Atlantic salmon habitat restoration projects receive $1.2 million funding

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries is giving about $1.2 million to four partners to continue ongoing projects that restore Atlantic salmon habitat in the Gulf of Maine region. 

Atlantic salmon is an endangered species according to the Endangered Species Act in the Gulf of Maine’s distinct population section.

According to the NOAA website, the species “once returned by the hundreds of thousands to most major rivers along the northeastern United States. Now, they only return in small numbers to rivers in central and eastern Maine.”

One of the biggest obstacles to the recovery of threatened and endangered species is degraded habitat.

This funding will support the following multi-year habitat restoration efforts: The Atlantic Salmon Federation’s projects to restore access to Atlantic salmon spawning and rearing habitats in the Kennebec River watershed, Project SHARE’s culvert replacement, The Nature Conservancy’s project to remove Guilford Dam and restore the adjacent floodplain and The Downeast Salmon Federation’s fish passage feasibility studies at the Cherryfield Ice Control Dam.