Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge preserves a long stretch of southern Maine’s coast, protecting estuaries, salt marshes, wetlands, beaches, dunes, rocky shoreline, and uplands that support migratory birds and other wildlife. Established in 1966 and later expanded, it was created along a major migration route to provide food, shelter, and staging habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds, while also safeguarding fish and shellfish nursery areas. Named for environmentalist Rachel Carson, whose Silent Spring drew attention to the dangers of DDT, the refuge is especially important for piping plovers and other coastal birds and remains a key conservation landscape on Maine’s southern shore.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Kennebunkport, Maine · USA