Friends of Casco Bay Citizen Steward Water Quality Monitoring

All of our activities may be termed Baykeeping, although Casco Bay has its own Baykeeper, Joe Payne. As the official ombudsman of the Bay, Joe speaks out on issues that threaten its water quality.

Casco BAYKEEPER Joe Payne uses a work with approach to get people to take action on pollution issues that threaten the Bay, such as combined sewer overflows, marine debris, and polluted runoff from coastal homes and businesses. FOCB is convinced that this region's economic health is dependent upon the Bay's environmental health. Both Joe and the Friends of Casco Bay have had many successes over the years, including helping to reopen hundreds of acres of formerly-polluted clam flats, ensuring that the dredging of Portland Harbor did not pollute Casco Bay or threaten the 34,000 lobsters in the path of the dredge, and helping to lead the oil spill recovery effort after the Julie N oil spill.