Located in the historic Maine coastal village of Somesville, on Mount Desert Island, the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary protects and conserves over 250 acres of forested and wetland areas surrounding Somes Pond, and provides public access to these areas via well-maintained trails. The sanctuary provides a variety of year-round natural history and conservation programs for local citizens, visitors, and schools. The Sanctuary’s headquarters building overlooks Somes Pond from the south shore and offers a great setting for education programs, workshops, and training. It is a popular meeting space for other organizations including our local school district and Acadia National Park.

Researchers from the sanctuary study all of the common loons that nest on all the lakes of Mount Desert Island, maintain fish passageways between Somes Harbor and Somes Pond and Long Pond, monitor the annual alewife (river herring) migration, sample and protect lake water quality, staff a Courtesy Boat Inspection station at Long Pond to help educate boaters about checking their equipment to minimize the likelihood of introducing aquatic invasive species, and many other projects.