Project Titles:

• Restore Fish Passage & Stream Processes in Old Stream, Maine (FFS #R5TE)
• Restore Aquatic Connectivity within GOM DPS Atlantic Salmon Rivers (FFS #R5TH)

State: Maine

Project Description: The Maine Fishery Resources Office received $150,000 in Recovery Act funding to restore fish passage in the Old Stream and West Branch Machias River in Washington County, Maine.

The construction efforts within these watersheds will restore fish passage and ecological stream processes that will benefit the endangered Atlantic salmon, Eastern brook trout and other native species. Specifically, the project is helping create 30 more miles of stream access.

The Designated Population Segment of Atlantic Salmon (specific region of a species that requires protection under the Endangered Species Act) includes the Dennys, East Machias, Machias, Pleasant, Narraguagus, Ducktrap, Sheepscot, Penobscot, Androscoggin, and Kennebec rivers, as well as Cove Brook.

The projects were carried out by Project SHARE (Salmon Habitat and River Enhancement) in cooperation with private landowners and the Maine Fishery Resources Office. Local contractors, including Hanscom Construction, Sheridan D. Smith, Inc., and Cold Stream Contracting worked replacing eight culverts, removing six more, and removing one remnant log-drive dam.

Manmade structures such as culverts cause river fragmentation; these projects will establish natural connectivity of waters within the Old Stream basin and Machias River.

This is just part of the ARRA-funded work being carried out by Project SHARE in Downeast Maine. Work was completed at 37 different sites in 2009 to restore fish passage, and at an additional 38 in 2010. More importantly to this former logging community, these passage projects meant much needed jobs. Washington County is one of the poorest areas in the state.

According to Steven Koenig, director of Project SHARE, ARRA funds were responsible for a $1.2 million influx into the local economy in 2009. The non-profit organization dedicated to salmon habitat restoration hires local subcontractors to do all the labor, who in turn shop at local stores. The environment, the salmon, and especially the community have benefited, and will continue to benefit from this timely government investment. The project has also led to the creation of a post-undergraduate year-long internship focused on the various aspects of these restoration efforts.

The Maine Fishery Resources Office has been working cooperatively with Project SHARE since 2007 to assess sites that make fish passage difficult, and to prioritize the most crucial habitat connectivity projects.

For more information, read the FWS Fact Sheet on Atlantic Salmon.

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Originally posted 10/09/2009
Updated 01/14/2010
Page Completed 02/07/2011