The FUW Education Center will be open on a limited basis in June, while our executive director is on maternity leave. Office Assistant Amanda Jamison will be available 9 to 2 on Wednesdays. Volunteers will staff the office on Tuesdays from 2:45 to 5. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Andy Reed will lead a leisurely morning paddle around the islands on Saturday, June 13. Trip departs from the American Legion on Windemere Lane in Unity at 8 a.m.
Thanks to the generous folks at Tease the Easel, Friends of Unity Wetlands has for sale lovely gift packages of lupine seed. The seed was collected in 2008 from a property forever conserved with an agricultural conservation easement held by FUW. Each package contains seed for assorted colors, and costs $7. All proceeds benefit FUW's land protection and education programs. Available at Crosstrax on Depot St. in Unity, and at the FUW Education Center, 93 Main St. E-mail or call 948-3766 to learn more.
We want to know what you are seeing out there in the Unity Wetlands region. Please e-mail us your observations or photos, and we will share them in our newsletter and Web site. Recent Sightings: Whipporwill and black-throated green warbler, Troy, May 6; trout lilies, trillium, Unity, May 1; northern parula, palm warbler and northern water thrush, Unity, April 30; kestrel, Troy, April 27; wake robin, barn swallow, Troy, April 26; tree swallows, Troy, April 16; 9 eagles on Unity Pond, April 12; bittern, great blue heron, snipe, bald eagle, northern harrier, osprey, phoebe, eastern bluebird, turkey vulture, all in Troy, April 11-12; blooming dandelion, Unity, April 10; wood frogs and loon, Troy, April 9.
Friends of Unity Wetlands is fueled by the hard work and generosity of our volunteers and supporters. Your contributions - from helping in the office to maintaining trails to attending events - are critical to our success. Recognizing this tremendous community support, the Unity Foundation issued FUW a two-year $100,000 Challange Grant. As a result, every donation made to FUW by the end of this year will be matched dollar for dollar by the Unity Foundation. Please help us to meet this tremendous fund-raising opportunity. Visit Support FUW to make a secure, online donation today.
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and organizations incorporated
as the Friends of Unity Wetlands (FUW) to protect and conserve
the natural, cultural and economic values of the Unity Wetlands.
FUW recognizes that the 45,000-acre Unity Wetlands landscape is
a unique and significant resource, a combination of wild and working
lands rich in biodiversity, scenic beauty, and economic
value, which greatly enhances the quality of life of the local
community.
includes a large expanse of
the wetlands and uplands centered on Unity Township,
extending to Unity Pond and west to the Sebasticook
River, covering more than 65 square miles. It includes
portions of the towns of Albion, Benton, Burnham,
Clinton, Freedom, Troy, Unity Plantation and Unity.
natural
features. Several rare species and habitats, from
wood turtles to wild garlic, find their home in
the Unity Wetlands.
one
of the largest remaining unfragmented blocks
of land in central Maine providing a promising
opportunity not only for conservation of
the area’s rarest ecological gems,
but also for maintaining wide-ranging common
species, from black bear to bobcat, that
are becoming increasingly rare in more
developed landscapes in southern Maine.
rural
condition of the complex offers numerous
social and cultural benefits to local and
surrounding populations by providing a
mainly farmland and working forest landscape
that is largely open to traditional recreational
activities such as hunting, trapping, fishing,
boating and hiking.
, ecological values, recreational
values, traditional land uses and the rural
character of this landscape through collaborative
efforts with landowners, municipalities and
partnering organizations. Our focus is on land
conservation and outreach and education as
well as information gathering.
Click for larger image
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The Unity Wetlands