The Maine Forest Service has received a grant of nearly $360,000 to assist the stewardship of woodlands in the Presumpscot River Watershed, which covers about 648 square miles and provides drinking water to the Portland region.
The USDA Forest Service grant will allow MFS to provide woodland management information and planning and financial assistance to individual landowners and communities in the watershed region, which covers about 40 municipalities and provides nearly 10% of Maine’s population with clean drinking water, according to a release from the state Department of Conservation.
MFS staff members will undertake a number of activities, such as developing community and town stewardship plans, offering workshops on invasive pest and plant species, timber harvest assessments, working on wildfire protection plans and conducting educational events.
