WELLS, Maine - The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge added 157 acres of land on the Mousam River estuary. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins celebrated the additional land which is located near Parsons Beach on the Mousam River.

More than 5,000 acres of land between Kittery and Cape Elizabeth, Maine, is owned and managed by the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. This stretch of southern coastal Maine has been threatened by urban sprawl.

The newly acquired area offers pine forests and open fields which harbor nesting grounds for several declining bird species.