History of the Resource Center

In 1993, recognizing the economic and ecological realities of the region, the Maine Community Foundation and the Nature Conservancy, with funding from the Ford Foundation, initiated the Sustainable Cobscook Project. The goal: to undertake economic development that was environmentally sound in the Cobscook Bay area of Washington County.

From the Sustainable Cobscook Project came the Cobscook Bay Clam Restoration Project, founded on the inextricable link between the health of the environment and the health of the local economy. In 1996, the Clam Restoration Project contributed to the opening to harvest of over 2,000 acres of clam flats previously closed due to fecal coliform pollution. In 1998, the Cobscook Bay Resource Center was created to expand the work of the Clam Restoration Project.

The Cobscook Bay Resource Center helps local resource users, scientific researchers, government agencies, educators, and others to monitor and understand the Cobscook Bay ecosystem, and to use that understanding to develop and implement strategies for economic development based on the Bay's renewable resources.

The Resource Center is governed by a Board of Directors and is an incorporated not-for-profit organization in the State of Maine. The Internal Revenue Service granted us 501(c)(3) non-profit status in March 2000.