Our Nature Store Launches Later This Year

Friends board members and volunteers recently moved store fixtures and equipment to our Friends Nature Store, which will be opening later this year in the new Refuge Visitor Center at 188 Brown Street here in Kennebunk, Maine. A new sales counter, shelving, and merchandise displays were donated by the FatFace store in Kennebunkport that recently closed. Special thanks to store managers Logan Manbeck and Alisha Lampron for their generous support! Stay tuned for more news about the exciting launch of our Nature Store, which will help support the mission of the Refuge…

Credit: Ward Feurt

Credit: Jeanne Walsh

Credit: Jeanne Walsh

Help Protect Maine's Incredible Fish and Wildlife

Maine is updating the State Wildlife Action Plan which is a blueprint for protecting the state's amazing fish and wildlife, keeping common species common and preventing at-risk species from becoming endangered. The plan identifies inland and marine species of greatest conservation need and their habitats, threats, and recommended actions that can be used by natural resource agencies, land trusts, towns, businesses, and all of us as citizens. You can learn more and contribute to this important process by visiting this link.

Credit: New England Birds Plus

Spoiler Alert! Photo Contest Winner!

The annual judging for the Friends of Rachel Carson “Sense of Wonder” Photography Contest has been completed! Twelve winners and a Rising Star award were chosen. These images will appear in the 2026 Friends of Rachel Carson Calendar. Check back here for details on how to order your copies for friends and family, a perfect holiday gift. The calendar cover will feature this red-tailed hawk photo taken by Tom LeTourneau. Find more details here.

Credit: Tom LeTourneau

Good News For Maine's Piping Plovers!

Maine Audubon recently reported that Maine’s threatened piping plover population is having the best year on record, with 174 nesting pairs found in a recent survey. Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge staff play an important role in efforts to support piping plover populations through research, habitat restoration, and nesting site protections. You can read more here.

Credit: Bill Gingras

Friends Intern Battles Invasive Plants!

The Friends created a new internship program this summer that’s been funded by generous member donations. Our first intern Patrick Cadogan - who studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut - is working in the Refuge team with Visitor Services Manager Thomas Wall. Saco Bay News recently reported on their heroic efforts to remove destructive invasive plants at the Refuge’s important Goosefare Brook division. Read more here.

Credit: Tracy Birchall

Friends Hire First Executive Director To Strengthen Organization

The Friends Board of Directors voted unanimously at its recent March Board meeting to appoint its first Executive Director. Board member Kelly Clark has agreed to fill the position.

Bill Durkin, Friends President, noted, “I’m very excited about this move. The Friends have been totally volunteer for 38 years which has stretched us at times, particularly with fundraising. Creating this position will strengthen the organization and allow it to grow in new ways.”

Kelly has a background in marketing, but recently decided to switch careers and is studying forestry at University of New Hampshire. Friends Board member Natalie Lord met Kelly in a class she was teaching and encouraged him to intern with the Friends for a degree requirement. While interning to help both the Friends and the Refuge, Kelly was impressed with what the Friends were doing and the Board asked if Kelly was interested in staying involved by joining the Board. Living in Kittery, Kelly was already familiar with the Refuge’s Brave Boat Harbor Division and saw his involvement with the Friends as a great way to combine his interests in forestry and conservation with his marketing skills.

As Executive Director, Kelly will work to elevate the Friends presence in the community while developing a broader base of funding support. This will help the Friends achieve its goals of running a nature store for visitors and providing support to the Refuge and its programs in the soon to be Multipurpose/Visitor Center off Brown Street in Kennebunk. Part of that process will be the Executive Director overseeing an expanded and more robust Friends internship program.

Kelly stated, “I’m really excited to work with Board members, Refuge staff, donors, and volunteers to contribute to the Refuge’s important mission. Threats to the Refuge system are frightening and increasing, so it’s never been more important that we all rally to support the incredible work done by the Refuge team. Together we will make a big difference.”