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| Friends of Casco Bay Home of the Casco BAYKEEPER Founded in 1989 to improve and protect the environmental health of Casco Bay Finding Needles on the Shoreline?  On June 25th, WCSH-TV reported that a woman and her children had picked up 82 used hypodermic needles from a beach in Harpswell. While most of the needles they found were capped, it’s important NEVER to pick up needles yourself, as they can contain pathogens. Call your town hall or local police and ask if they can provide someone with a biohazard disposal kit and tongs; they can remove the needles and deliver them to a disposal site such as a hospital.
If you are pricked by a needle or step on one, call the Maine Center for Disease Control at 1-800-821-5821 and ask to speak to the epidemiologist on call. Last fall, we ran this story about our volunteers finding syringes and needles during cleanups of Back Cove, Portland. Tips to Remember on a Rainy Day ▪ Don’t spread fertilizer on your lawn if rain is forecasted. The best time to fertilize is in the fall. ▪ Direct the rain coming off your roof and gutters into a rain barrel to water plants another day. Learn how to build your own rain barrel. ▪ Use the next rain storm to identify areas in your lawn that would benefit from planting a water-loving rain garden to trap and absorb runoff. Slowing the water running off your yard helps to reduce stormwater runoff from carrying soil and chemicals from streets and lawns into Casco Bay. Learn how to plant a rain garden. ▪ The next time you have to detour around a sewer separation project in Portland, remember that the project is helping to eliminate 1.8 billion gallons of combined sewage and street runoff that enter Casco Bay each year! You know it's been a lousy summer when...Our Pumpout Coordinator Helen Mattsson reports that at this time last year, she had performed pumpouts for 90 recreational boats. So far this year, she had done 30 pumpouts. Last year at this point, Helen had pumped out 20 transient boats passing through Casco Bay on their way Downeast. This year’s tally: zero.
Save the Date - 2nd Annual Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival Friends of Casco Bay is pleased to once again host the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival. Join us October 3, 2009 for great environmental films, food provided by our local Whole Foods Market, a free raffle, popcorn, and more! Click here for film, ticket, and event info. | |
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Celebrating our 20th Year of Protecting Casco Bay Twenty years ago, a small group of concerned citizens came together to found Friends of Casco Bay after an alarming report listed the Bay as one of the most troubled bodies of water in the nation. What a difference we've made since then! Friends of Casco Bay's staff, members, and volunteers have helped achieve victories for the Bay over the past two decades. For example, in 2007, we helped win a No Discharge Area designation for Casco Bay, making it the most protected body of water in the nation from boat discharges. Learn about this and other milestones achieved over the past 20 years. Donate Your Boat Donating your boat can give you a great tax break and benefit the Bay. To learn more about our boat donation program and how it could work for you, click here. You can also contact Will Everitt at 207-799-8574. Support Friends of Casco Bay 
How Healthy is the Bay?We have developed a "health index" for Casco Bay, based on our 15 years of water quality data. This easy-to-use tool gives a snapshot of the Bay's healthiest areas and most impaired regions. Learn about the index here. Casco Bay Tide Charts
Click here to access tide charts for the Bay. | |
Our Mission Friends of Casco Bay is the leading environmental organization working to improve and protect the environmental health of Casco Bay. Our work involves education, advocacy, water quality monitoring programs, and collaborative partnerships. Learn more about our work here.
Speakers Bureau Looking for a speaker to talk about Casco Bay and how to protect it? Email us at keeper(at)cascobay.org or call 799-8574 and we'll let you know the presentations we offer in the Casco Bay region. Using Paint to Protect the Bay A recent neighborhood storm drain stenciling project in Portland was organized by Andrei Vile, a student at Breakwater School interested in doing community service that could help respond to threats to the Gulf of Maine. Andrei explained, "We sprayed about 20 drains in the Capisic neighborhood, out of about 6,000 drains in Portland. The stencil was designed by our science teacher, Sari Lindauer, and it said, 'Dump No Waste/Drains to Casco Bay' with a picture of two fish on it." Andrei has also volunteered with Friends of Casco Bay because "Friends of Casco Bay is doing a good job protecting the ocean." On June 10th, approximately 100 Portland middle school students, along with staff from the City of Portland, Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District, Portland Water District, and Friends of Casco Bay, will take part in a Don't Dump - Drains to Casco Bay storm drain stenciling project. This project is part of a coordinated city-wide effort to raise awareness of how the public can help reduce the release of pollution into the city's natural water systems. | |
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