Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its southern edge and the Port of Portland lies within.
Chebeague Island is located in Casco Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine. It was originally used as a fishing ground by Abenaki Native Americans. Also known as Great Chebeague Island, today it is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is located 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Portland, Maine. Chebeague Island is the largest island in Casco Bay that is not connected to the mainland by a bridge. The largest island is Sebascodegan, or "Great Island," which is part of the Town of Harpswell and connected to the mainland via a 100ft bridge.
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit organization of its kind in the world and has 100,000 member households as of 2021. In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building. The Trustees owns title to 120 properties on 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) in Massachusetts, all of which are open to the public. In addition, it holds 393 conservation restrictions to protect an additional 20,000 acres (8,100 ha). Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.
Casco Bay Lines is a publicly run transportation company that services the residents of the islands of Casco Bay, Maine. The seven islands are Peaks Island, Little Diamond Island, Great Diamond Island, Diamond Cove, Long Island, Chebeague Island and Cliff Island.
Eagle Island is an island in Maine's Casco Bay and the site of the summer home of the North Pole explorer Admiral Robert Peary (1856–1920). The island and home are preserved as the Eagle Island State Historic Site.
Open Space Institute (OSI) is a conservation organization that protects land for clean drinking water, public recreation, healthy communities, wildlife habitat, and climate protection. Established in 1974, OSI achieves its goals through land acquisition, fiscal sponsorship, regional loan and grant programs, park and trail improvements, and public policy and advocacy. OSI is active across the country, including the states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Alabama, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida.
The Presumpscot River is a 25.8-mile-long (41.5 km) river located in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is the main outlet of Sebago Lake. The river provided an early transportation corridor with reliable water power for industrial development of the city of Westbrook and the village of South Windham.
Ragged Island is a privately owned island in Harpswell, Maine, United States, in Cumberland County, which is geographically within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. It is located at 43°43′39″N69°56′13″W.
Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park is a public recreation area located on Casco Bay on the southeastern side of Freeport, Maine. The state park occupies 244 acres (99 ha) on a narrow peninsula, Wolfe's Neck, that runs between Casco Bay and the Harraseeket River. It includes white pine and hemlock forests, salt marsh estuary, and rocky shore. The park is managed by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Battery Steele is a United States military fortification on Peaks Island, Portland, Maine, in Casco Bay. Completed in 1942 as part of World War II, it is located on 14 acres (5.7 ha) on the oceanside area of the island, formerly part of the Peaks Island Military Reservation. It is named for Harry L. Steele, who was a Coast Artillery officer during World War I. It was armed with two 16-inch MkIIMI guns and, with a 12-inch gun battery at Fort Levett on Cushing Island, replaced all previous heavy guns in the Harbor Defenses of Portland. It was built to protect Casco Bay, particularly Portland harbor, from Kennebunk to Popham Beach in Phippsburg. According to Kim MacIsaac and historian Joel Eastman in An Island at War, “Battery Steele is not only the largest gun battery built on Peaks Island, but also an example of the largest battery ever built anywhere in the United States.” In 1995, after decades of non-use, the Peaks Island Land Preserve, a community land preservation group, formed to purchase the area and forever preserve it as a public space. On October 20, 2005, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other coast defense structures on the island include fire control towers and the counterweight for a disappearing searchlight tower.
Yarmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, twelve miles north of the state's largest city, Portland. When originally settled in 1636, as North Yarmouth, it was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and remained part of its subsequent incarnations for 213 years. In 1849, twenty-nine years after Maine's admittance to the Union as the twenty-third state, it was incorporated as the Town of Yarmouth.
Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) is a community-based organization in Maine involving members from Arrowsic, Bath, Bowdoinham, Dresden, West Bath, Georgetown, Westport Island, and Woolwich. KELT does their work through conservation easements, property donation and outright purchase. They collaborate with state and federal agencies and private conservation organizations within the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition.
The Great Chebeague Golf Club is a country club at 16 Stone Wharf Road on Chebeague Island, Maine. It has a nine-hole golf course on more than 28 acres (11 ha) on the north side of the island. Its clubhouse is a repurposed circa 1807 residence, which is probably one of the oldest buildings used for that purpose in the nation. The club was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
The Maine Coast Heritage Trust is a nonprofit land conservation organization. Its conservation partner is the Maine Land Trust Network, which is one of its programs.
Walter Gendall was a 17th-century English sawmill owner in and prominent citizen of North Yarmouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was also a captain in King Philip's War of 1675–1678 and King William's War of 1688–1697. He lost his life in the second conflict. His name is also spelled Walter Gendle in literature.
Knight's Pond Preserve is a nature preserve and public park located in Cumberland and North Yarmouth, Maine, United States.
The Royal River Conservation Trust (RRCT) is a volunteer-run conservation group based in Yarmouth, Maine, United States. Established in 1988 and funded by its members, it owns many preserves and trail networks, and has assisted in the creation of town-owned parks and preserves, state parks and state wildlife-management areas. The trust, one of eighty land trusts in Maine, covers seven towns and cities in Androscoggin County and Cumberland County which form the watershed of the Royal River: Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Pownal, New Gloucester, Gray, Durham and Auburn.
The Maine Land Trust Network promotes discussion among the eighty land trusts in Maine, United States. It was established in 1995.
Little Chebeague Island is an uninhabited island in Casco Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine, United States. It is located around 0.85 miles (1.37 km) west of the southern tip of the larger Great Chebeague Island. As its name implies, the two are connected—by a sand bar which appears at low tide.
The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust is a volunteer-run conservation group based in Brunswick, Maine, United States. Established in 1985 and funded by its members, it owns many preserves and trail networks, and has assisted in the creation of town-owned parks and preserves. The trust, one of eighty land trusts in Maine, covers the towns of Brunswick, Topsham and Bowdoin.
