2015 State of the Bay Report

The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership helps track and report on changing conditions within the Bay and its watershed. Every five years, in its State of the Bay report, the Partnership portrays how Casco Bay is faring—what trends are evident, what progress is visible, and what new challenges are emerging. By tracking indicators at regular intervals over decades, the Partnership helps identify the collective work needed to sustain the region. State of the Bay 2015, summarized here and detailed online at www.cascobayestuary.org/state-of-the-bay-2015, reveals a complex array of factors shaping the ecology and economy of the Casco Bay region. There’s a mix of encouraging news, interspersed with unsettling trends. The warming climate represents a vast and unpredictable driver of regional change—with hotter ocean and air temperatures, more frequent and extreme precipitation, and rising seas (already evident in flooding at extreme high tides). Indicators used in the past (and included in the 2015 report) do not fully account for the dynamic interplay of forces currently at work on Casco Bay. Future reports will include new indicators to help gauge the pace and impacts of far reaching change.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-state-of-the-bay/1000/thumbnail.jp

2015 State of the Bay Summary Flyer

The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership helps track and report on changing conditions within the Bay and its watershed. Every five years, in its State of the Bay report, the Partnership portrays how Casco Bay is faring—what trends are evident, what progress is visible, and what new challenges are emerging. By tracking indicators at regular intervals over decades, the Partnership helps identify the collective work needed to sustain the region. State of the Bay 2015, summarized here and detailed online at www.cascobayestuary.org/state-of-the-bay-2015, reveals a complex array of factors shaping the ecology and economy of the Casco Bay region. There’s a mix of encouraging news, interspersed with unsettling trends. The warming climate represents a vast and unpredictable driver of regional change—with hotter ocean and air temperatures, more frequent and extreme precipitation, and rising seas (already evident in flooding at extreme high tides). Indicators used in the past (and included in the 2015 report) do not fully account for the dynamic interplay of forces currently at work on Casco Bay. Future reports will include new indicators to help gauge the pace and impacts of far reaching change.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-graphics-maps-posters/1013/thumbnail.jp

Minimizing Stormwater Pollution (Fact Sheet)

Water that flows along the ground after a rainfall (or during snowmelt) is known as stormwater runoff. As it crosses roofs, roads, and parking lots, stormwater picks up pollutants like oil, pesticides, bacteria, sediments, and heavy metals. These pollutants are washed into the storm sewers, streams, and rivers that eventually drain into Casco Bay. Polluted runoff can contaminate drinking water, degrade water quality, impair fish and wildlife habitat, and reduce biological diversity

2010 State of The Bay (Fact Sheet)

The State of the Bay report presents an assessment of the overall health of Casco Bay and its watershed. Produced every five years by the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, the report aims to assemble available information on the condition of Casco Bay and make it readily available to the watershed’s community at large. The report is also intended to provide insight to guide future efforts to benefit Casco Bay, its watershed, and the region’s human and natural communities.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-state-of-the-bay/1002/thumbnail.jp

Inland and Estuarine Water Quality (2010 State of the Bay Poster)

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-state-of-the-bay/1008/thumbnail.jp

Promoting Stewardship (Fact Sheet)

Nearly 20 percent of Maine’s population lives in the Casco Bay watershed, and those residents are connected to the Bay directly and indirectly. A dramatic oil spill like the 1996 Julie N spill clearly sends the message that human activity can harm the Bay. Less obvious threats stem from myriad individual actions, such as excessive or improper use of lawn fertilizers and pesticides or washing cars near storm drains. Yet small actions like those can add up to a big pollution problem for coastal waters