A new tool will soon be available to help residents of four Maine communities take care of their properties in ways that protect the local environment. This tool, a stewardship guide for coastal communities booklet, is the work of a collaboration between the Conservation Commissions of Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg and Westport Island and the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust. This guide will highlight how actions in yards, gardens, and homes can impact local resources and will detail practices people can use to protect the drinking water, coastal waters, habitat, and unique places in their communities. The booklets will include pages and resources specific to each of the four towns. Each household in the four towns will receive a copy of the booklet early this summer and each Commission will make it available on their town’s website.

Pictures are needed to help these booklets feature places in each of the four towns. Project partners are looking for photographs that showcase the special places of Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, and Westport Island. If you have high resolution images that you are willing to have included, contact Ruth Indrick at (207) 442-8400 or rindrick@kennebecestuary.org.

“This booklet will give the residents of our coastal communities the information they need to keep nutrients and polluted runoff from reaching our waters,” said KELT Water Quality Project Coordinator Ruth Indrick, who has been working with several of the communities to improve water quality and restore clam flats. “Keeping the coastal ecosystems healthy is important for clammers, lobstermen, and all of those who live, work and play in this amazing area.”

Paul Schlein, editor of the new guide, would like to express his thanks that this project has been funded by the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund (MOHF). Support of the MOHF makes design and color printing of these booklets for the residents of the four communities possible.

To find out more about the stewardship guides, contact one of the conservation commissions in the four towns or Ruth Indrick at 442-8400 or rindrick@kennebecestuary.org.

The Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund conserves wildlife and open spaces through the sale of instant, scratch lottery tickets. With proceeds from ticket sales, grants are awarded twice a year, totaling approximately $700,000 annually. It is the Moose Moolah ticket this year.