Crowley Island Project Area
Located in the upper Indian River estuary immediately east of Pleasant Bay, two-mile long Crowley Island is bordered on the east by over 350 acres of tidal mudflats and fringing salt marshes. These wetlands are particularly important because they attract huge assemblages of migratory shorebirds and wintering and migratory waterfowl, notably black ducks. Keeping this side of Crowley Island undeveloped and undisturbed is critical for shorebirds that depend on the flats where they fatten in preparation for long non-stop migrations, as well as for waterfowl feeding to meet their wintertime energy requirements. Crowley Island’s intertidal habitats have been designated by the State of Maine as:
The island’s uplands offer attractive habitat for ruffed grouse, woodcock, migratory and nesting songbirds, deer, moose, coyote, bear and other furbearing mammals. During the winter of 2008/09, PRWF initiated a habitat restoration project on Crowley Island designed to enhance feeding, roosting and nesting conditions for woodcock. |
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| The threat of subdivision for second homes became acute when a bridge connecting Crowley Island to the mainland was completed in 1996 and several homes were constructed on the northwest side of the island. Since then, Pleasant River Wildlife Foundation has acquired two large contiguous parcels on the east side of the island, protecting three miles of shoreline, 283 acres of upland and more than 150 acres of intertidal wetlands. Downeast Coastal Conservancy holds a conservation easement on another 58-acre parcel on the southwest tip of Crowley Island. |  |
In order to establish a wider shoreline buffer and to establish a larger block of protected habitat, we are working with the landowners to protect an additional 40-acre interior parcel on Crowley Island. Our long-term plans call for negotiating with other owners to develop conservation plans for their properties on the southeast part of the island.
For walkers or cross-country skiers, a rough and unmaintained woods road offers access to the interior of the island. Deer and upland bird hunters also reach the island’s isolated woodlands along this route. The public boat launch on the Addison Basin Road offers direct access to the protected waters surrounding the island for kayaks, canoes and outboards.
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PO Box 154 • Addison • Maine • 04606 
207-518-7793 • info@pleasant-river.org