Frenchman Bay Conservancy awarded $1 Million Grant for Tidal Salt Marsh Restoration along the Jordan River from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Trenton, Maine –  Frenchman Bay Conservancy’s Jordan River Coastal Restoration Project has been selected as one of only 28 projects across the US to receive funding to protect, restore, or enhance coastal wetlands. Frenchman Bay Conservancy’s restoration project at Jordan River Preserve in Trenton is the only project in Maine to receive funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

 “Coastal restoration of the Jordan River in Hancock County will help to improve the surrounding natural ecosystems for fish and wildlife while protecting local homes and infrastructure from storms and erosion,” said Senator Susan Collins. “Preserving the ecological health of Maine’s lands and waterways is critical for ensuring that our state’s natural beauty is conserved for future generations to enjoy.”

Frenchman Bay Conservancy (FBC) purchased the former Bar Harbor Golf Course in Trenton in September 2023. The property along the Jordan River needs extensive restoration. Like most low-lying coastal areas, this property has been changed from its natural state over decades. Wetlands were drained or filled in, and a portion of the tidal salt marsh was dammed and flooded to create a pond. With this funding, FBC will restore the vital salt marsh along the Jordan River. 

Maine has 22,000 acres of coastal marsh, making up only 1% of the state’s land area, all of which is at risk of loss from sea-level rise. Salt marshes are vital ecosystems that protect against coastal flooding, help maintain water quality, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and generate millions of dollars annually through recreational and commercial fishing. 

A healthy coastal marsh on the Jordan River Preserve is important to the entire Frenchman Bay Watershed. “Tidal salt marshes like these are rare in Downeast Maine,” said Garrett Black, FBC’s Stewardship Manager. “Unlike the expansive tidal marshes in Southern Maine, the marshes along the Downeast coast are smaller and occur in more isolated pockets. Restoring the Salt Marsh along the Jordan River will improve coastal resiliency, reduce flood risk, and protect the surrounding ecosystem.”

The grant funding awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with funding from the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program, the Broadreach Fund, and private donors, will allow FBC to remove the constructed berm at the outlet of the freshwater pond and return the natural intertidal flow – critical to the Jordan River Preserve’s future. FBC will also uncover previously buried streams on the property to restore natural hydrology and stream habitat connectivity.

Restoring the salt marsh will also provide increased habitat for wildlife. The Jordan River Tidal Salt Marsh Restoration Project will support habitat for at least 39 coastal dependent and migratory bird species identified as state, regional and/or continental conservation priorities, and 9 diadromous fish species, including rare species and those most vulnerable to climate change.

For questions or further information, please contact FBC Executive Director Aaron Dority at aaron@frenchmanbay.org; (207) 422-2328 or FBC Stewardship Manager Garrett Black at garrett@frenchmanbay.org; (207) 422- 2328