Wherever you are in the watershed you are are on indigenous land. The communities of the Maliseet, Micmac, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and the Abenaki are the original stewards of the land, the water and of the places we call “home”. As visitors of this watershed we are to be fully accountable in building, supporting and empowering holistic and sustainable relationships within our communities to support the well-being of our environment. Please be mindful of how and who you are when you step outside.

Where We Work

The Saco River Watershed is 1,700 square miles, flows about 136 miles from the headwaters of the White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire and empties into the Saco Estuary between Biddeford and Saco, Maine. See a list of ME and NH communities.

Collective Impact Approach

The Collaborative uses the Collective Impact Approach which “brings together a variety of stakeholders to tackle complex issues that no single policy, government department, organization, or program can independently solve.” Members of the collaborative participate in setting a common agenda through the Saco Watershed Collaborative Action Plan which is a “living document” and is edited annually based on member priorities. To reinforce mutually beneficial relationships, members of the collaborative are welcome to participate in all meetings and field trips throughout the Saco Watershed. To ensure continuous communication, the Project Team updates partners on the activities of the Collaborative via email, social media and Basecamp, an online archival center where past meeting minutes and agendas can be viewed for those who were not able to participate in person.

Sustainability Science-based

The Collaborative is based in sustainability science (SS) where knowledge is shared/created collaboratively with partners, considers linked social ecological systems of a place which studies the complex interactions of humans and their environments (SES’s), is motivated by sense of urgency in order to set and achieve shared goals, it engages non-scientists and the knowledge of local residents, and is focused on bridging knowledge and action.

Group Consensus Decision-Making

The structure of the collaborative is unique in that it is based on group consensus decision-making and collaborative learning that informs partner organizations which activities will be prioritized for the following year during the annual meeting in December. Though the Collaborative is consensus based driven, there are four sub-committees that help organize the efforts, charge and focus of the Collaborative: Data and Analysis, Education and Outreach, Stewardship, Sustainability, and the Steering Committee.