MAINE PUBLIC • September 20, 2022
There are eight Maine rivers that are federally recognized as having distinct populations of Atlantic salmon. But salmon also once spawned further north, in Aroostook County, and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians is trying to bring them back. The Meduxnekeag River flows through woods and farm fields, and the town of Houlton, then turns northward through the tribal lands of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. Sharri Venno, environmental planner for the tribe, says the river changed dramatically over the past 150 years, as a result of log drives. John Burrows of the Atlantic Salmon Federation says there's an even bigger barrier: The Mactaquac Dam, built in 1968 on the St. John River just upstream from Fredericton. “We have to restore the entire watershed to meet the goals we have to restore salmon to our own stretch of reserved trust waters," Venno says.