The New Meadows River is, in reality, not a
river at all but a "drowned river valley" that is an embayment of the
ocean. The river provides recreational resources and supports
extensive finfish, shellfish and lobster fisheries. Maine DEP has
classified the New Meadows River as a "Coastal Wetland Most at Risk
from New Development."
Initiated in 1999, the New Meadows Watershed Partnership is a committee of municipal
representatives from Brunswick, West Bath, Harpswell, Phippsburg and
Bath, state and federal officials, representatives from
non-governmental organizations, and area citizens. They meet
regularly to explore ways to meet their goals of protecting, improving
and maintaining the vitality of the ecological and economic resources
of the New Meadows River and its watershed.
The NMWP has conducted upper and lower
watershed surveys and produced a State of the River report. In
2004, the NWRP completed the New Meadows River Watershed Management
Plan which recommends actions to reduce sources of polluted stormwater
runoff, improve the productivity of shellfish harvests, conduct
research on the ecology and economics of the watershed system, build
public awareness and stewardship and maintain and promote the
effectiveness of the partnership. CBEP is an active
partner in the NMWP and provides funding to support implementation
of the Plan. CBEP received a grant from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and from the Gulf of Maine Council on the
Marine Environment to study ways to address water quality impacts
through improved tidal exchange in the New Meadows "Lake," an impounded
portion of the river. CBEP also funded a study of vegetation
response to changes in tidal exchange.