This summer, the Wells Reserve and the University of New England sponsored two trips on the Saco River, bringing stakeholders together to talk about research findings from the first year of our collaborative project. Thanks to Tin and Jeremy for piloting the boat and to Michele for providing research findings and posing some hard questions about shoreland zoning.

We had a good cross section of stakeholders on the two trips. In addition to the Saco planner, code officer, and planning board members, we hosted a DEP Shoreland Zoning Regulator from Portland, and representatives from the Saco River Corridor Commission, Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission, Maine Geological Survey, and State Planning Office.

Insights gained from these trips will be used to engage policy makers, municipal officials, and the community in challenging conversations about shoreline land use and the condition of the Saco River estuary. The project is designed to continue for the next four years.