A unique coastal watershed survey in Maine

Disney, Jane; Prinbeck, Gwenn; Steele, Zack

From excerpt: "A unique community-based coastal watershed survey was conducted in the Stanley Brook watershed in Seal Harbor, Maine between June and October 2005. The Stanley Brook Watershed Survey was specifically designed to address the pollution issues affecting Stanley Brook habitats and public health issues at Seal Harbor Beach. This novel watershed survey utilized key components of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) watershed survey process which targets non-point source pollution and the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) sanitary shoreline survey process which targets point sources of bacterial pollution. The survey was coupled with water quality monitoring at Seal Harbor Beach through the Maine Healthy Beaches (MHB) program. The Stanley Brook Watershed encompasses 935 acres, and straddles both Acadia National Park (ANP) and the village of Seal Harbor in the town of Mt. Desert on Mt. Desert Island, Maine. The headwaters of Stanley Brook begin on Day Mountain; including its tributaries, Stanley Brook is 3.7 miles in total length, meandering through ANP before emptying into the ocean at Seal Harbor Beach. Stanley Brook is a rich habitat for local flora and fauna. Sea-run brook trout have been documented in Stanley Brook (Kazyak, 2011) which makes it a particularly unique and valuable habitat. Brook trout can survive only in cold, clean water and vibrant brook trout populations indicate that a watershed is still intact. Brook trout are declining in the Eastern United States but are still thriving in Maine, which has the majority of wild brook trout populations remaining in the United States (Bonney 2006; Hudy et al. 2008)."