Sabattus River

Maine Rivers is partnering with the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) on a series of ambitious and important projects in the Sabattus watershed. The Sabattus River is one of few large tributaries in the lower section of the Androscoggin River that historically supported alewife, blueback herring, American shad, Atlantic salmon, American eel, and sea lamprey. As early as 1800, several dams were built on the Sabattus River to power mills. For more than a century these dams drove the growth of the communities on the river, but the dams extirpated the communities of sea-run fish that once returned each year to spawn. Work in the Sabattus watershed will improve fish passage for native species, while bringing numerous benefits to local communities.