Habitat

To protect a species the most important thing to do is to protect the habitat the species needs to survive and thrive. Because PRWF’s major goal is to protect waterfowl, shorebirds and woodcock, many of them migratory species, we search out the habitat that they require during the time that they spend in our region of Maine.

We rely on advice from experienced wildlife biologists and community leaders to help identify areas that are most in need of protection. Being locally based we are in an excellent position to assess the immediacy of development pressures, to intervene if necessary as interim conservation buyers, and to negotiate favorable terms with sellers. We evaluate prospective properties based on:

• Quality and rarity of habitat; ability to achieve habitat continuity over time in a large area
• Importance of the habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, woodcock and any other at-risk species
• Ability of the property to mitigate the effects of sea level rise
• Risk associated with leaving the property unprotected
• Potential acquisition cost in relation to conservation value
• The value of the property to the local community and visitors for water access and recreation

During over 20 years of work we have been fortunate to identify six areas where the habitat was ideal, where the potential conservation acreage was significant and with sustained effort could be made largely contiguous and where there were properties that had owners who were interested in selling for conservation. We focused on these areas and designated them as PRWF Project Areas. Though we have transferred three of these Project Areas to other conservation organizations we continue to own and manage the other three.