In 2007, Maine adopted legislation to regulate a subset of vernal pools that meet certain biological and hydrological criteria as Significant Wildlife Habitat. The Maine Vernal Pool Municipal Mapping and Assessment Project (VPMAP) served to educate communities about vernal pool ecology and lead them through the process of using citizen scientists to proactively map and survey vernal pool resources with special attention to identifying pools that meet the biological criteria for Significant Vernal Pools. The goals of the project were to:

1. Avoid loss of time and money for private landowners by way of free vernal pool surveys
2. Enable better-informed planning at a town-wide level
3. Encourage conservation at the local level that will serve to complement the top-down regulatory approach used by state and federal agencies

Towns that participated in this project include Brunswick, Topsham, Windham, Scarborough, Freeport, Wayne, Readfield, Orono, Cumberland, Yarmouth, and Bar Harbor.

We no longer have an active citizen science program, but if you are interested in starting one, we have documented the process in the Citizen’s Manual by Morgan and Calhoun available.

Since the program ended, a diverse stakeholder group organized by the University of Maine has developed an innovative, locally controlled vernal pool mitigation tool called the Vernal Pool Special Area Management Plan (VP SAMP).

Towns that already have a vernal pool database from the Citizen Science project may find adopting the SAMP an easy next step.

The Maine Vernal Pool Special Area Management Plan (Maine VP SAMP) is voluntary mitigation option for projects impacting vernal pools in a specified area called the Designated Development Area.  To use the Maine VP SAMP, an applicant pays a fee to the municipality which is then transferred to a 3rd party land conservation organization. Impacts to vernal pools are allowed in this Designated Development Area in exchange for payment of a fee that is used to conserve high quality vernal poolscapes in the rural area identified in the municipality’s comprehensive plan.

The Maine VP SAMP was developed through extensive collaboration between state and federal regulators, state and federal resource agencies, vernal pool ecologists, natural resource economists, real estate developers and appraisers, municipal planners, municipal economic development agencies, and local land trusts.  Over a period of seven years, these stakeholders met regularly to craft this innovative approach to natural resource regulation and protection.

The Maine Vernal Pool SAMP allows vernal pool impacts in certain developed areas of a municipality in exchange for conservation of high value vernal poolscapes in the municipality’s rural area.  It supports a municipality’s goals for growth, compact development and conservation; allows development of parcels otherwise limited by the presence of vernal pools; provides a funding stream for land conservation and conserves landscapes that provide multiple values including increased resilience to a changing climate.

A municipality adopts benchmark criteria including among other things, the area in which the Maine VP SAMP can be used, ordinance language that provides the authority to collect a fee and transfer the fee to a 3rd party land conservation organization.Use of the Maine Vernal Pool SAMP is voluntary on the part of a developer needing a vernal pool permit for a project that is located in the municipal Designated Development Area.  The developer provides an appraisal of the parcel that is used to determine the fee that the developer pays to the municipal for the impacts to vernal pools.The fee is transferred to a land conservation organization that has entered into an agreement with the municipality to undertake conservation of vernal poolscapes according to vernal pool conservation criteria found in the Maine VP SAMP.

The US Army Corps regulates vernal pools under the Clean Water Act.  The State of Maine has a General Permit for wetlands regulation with the Army Corps and regulates wetlands through the Maine Natural Resource Protection Act (NRPA).  NRPA allows municipalities to request delegated authority for some or all of the resources regulated therein. To implement the Maine VP SAMP, a municipality must meet benchmark criteria and receive delegated authority from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to issue vernal pools permits in its Designated Development Area.

Use of the Maine Vernal Pool SAMP is voluntary on the part of an applicant needing a vernal pool permit for a project that is located in the municipal Designated Development Area.  The applicant provides an appraisal of the parcel that is used to determine the fee that is paid to the municipality for the impacts to vernal pools.  Instead of paying the fee, the applicant can undertake permittee-responsible mitigation which must meet all the vernal pool conservation criteria spelled out in the Maine VP SAMP; be approved by the municipal legislative authority; be accepted by the 3rd party land conservation organization.

In order to implement the SAMP, a municipality must complete the requirements identified in Chapter 3 Preferred Alternative’.  Completing Steps 1-4 lays the legal framework for a municipality to offer use of the SAMP process for development(s) within its Designated Growth Area (DGA). The following describes the steps for the municipality to lay the groundwork, for the developer to use the SAMP, for conservation actions to take place.  

Municipality completes Steps 1-4 from Chapter 3, Preferred Alternative, which results in the municipality having:

• • A consistent comprehensive plan,
  • An implementing land-use ordinance,
  • A vernal pool inventory particularly in the rural zone,
  • A vernal pool prioritization for the rural zone and
  • An agreement with a 3rd party to receive funds; undertake vernal pool conservation actions according to the vernal pool prioritization; monitor conservation actions; and report to the municipality on an annual basis.

1. Town requests and receives partial delegation from Maine DEP for vernal pool permitting using the SAMP in the Designated Growth Area.
2. Town identifies a Designated Growth Area in the town’s growth zone.  The area is reviewed and approved by the ACOE and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
3. Town ‘advertises’ use of SAMP in the approved Designated Growth Area.
4. Developer ‘applies’ to municipality to use the SAMP on a particular project within the DGA. As part of the application, developer provides two appraisals for the property.
   • One appraisal of the property based on current conditions (with vernal pool [s]).
   • Second appraisal of the property based on conditions as if the vernal pool did not exist.  All other conditions remain the same.
5. Town determines fee based on the difference between the two appraisals.
6. Developer submits Category 1 permit application to USACE for vernal pool impact(s) in DGA.
7. Developer pays fee to municipality.
8. Town records fee and forwards to third party.
9. Third party banks fee in special SAMP account.
10. Third party undertakes vernal pool conservation in Rural Area including annual monitoring.
11. Third party reports on activities related to SAMP to town on annual basis.
12. Town reports to USACE and Maine DEP on annual basis.
13. Town takes part in 5-year review of SAMP with Maine DEP and USACOE.