter Brian Beckman looked out the window from his home in Phippsburg to see the West Point Wharf flooded at high tide. That day, the combination of an astronomically high tide and strong, southeasterly winds had the potential to cause much damage to the wharf. An adjacent wharf was knocked over in similar conditions just a few years ago.

On the opposite side of Casco Bay, around the same time that Brain was looking out his window, the tide gauge in Portland measured a high tide of 13.7 feet – the fourth highest tide recorded since data collection began in 1912.

Water Reporter Brian Beckman’s photos of West Point Wharf in Phippsburg help us to visualize the tidal range. The top photo was taken at high tide during winter storm Elliott when the wharf flooded. Brian took the lower photo earlier this summer during an unusually low tide. Volunteer Water Reporters like Brian use their smartphones and the Water Reporter app to help collect observational data on Casco Bay.

Brian lost power that day, along with hundreds of thousands of others across Maine. After hunkering down for a truly dark and stormy night, he woke the next morning to see the wharf still standing in good condition. In his 39 years living at West Point, Brian says he has seen the wharf flood only a handful of times. Considering the storm in hindsight, Brain says simply, “we got lucky.”

Elsewhere in Maine the impacts of winter storm Elliot were more severe. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, though Maine’s Emergency Management Agency has stated it will likely exceed the $2.4 million threshold for federal disaster aid. Throughout the state, extensive power outages affected more than 300,000 electricity customers, sometimes for multiple days. In southern Maine, low-lying coastal towns like Saco, Wells, and Kennebunkport saw homes and businesses flood, and roads washed out.

When salt water floods coastal areas in Maine like it did in winter storm Elliott, it is usually caused by a storm tide. Storm tides occur when an astronomically high tide is pushed higher by storm surge.

Put simply: a really high tide + a big storm = a storm tide.

Water Reporters Sandy Comstock and James Maxner visited Portland Headlight in Cape Elizabeth at the height of the storm. James says that in his many years working offshore with the U.S. Coast Guard, he has never seen waves like this before. “Those were the largest seas I’ve ever seen here,” says James. “The wind speeds were so high, the rain felt like needles hitting your skin.” The strength of the storm had an impact at Portland Headlight, where many news outlets have reported the historic lighthouse sustained substantial damage from the waves and wind.

At Friends of Casco Bay, we ask volunteer Water Reporters to photograph coastal areas during astronomically high tides. These photos help document the future impacts of sea level rise. This is because high tide and flooding events that are relatively unusual today will occur more frequently as sea levels rise.

According to scientists, the storm tide of 13.7 feet recorded during winter storm Elliott only has a 2 percent chance of occurring in any year. This means a storm tide like this should occur once every 50 years.

However, as sea levels rise those odds increase dramatically. With 1 foot of sea level rise — which is expected to occur by 2050 — the annual chances of a 13.7 foot storm tide in Portland jump to 20 percent. In other words, a 13.7 foot storm tide, like winter storm Elliott’s, would likely occur once every 5 years.

At high tide during winter storm Elliott, Water Reporter Laura Rumpf captured a photo of the shack on Fisherman’s Point at Willard Beach in South Portland. Laura says she planned to walk further up the point toward the shack, but stopped when she saw other people being pushed back in her direction by the powerful winds and ocean spray. “Growing up on the water,” says Laura, “I learned early on to respect the power of the sea.” That day, wind speeds in Portland peaked at 64 miles per hour.

In 2021, Friends of Casco Bay helped pass legislation that requires Maine to plan to manage for 1.5 feet of sea level rise by 2050 and 4 feet by 2100. The amount of sea level rise in Maine may be even higher if carbon emissions are not radically reduced. Fortunately, the state has set ambitious climate action goals and is making progress toward meeting them, says Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca.

“Maine is on track to become carbon neutral if we continue to quickly reduce emissions,” says Ivy. “Paired with ongoing efforts to make coastal communities and ecosystems resilient to more frequent flooding and storms, we are hopeful that the Casco Bay region and the rest of the coast will be prepared to weather future conditions as sea levels rise and storms increase in intensity.”

September 16, 2022

More Than 165 Volunteers Get Their Hands Wet for Casco Bay

Friends of Casco Bay volunteers took part in Nabbing Nitrogen, a Clean Water Act day of action, collecting 178 water samples to help address nitrogen pollution

Alicia Richards, Friends of Casco Bay’s 2022 summer intern, scoops water into a sample jar at Nabbing Nitrogen. Samples collected at the Nab will improve our overall understanding of how much excess nitrogen is coming from various sources around the Bay.

More than 165 volunteers from 26 communities across the Casco Bay region converged on Portland Harbor on Sunday morning, August 7, as part of a major community science event called Nabbing Nitrogen. Friends of Casco Bay organized the Nab to collect much needed data on sources of nitrogen pollution in the Harbor.

“Nitrogen pollution is a real threat to the health of Casco Bay,” says Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca. “We know that it comes from many different sources, such as urban streams, stormwater outfalls, combined sewer overflows, and wastewater treatment plants. By Nabbing Nitrogen, we can better understand how much these various sources are contributing to nitrogen pollution overall, and find solutions to address them.”

At precisely 9:30 a.m., volunteers scooped water into sample jars from the shores of Portland and South Portland, as well as the harbor-facing shores of Peaks Island, Cushing Island, and Little Diamond Island. More than 50 volunteers collected water samples by boat and kayak in the harbor. Once collected, water samples were promptly put on ice to preserve sample quality before being sent to a laboratory for total nitrogen analysis.

A chart of Portland Harbor shows the locations where Nabbing Nitrogen volunteers collected 178 water samples. Data from these samples will be used by Friends of Casco Bay to address nitrogen pollution.

For volunteer Nicole Favreau and her 8-year-old son, taking part in the Nab was a way to help care for the waters they both love. “My son is just beginning his obsession with fishing and he already understands that fish need healthy habitats to survive. Protecting this important estuary where he hopes to land the state’s largest striper someday is a priority for him,” says Nicole. “For us, the Nab was a great time to think about how we were just a small part of a big picture, helping to keep Casco Bay healthy.”

Friends of Casco Bay organized Nabbing Nitrogen as a day of action in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. The effort focused on Portland Harbor because it is showing signs of stress from nitrogen pollution. The data will be used to create a detailed map of nitrogen levels across the harbor, an exciting prospect for Staff Scientist Mike Doan.

“Having so many samples collected at the same moment will give us a comprehensive look at the levels of nitrogen pollution in the harbor,” says Mike. “We’re grateful to the volunteers who stepped up to help. The Nab was not a project our staff could do alone, it required scores of people working together.”

Some algal blooms are so thick that they can smother mudflats and suffocate the marine life that lives in them. Josh Clukey, our 2016 summer intern, holds a clump of algae from a dense bloom in Mill Cove, South Portland.

The data from the Nab will support Friends of Casco Bay’s work with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to set nitrogen criteria for the state. These criteria will describe the levels of nitrogen that water bodies can safely absorb. They will also influence nitrogen discharge limits in Clean Water Act permits.

Friends of Casco Bay Executive Director, Will Everitt, says that Nabbing Nitrogen showed the strength of our community. “For so many of us, Casco Bay is home. We understand that the health of the Bay and the health of our communities are intimately connected,” says Will. “In the age of climate change and warming waters, these Friends of the Bay showed that we are ready to help protect the health of the coastal waters that sustain us all.”

Laboratory results from the Nab are expected in the coming months. We will keep you updated on the analysis of the data and our work to reduce nitrogen pollution moving forward.

Why Does Nitrogen Matter?

Nitrogen is naturally found in marine waters. A healthy amount of nitrogen fertilizes algal blooms that form the base of the food chain in Casco Bay. But excess nitrogen from human sources such as wastewater, fertilizers, stormwater, and air pollution can cause excessive algal growth that harms the health of the marine environment. Some of the impacts of nitrogen pollution include shutting down shellfisheries, degrading eelgrass beds (which are critical fish nursery habitat), exacerbating coastal acidification, and lowering oxygen levels.

April 27, 2022

Sign up for Nabbing Nitrogen, a Clean Water Act Day of Action!

Please join more than 100 other community members as we Nab Nitrogen in Portland Harbor on Sunday, August 7. That morning, volunteers will spread out around the Harbor and collect simultaneous water samples.

April 20, 2022

Get out and ACT on Earth Day

Did you know the first Earth Day marks one of the largest protests in human history?

Twenty million people took to the streets and public spaces across the United States on April 22, 1970 to mark the first Earth Day and call for an end to environmental degradation. People from all political affiliations, industries, and backgrounds rose together to call for a cleaner and healthier planet. This extraordinary groundswell of support helped catalyze the creation of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and foundational environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act.

The legacy of Earth Day carries on today as billions of people across the world come together every year to improve the health of our planet. By joining a local cleanup or other Earth Day event, you can be a part of this global day of action.

What we do on the land affects the health of Casco Bay and the seas beyond – that is why we will be out in our communities taking action for Earth Day.

Here are some ways you can get involved.

Cleanups: organize your own or join a local event!

Host your own Coastal Cleanup: Head to our coastal cleanup page for easy instructions on how to organize a cleanup with friends and family. It’s easy, we promise!

L.L. Bean and Thompson’s Point Trash Bash: After you conduct a coastal cleanup, bring your full bags of trash to L.L. Bean in Freeport or Thompson’s Point in Portland in exchange for a $10 L.L. Bean gift card.

Mere Point Oyster Company Beach Clean: Join Mere Point Oyster Company in Brunswick and Freeport on Saturday, April 23 at 9 a.m. for their coastal cleanup. After the cleanup, Mere Point Oyster Company will be shucking oysters for all volunteers at no cost. Email Kelly [at] merepointosyter [dot] com to volunteer and for more information.

Portland Green Gulls: Do you live or work in Portland? Help keep the city and Casco Bay clean by joining the flock at Portland Green Gulls! This new clean-up initiative begins on Earth Day, April 22 and runs through the summer. By picking-up trash and tidying your stoop for just a few minutes every morning, you can help keep our waters safe and clean for all.

Be Bee and Bay Friendly

Support pollinators and the health of Casco Bay on Earth Day — and every day — with environmentally-friendly lawn care. Hold off on mowing your lawn in May to give bees time to do what they do best: pollinate! Avoid using pesticides and fertilizers to promote healthy soil and prevent these chemicals from washing into the Bay. To learn more about how you can have a thriving lawn and support the environment, join our partners at Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District for their Yardscaping workshop on April 26.

Support Sustainable Seaweed

Seaweed Week is a Maine festival that celebrates the state’s kelp harvest and all the delicious, creative products that come from this special marine resource. Seaweed Week begins on Earth Day, April 22 and ends on Sunday, May 1. Visit the Seaweed Week website to learn where you can get your hands on food, drinks, and crafts that celebrate seaweed in Maine.

Ways to keep learning

Earth Day History: you can read up on the history of Earth Day and how it came to be on the Earth Day website. You can also check out the Wikipedia article on Earth Day.

Join us on Wednesday, May 18, Noon – 1 p.m. for The State of the Bay: 50 years of the Clean Water Act and 30+ Years of Advocacy, A Casco Bay Matters Event. Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca and Staff Scientist Mike Doan will be joined by Casco Bay Estuary Partnership Director Curtis Bohlen. They will share research on the health of the Bay and discuss how the Clean Water Act and community-based advocacy have helped improve the health of our waters. This event will take place online via zoom. You must register to attend. We hope to see you there!