Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To protect the wild character, natural resources, and scenic beauty of the Pierce Pond watershed and preserve traditional public recreational use of the area.
- Income
- $224,152
- Spending
- $136,237
- Spent on programs
- 55%
- Reserves
- Over 10 years of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 52%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 20
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 88 out of 100. Higher than 66% of charities in its peer group (environment, under $250k).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover more than ten years of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 39% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 3% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1555% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 15 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 81 out of 100. Higher than 67% of charities in its peer group (environment, under $250k).
Independent board
25 of 2519 of 19 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $53,360 spent. Stewardship:MWWT hired a summer intern once again, via collaborations with Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Somerset Woods Trustees that offset a large portion of the costs. The intern assisted with trail maintenance and water-quality monitoring.Owing to serious damage from severe storms, a number of bridges and culverts on the Lindsay Cove roadwhich provides the main public access to Pierce Pondrequired extensive repairs. MWWT contributed $2,000 to the cost of those repairs, in line with its mission to ensure public access to the pond.MWWT conducted water quality testing in Pierce Pond in 2025, taking clarity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature readings, using buoys with temperature loggers at specified depths. The effort provided excellent baseline data allowing future responses to changes or detrimental developments. The Trust also laid plans to conduct a brook-trout telemetry study in 2026 in partnership with Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, as well as a water-quality and fisheries study in Kilgore, King, and Grass Ponds in partnership with the University of Maine at Farmington.
- $13,703 spent. Education/Outreach: 2025 was a regrouping and planning year for MWWTs efforts at educational programming, which is intended to attract new, younger outdoor enthusiasts to the watershed to support its conservation. The focus has been refined to developing collaborations with college outing clubs and organizations such as Chewonki and Camp Kieve that provide programs for high school students. Efforts to establish such partnerships will continue.MWWT's Annual Members Meeting and Banquet, which was held on April 5, 2025, serves to educate members about issues in the Pierce Pond watershed and MWWTs initiatives to address them. In 2025 the banquets featured speaker was Elizabeth Latti, Director of the Fisheries & Hatcheries Division of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. Latti was previously the Fisheries Biologist for Pierce Pond and knows the watershed well. In her engaging and informative presentation she discussed the state of the wild brook trout population in the watershed, always a topic of keen interest to Pierce Ponders. She also explained the effect that the stocking of hatchery-raised fish can have, by reducing fishing pressure on wild fish populations while providing more successful fishing experiences for anglers.The MWWT newsletter is one of the Trusts main vehicles for educating supporters about the watershed and about Trust stewardship and protection activities. The fall 2025 edition explained the Forest Habitat program on the Bowtown land, as well as detailing the 2025 water-quality monitoring program. The newsletter is mailed to all members and also published online
- $8,039 spent. Land Protection: In 2025, MWWT continued its efforts in support of acquisition of the 6,800 acres of watershed lands that are currently under commercial timber management. MWWT continued the search for appropriate swap parcels that would allow for Weyerhaeusers continued fulfillment of their SAPPI contract in the event of a land sale to MWWT. The Trust also renewed and/or continued conversations with all other watershed landowners regarding its interest in owning watershed lands should they desire to sell.Continuing an effort approved last year for its fee acreage in Bowtown, MWWT completed an updated forest management plan and inventory as part of a New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) program designed to improve wildlife habitat and forest health while increasing carbon sequestration.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since April 1994.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.