Preserving a Vital Maine Fishery

Sebago Lake is home to one of only four indigenous populations of wild landlocked salmon in Maine. Statewide, landlocked salmon only populate 300 miles of river — compared to the 21,000 miles of river that Brook Trout populate.

The Crooked River is the primary tributary to Sebago Lake, providing 62 miles of spawning and nursery habitat for wild landlocked salmon.

That’s roughly 20% of all the landlocked salmon habitat in Maine.

Crooked River Restoration Timeline:

1950s

• IFW biologists identify impediments on the Crooked River

1970s

• Partial breach of the Edes Falls Dam

• Partial breach of Scribner’s Mill Dam

• Installation of an early rock ramp at Bolster’s Mill

2014

• IFW redd survey found over 2,100 redds (over estimated 300) leading to a re-prioritization of the Crooked River habitat

2018

• IFW weir study tracked movements of adult wild landlocked salmon

2019

• Sebago TU begins meeting with the Town of Naples Select Board

• Extremely low water levels in the fall revealed how much of a barrier the dam had become

2020

• Another low water level fall

• Sebago TU site visits, studies, and plan development continue

• Coalition forms and fundraising begins

2021

• Dam removal proposal released

• Public hearings begin

• Community working group formed

• Sebago TU hosts a Discovery Day on the Crooked River

2022

• IFW redd survey found numbers down by 1/3 from the 2014 survey

• The Town of Naples voted in a referendum to authorize the partial removal of the Edes Falls Dam

2023

• Winter storms and floods damaged the physical structure of the dam

• Naples, ME Select Board declares public safety emergency — voting to remove a larger portion of the structure

2024

• Removal began in June and was completed in early July

• First unimpeded fall salmon spawning run through Edes Falls in over 100 years

2025

• Commemorative signage to be installed

• Riverbank stabilization projects along selected upstream parcels

• Continued conversations about upstream barriers and impediments

76% of the spawning habitat in the Crooked River is located upstream of the former Edes Falls Dam.

83% of the nursery habitat for young salmon is also upstream of the former dam’s location.

The partial breach of the dam in the 1970s left a few slabs of granite along the river bottom, and in favorable flow conditions, salmon could pass over the partially breached central section of the dam.

But as drought conditions become more frequent during the fall spawning runs, along with the potential for further decreasing flows due to climate change — salmon in the Crooked River were increasingly becoming delayed and/or blocked from spawning by these remaining granite slabs.

This dam removal was necessary to ensure the sustainability of a critical wild population of landlocked salmon.

But that doesn’t mean the process was easy. It took five years of planning, conversations, public hearings, and collaboration to make it happen.

The dam was removed in the summer of 2024 to ensure that salmon could access spawning habitat during dry conditions.

The fall of 2024 produced record-low water levels — so this project was completed at just the right time — and salmon were observed making redds in upstream sections of the river in the fall spawning season.

This Edes Falls Dam removal was made possible by a broad coalition of partners and community members who came together to recognize the importance of this population of landlocked salmon and the ecosystem that supports them.

Sebago TU, along with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, our conservation partners, and other communities along the Crooked River are continuing to pursue restoration projects in this watershed.

Our goal is to see the Crooked River return to 62 miles of entirely free-flowing river.

Your support makes it possible.

100% of your donation goes to our river restoration work.

Help us fund critical projects like this, so we can continue to make positive impacts on Maine’s waters, wildlife, and communities.