A Community-Supported Land Trust

Caring for the lands and waters you love in the Damariscotta-Pemaquid region

A Community-Supported Land Trust

Caring for the lands and waters you love in the Damariscotta-Pemaquid region

Where nature and community meet

Join us in conserving special places, protecting water quality, creating trails and public access, deepening connections to nature, and confronting climate change. Midcoast Maine’s special places need you!

Explore Choose a trail by location, level of difficulty, or features
Nature Education Programs
Sign up for guided hikes, special events, workshops and more
Volunteer There's an opportunity for you, no matter what your interests!

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Where we work

Thriving waterways, thriving communities

The Damariscotta-Pemaquid region is defined by its waterways: productive tidal estuaries and the chain of lakes and ponds that make up the Pemaquid River, as well as coastal inlets, marshy wetlands, and countless streams and smaller ponds.

In an area of coastal Maine that is seeing rapid development, these waterways are still healthy and thriving. There are still large blocks of forest here, and big mammals like moose, bear and bobcat. 

That doesn’t happen by accident. Together, we are conserving land, protecting water quality, and fostering connections to nature. 

Upcoming Events

May 15

2025 Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Tour in Damariscotta

Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust invites you to the 8th annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour at Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta, Maine! Enjoy a hand-picked selection of 2025 films, and enter to win great giveaways from Coastal Rivers and Wild & Scenic’s National Partners. There’ll be door prizes and beer, wine, and concessions available through the theater.

More Info >

What We're Working On

Pemaquid Wild Pathways
Imagine an undeveloped block of more than 2,000 acres of forest and wetlands in the heart of the Pemaquid Peninsula – sheltering moose and other animals that need quiet places and room to roam, cooling air and soil temperatures, protecting water quality, drawing down and storing carbon, and providing exciting opportunities for recreation.

Housing

Coastal Rivers is uniquely positioned to partner with towns to integrate land conservation and thoughtfully developed affordable housing, meeting a critical need.
Accessible trails
People want and need the same connections to nature, regardless of their abilities. Help us create more accessible opportunities in the Damariscotta-Pemaquid region.
River~Link
Many partners and years of strategic land conservation are piecing together a trail and wildlife corridor – thousands of acres and growing, right here in midcoast Maine!

For wildlife. For water quality. For community.

Your gift matters – for wildlife, for our lakes, ponds and rivers, and for future generations.