The Casco Bay watershed ranges across almost 1000 square miles of Southwestern Maine. One quarter of Maine’s population resides in the watershed, including the city of Portland and other rapidly developing small cities. The watershed contains many lakes and ponds, and more than 1,350 miles of rivers and streams. Of those rivers, the Presumpscot, Stroudwater, and Royal Rivers are the largest and most supportive to fish species that migrate between fresh and salt water, including the American shad, Atlantic salmon, stripped bass, herring, and American eel.
The abundance and diversity of marine life in Casco Bay depends on the health of its watershed. Much work has been accomplished on the Presumpscot River, with the removal of Smelt Hill Dam in Falmouth, construction of a fishway at Cumberland Mills, and an agreement for fish passage and dam removal at Saccarappa Falls. This year, thousands of herring returned to spawn below Saccarappa. Removing the dam at Stroudwater Falls will open a door that has been closed to these resilient fish for over a 150 years.
Friends of the Stroudwater River 