Welcome to the Friends of Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge!
We are a non-profit, community-based organization founded in 2003 by local individuals dedicated to supporting the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge in its efforts to conserve, protect and enhance the rich diversity of coastal habitats, seabirds and other wildlife. Check out our 2018 highlights.
Click on the Upcoming Events to see what is happening at Maine Coastal Islands NWR Visitor Center in Rockland.
Our Incredible Oceans – Talks & Links to Live Streaming
The Refuge Manager, Brian Benedict, also is Superintendent of the Northeast Canyons & Seamounts Marine National Monument. We benefit by learning first hand what is happening at our “nearby” marine monument. If you can’t get to our Visitor Center in Rockland for programs, check out the links to the upcoming livestream dives by the Okeanos Explorer.
Abundant life in the deep sea.
Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge will be live streaming deep-sea dives of our nearby Marine National Monument from their Visitor Center at 9 Water Street in Rockland on Sept. 5, 6 and 10 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The NOAA ship, Okeanos Explorer will be conducting four livestreamed ROV dives within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. These deep-water dives (400-3000 meters depth) will collect critical baseline information about unknown and poorly understood submarine canyons and seamounts. Much of the mission will focus on mapping, exploring, and characterizing the diversity and distribution of deep-sea coral and sponge habitats. Marine scientists and the expedition team from NOAA’s Office of Exploration and Research will narrate the dives as they are happening.
Those who would like to view the expedition from home can use the following link: tinyurl.com/ocean-livestreams. For more information on the expedition, go to tinyurl.com/ocean-expedition.
Learn more about Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge and see why the Friends work so hard to support these wild islands.
Programs
We sponsor programs at the Visitor Center of Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge at 9 Water Street in Rockland, Maine.
If you would like to receive e-alerts of upcoming programs for families and/or adults, please contact us: info@mainecoastislands.org
Art Gallery
We also manage a beautiful art gallery at the Visitor Center. Join us for First Friday Art Walks in Rockland to view art that inspires and supports our conservation message. We are open from 4-7 p.m. – see us first and then head downtown. Note: Art opening for August will be Saturday, July 27, 4-7 p.m.
Summer Island Interns
FOMCI supports the Refuge by contributing funds for seabird research and supporting student interns working on the seabird nesting islands during the summer. These interns are critical to the nesting success of our seabirds, protecting them from disturbance by humans and predators.
With the help of laptops that FOMCI purchased the summer island interns blog about their daily experiences. The blog can be found here.
