Our 2026 grants support projects spanning marine science, biodiversity, fisheries, scientific infrastructure, and cultural preservation, totaling over $80,000 in investment in the people and places that define Downeast Maine.
MARINE SCIENCE & CLIMATE MONITORING
Intertidal Seaweed Inventory | Maine Natural History Observatory
Seaweeds are among the ocean’s most sensitive indicators of environmental change. This project establishes baseline data on seaweed diversity across fifteen tidal cycles from April to October, using DNA barcoding and microscopy to capture rare species alongside common ones. The result: a long-term monitoring foundation that can detect shifts in coastal ecosystems driven by climate change, pollution, and sea-level rise before they become irreversible.
Marine Mammals & Seabirds at Mount Desert Rock | Allied Whale / College of the Atlantic
Twenty-five miles offshore, a 3-acre island has served as a sentinel station for nearly three decades. This project sustains longitudinal research on humpback, minke, and fin whale populations; seal colonies; and seabird communities in waters that are warming faster than almost anywhere on Earth. Expanding the student research crew ensures this irreplaceable long-term dataset continues, training the next generation of marine scientists in the field.
Tidal Current Modeling for Machias, Englishmen’s & Chandler Bays | University of Rhode Island Oceanography
A graduate student’s thesis work is becoming a powerful tool for coastal managers. This project refines a predictive hydrodynamic model that tracks nutrient flows, dissolved oxygen, and aquaculture impacts across three interconnected Downeast bays. Two peer-reviewed journal manuscripts will translate the findings for researchers, regulators, and communities trying to sustain healthy coastal waters under growing pressures.
COASTAL BIODIVERSITY & HABITAT CONSERVATION
Island Vegetation Baseline | Maine Natural History Observatory
This project documents every vascular plant species across 86 acres of an island in Chandler Bay using a standardized grid system, creating a replicable database baseline for future conservation planning and long-term stewardship of Maine’s coastal island ecosystems.
Salt Marsh Biodiversity in Cobscook Bay | Center for Ecological Teaching and Learning, Husson University
Salt marshes store carbon, buffer shorelines, and harbor biodiversity, but they are disappearing. This pilot study documents vegetation across two Cobscook Bay marshes and tests hypotheses about low marsh die-off, including the role of invasive green crabs. The baseline data will inform Maine’s blue carbon strategy and coastal resilience planning.
Bryophyte Flora Inventory | Jeff Pengel & Helen Koch, Independent Botanists
Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts are foundational to forest-floor ecology, yet much of island bryophyte flora remains undocumented. Building on earlier work that added 50 species to the regional checklist, this project surveys outlying islands from April to October, targeting boggy areas, cliff faces, shell middens, and areas with distinct geology. The findings will expand knowledge of rare mosses and contribute to a definitive georeferenced checklist to support future ecological research and conservation planning.
Terrestrial Mammals in Coastal Habitats | Maine Rockweed Coalition
Cameras placed at the edge of the sea are capturing something unexpected: moose, deer, river otters, and other land mammals using rockweed beds and salt marshes in ways that are poorly understood. Expanding this camera trap networ across Cobscook Bay builds a richer picture of how coastal and terrestrial ecosystems are interconnected, helping with conservation planning on both sides of the tide line.
FISHERIES & COASTAL STEWARDSHIP
Shellfish Restoration & Green Crab Mitigation | Roque Island Homestead
Invasive green crabs are decimating soft-shell clam populations along the Maine coast. This project conducts the first systematic benthic stock assessment in three Island coves. The project will measure clam density before populations decline further and deploy targeted trapping to reduce green crab pressure. The findings will anchor a Restoration Roadmap to rebuild shellfish populations and restore this traditional coastal economy.
Water Quality Monitoring for Oyster Aquaculture | Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research
A real-time monitoring buoy deployed in a Downeast lobster pound will collect continuous data on temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, turbidity, and chlorophyll across an active oyster aquaculture operation. This data helps farmers make better decisions and builds evidence for sustainable shellfish farming in changing coastal conditions.
Narraguagus River Water Quality Baseline | Hancock County Soil & Water Conservation District
Atlantic salmon once thrived in the Narraguagus. Acid rain has altered river chemistry for decades. This project collects baseline water quality data — pH, alkalinity, dissolved CO₂ — needed to design a future liming treatment that could restore salmon populations, recover aquatic biodiversity, and demonstrate a replicable model for ecosystem restoration in acid-impacted rivers across the region.
SCIENTIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE & EDUCATIONAL ASSETS
High-Precision GNSS Base Station | University of New England
Funding of a permanent GPS base station at a coastal pre-contact archaeological site that will improve the mapping accuracy needed to model coastal erosion, shell midden loss, and adjacent habitat change. A single piece of infrastructure that will multiply precision and the value of years of future research.
Geologic Tours of Washington County | Washington County Soil & Water Conservation District
Six self-guided tour pamphlets will unlock the deep geological story written in Washington County’s beaches, parks, and public lands, making world-class science accessible to residents, students, and visitors, and deepening appreciation for the natural processes that shaped this coastline.
CULTURAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION
Eastport Sentinel Digitization Project | Washington County Historical and Genealogical Society
The Eastport Sentinel, published from 1818 to 1945, is an irreplaceable record of life along the Downeast coast. To compensate for unexpected funding losses, EMCI is supporting the final year of digitization needed to make the full archive publicly accessible. This will restore the community’s ability to research family histories, trace local events, and connect students to firsthand historical accounts from one of Maine’s most storied maritime communities.
Jonesport Historical Society Archives | Jonesport Historical Society
With over 230 gigabytes of archives (50,000+ artifacts, 87,000 genealogical names, 4,500 cemetery records, and video interviews with 75 senior residents) the Jonesport Historical Society maintains one of the most sophisticated community history databases in Washington County. EMCI’s support for replacing failed hardware ensures these irreplaceable records remain accessible to families, filmmakers, and researchers who depend on them.