Our Story

Upon realizing that you cannot protect Cobbossee without protecting the bodies of water that flow into it, they consulted with Cobbossee Watershed District, which had been formed via the Maine state legislature in 1973. 

Despite the almost three decades of water quality monitoring and remediation work by the District to protect the 28 lakes, ponds, and streams of the Cobbossee Watershed, the citizen group determined that more effort was required by individual shorefront owners, businesses, and lake recreationists. To that end, The Friends of Cobbossee was officially formed in 2001 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 

Then, as today, all of our conservation efforts are geared towards the two main threats to our watershed: non-point source pollution and Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). The other key aspect of the Friends work to compliment the efforts of the Cobbossee Watershed District is a focus on education; both of current decision makers and the development of future stewards and policy makers. 

Over the years, the organizational model of Friends has undergone significant changes. In the past, there were only two full-time staff members – an Executive Director and an Education Director. However, as of 2023, there are now six year-round staff members. Additionally, the summer staff composition has evolved from having only NCCC AmeriCorps as seasonal staff to having over 40 seasonal staff members.

We are thankful to the myriad of amazing Board of Directors over the years, Staff both past and present, business partners, local municipalities,  collaborating organizations, and all of our donors, members, and supporters.