MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • November 12, 2021
November 6th marked the official opening of the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust’s newest public access property, Androscoggin Woods. It is 53 acres, stretches two miles along the Androscoggin River, and is home to 12 acres of wetlands which provide important habitat for many plant and animal species as well as a buffer along the river against the impacts of further development. The Indigenous people who farmed, hunted, and fished along the river were called the Arasagunticook. Colonial settlers dammed the river for power. Later, pulp and paper mills released toxic waste. The river became one of the most polluted waterways in the nation. It was this river that inspired Senator Ed Muskie to press for the Clean Water Act of 1972, which resulted in the much cleaner river you can visit today.