Two groups partner to restore salmon and trout in Pleasant River
By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff
The Appalachian Mountain Club and the Atlantic Salmon Federation have formed a partnership to restore salmon and brook trout habitat in Piscataquis County, according to the groups on April 3.
The groups will specifically target restoring the watershed of the West Branch of the Pleasant River.
The groups want to reconnect Atlantic salmon to their traditional freshwater areas by conserving habitat, removing barriers such as dams, and managing forests. The AMC has already conserved 114,000 acres of habitat in the Moosehead Lake Region and reopened 128 miles of streams since 2003 by installing 132 fish passages, according to the groups’ joint statement.
The Atlantic Salmon Federation, among other groups, has worked for decades to restore the fish species’ natural habitat in Maine and New Brunswick. This is the organization’s latest project to further that effort.
“Ending 180 years of habitat fragmentation, AMC is giving salmon in the region access to their headwater streams since the installation of mainstream dams in 1835,” said Nicole Zussman, president and CEO of the Appalachian Mountain Club. “This project, in collaboration with our partner’s projects and dam removals downstream, represents a significant step toward restoring salmon passage from the Appalachian mountains to the ocean.”
The AMC and salmon federation plan includes conserving the watershed through AMC’s ownership, removing all barriers to fish passage by 2030, improving forest management practices to safeguard water quality and adding large wood to reverse the impacts of river driving of logs.
AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative property conserves the 100-Mile Wilderness region where sea-run Atlantic salmon and the Appalachian Trail meet. With more than 10 miles of headwater area expected to reopen by the end of 2024, AMC will be more than halfway to its goal of removing all culverts and opening all stream miles by 2030, according to the joint statement.
The West Branch of Pleasant River is a crucial habitat for eastern brook trout and Atlantic salmon, the groups said.
“The Pleasant River’s large amount of high-quality, climate-resilient habitat makes it one of the most significant watersheds for salmon recovery in the US. It is the only tributary to the Penobscot [River] that is just one dam and fishway from the ocean. This unique combination underscores the extraordinary value of the Pleasant River watershed for salmon recovery, biodiversity and climate resilience,” said Jeff Reardon, habitat restoration project manager at the Atlantic Salmon Federation.
The groups said the restoration projects have created 18 installation and manufacturing jobs in Milo, Old Town, and Madison.
Funding for the projects has come through federal partnerships with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in addition to private donations.