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Watershed Assessment

Watershed Survey Training Sept 20 2013 021

A watershed is defined as an area of land that drains to a common water body. Depending on the scale of the watershed you are looking at this could be a small brook, a stream, a large river, or, for our purposes at LSM, a lake. Because the health of a lake is heavily influenced by the geologic makeup, land use activities, and level of development that takes place in that lake’s watershed, it is a critical aspect to understand for stewardship activities.

To help address issues taking place in the watershed, LSM offers several trainings and provides educational resources.

For more information about watersheds, please look at our watershed FAQs document. It can be found HERE.

LSM offers watershed assessment trainings annually in conjunction with Maine DEP staff. More information pertaining to these trainings can be found HERE.

LSM in conjunction with Maine Lakes offers a Small Watershed Grant. Information and application can be found HERE.

Additional Resources

Blue color blocks are Maine-specific resources; red are broader national resources.

Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – Watershed Resources
Information about watersheds, best management practices, example projects, and funding opportunities.
https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/watershed/materials.html Maine Rivers – Watershed Profiles
A compilation of watersheds throughout Maine, including information about their history and local organizations.
https://mainerivers.org/watershed-profiles/ Maine DEP – Watershed Program
General information about watersheds and an explanation of the DEP's involvement with communities and watershed projects.
https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/watershed/index.html University of Maine Cooperative Extension – Rain Gardens
An overview of rain gardens as a residential best management practice for reducing runoff and protecting water quality. Includes information about pollutant removal, design, construction steps, and suggested plants.
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2702e/ LakeSmart
An education and outreach program that helps lakefront homeowners manage their properties to reduce stormwater pollution and protect lake water quality. The program is free, voluntary, and non-regulatory.
https://www.lakes.me/lakesmart U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Soak Up the Rain
Resources and examples of practices that can reduce stormwater runoff, including case studies with documented reductions in runoff.
https://www.epa.gov/soakuptherain/soak-rain-whats-problem North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) – Lake Management Planning
An overview of planning for lake and watershed management from a national organization of lake professionals, academics, associations, and volunteers.
https://www.nalms.org/home/lake-management-planning/ American Society of Landscape Architects – Watershed Management
A short video explaining the relationship between watershed management and environmental policy.
https://vimeo.com/269112792 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Healthy Watersheds Protection
Information about watershed protection, including general information, best management practices, example projects, and funding opportunities.
https://www.epa.gov/hwp National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Watersheds, Flooding, and Pollution
An overview of what defines a watershed and the characteristics that can make watersheds vulnerable to pollution.
https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/watersheds-flooding-and-pollution U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – Watersheds and Drainage Basins
An introduction to watersheds, their characteristics, and their role in the landscape.
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/watersheds-and-drainage-basins National Park Service – Wetlands and Watersheds
A summary of the defining characteristics of watersheds with links to related information about wetlands and watershed systems.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/oceans/wetland-watershed.htm NOAA Ocean Service – What Is a Watershed?
A short introduction to what a watershed is and how water moves through a watershed.
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/watershed.html

Watershed Mapping & GIS Resources

Maine GeoLibrary – Maine Drainage Divides
A GIS dataset showing drainage divides in Maine. Useful for viewing and working with watershed boundaries in GIS and for understanding how land areas are divided among downstream waterbodies.
https://mainegeolibrary-maine.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/maine::maine-drainage-divides/about Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife – Maine Stream Habitat Viewer
An interactive map for exploring Maine's stream habitats, fish passage barriers, road crossings, dams, and other stream-related information. The viewer can also be used to search by town, watershed, or area of interest.
https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/beginning-with-habitat/maps/maine-stream-habitat-viewer.html Maine DEP – GIS Maps & Other Data Files
Maine GIS maps and downloadable geographic data, including watershed and water-resource information. Useful for exploring and mapping HUCs and other watershed boundaries in Maine.
https://www.maine.gov/dep/gis/datamaps/index.html U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – Where Can I Get Watershed Maps?
Information about finding and viewing watershed maps using the National Map Viewer and the national Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). Watersheds are identified using Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs).
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/where-can-i-get-watershed-maps

Native Plant Resources

Maine Native Plants – Native Plant Finder
A Maine-specific tool for finding native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants suited to specific sites. The resource focuses on plants that provide ecological benefits and support Maine wildlife.
https://mainenativeplants.org/ National Wildlife Federation – Native Plant Finder
An online tool for finding native plants based on location. Enter a U.S. ZIP code to identify native plants appropriate for your area, including plants native to Maine.
https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/Plants Maine Audubon – Maine Native Plants
Information and resources from Maine Audubon focused on using native plants to support Maine's wildlife and natural biodiversity.
https://maineaudubon.org/projects/plants/ Native Plant Trust
New England focused tool for finding native plants. There mission is to conserve and promote New England’s native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.
https://nativeplanttrust.org/

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