STAFF REPORT

Maine Audubon and a handful of Maine communities have received a $47,000 grant to improve protections for vernal pools.

The grant will help identify and protect valuable vernal pools, which are temporary wetlands often overlooked as important wildlife habitat.

Maine Audubon and Brunswick, Orono, Readfield, Scarborough, Wayne and Yarmouth will work to identify significant vernal pools and educate communities about their importance.

Plans include digital mapping of vernal pools and training local residents as citizen scientists to help assess the importance of particular sites.

The grant to Maine Audubon is part of the first $1.4 million awarded by the TogetherGreen initiative, a national Audubon project with funding from Toyota.