Welcome! It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed. Since joining the Friends at the beginning of 2003, I have witnessed first hand what an engaged group of citizens can accomplish when they channel their efforts. You and I are extremely fortunate to have such a visionary Board of Directors – we are also fortunate to have several foundations and businesses, along with hundreds of members who also believe in our mission, and are supporting our efforts to protect and restore this wonderful natural resource.

Some wonderful “friendships” have developed along the way:

• Membership – Approaching 5,000 – up from just 71 at the end of 2002!

• AmeriCorps – In 2003, a group of 12 volunteer young adults from all across America landed on the shores of the Cobbossee Watershed for 10 weeks.  Since that arrival of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), our organization has not been quite the same since!  In 2004 and 2005, we received additional assistance from NCCC teams – their incredible contributions to our organization enabled us to expand our program offerings and complete projects that will benefit the Cobbossee Watershed for years to come.

Our partnership with AmeriCorps evolved further when we were awarded a full-time, seasonal AmeriCorps*State position by the Training Resource Center (TRC) in 2004. Continuing today, this grant award enables us to staff Program Director positions for our popular SLOW THE FLOW and MIL-FOILER programs. In December of 2005, the TRC recognized the Friends as the “AmeriCorps Community Resource Corps Worksite of the Year."

• Volunteers – Our volunteer Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) Program has benefited greatly from partnerships formed with local lake associations, area high schools, the Pine Tree Council of Maine (Boy Scouts) and the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Waterville.  Since 2003, the number of volunteer CBI’s has increased from 14 to 177, with inspections increasing from 400 in 2003 to nearly 3,000 in 2005.

• Lake Associations – Strong, individual lake associations are critical to the success of protecting and improving the CW. Our relationship with local associations has grown into meaningful partnerships where the Friends are seen as a true ally. The Friends are a regular guest at their Annual meetings and other scheduled Board meetings – these relationships will only continue to bring benefit to the entire Cobbossee Watershed.

While we deeply believe in our mission, nothing would have been possible without the generous financial support of many – starting with the nationally recognized Unity Foundation, who have strongly supported the Friends since we first began in 2002. An initial $5,000 grant in 2002 helped fund the purchase of the  OTTER ; a 2-year $70,000 capacity-building grant followed in 2003; and in 2005 we were awarded a 5-year $150,000 grant that enabled us to launch a year-round educational effort in our local schools.

In 2005, a 2-year $30,000 grant from the LL Bean Charitable Foundation funded the construction of a pilot “Boat Wash Station” at Norcross Point in Winthrop (dedicated May 5, 2006), along with the development of a “How-to-Guidebook” to assist others in their construction plans.

Several family foundations and individuals have been extremely supportive of our efforts as well – including Ed Snider & the Snider Family, Jay & Terry Snider, Allen & Joan Bildner, Allen & Dianne Ryan, Todd Johnston, Jerome & Elaine Snider, Andrew & Tina Escoll and Rockingham Lodge – the Lowenstein & Jacobs families.

Equally important and significant are our members who believe in what we are doing – our number of annual supporters is rapidly approaching 1,000.

Though we are very encouraged by the growth and interest that our members have demonstrated to date, much more needs to be done. The fight to protect our water is never really won - it must continually be fought just to keep from losing. Erosion and pollution run-off continue to turn our lakes green, and the threat of destructive aquatic invasive plants is real - and they're here now!

We know that everyone wants clean water, and to "win the fight", we need to continue reaching out to all of our constituencies. If you are not already a member, please consider joining the Friends today. Involvement - widespread involvement - is the best way to protect our lakes. It will take all of us to make a difference here at home where we live and work.

Thanks for helping to Save Our Shed .

Bob Moore, Executive Director