The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust team accomplished a substantial amount of work this summer to restore infrastructure that protects the Kennebago watershed.
The Kennebago watershed stretches from the Quebec border to where the river meets Cupsuptic Lake, draining from subalpine peaks to the valley floor with diverse topography, forest types and complex hydrology.
The trust’s Kennebago headwaters restoration project comprises 10,330 acres, featuring miles of shorefront, headwater tributaries, wetlands and riparian areas along the main stem of the river.
The waters are a key driver of regional water quality, biodiversity and climate resilience in the upper Androscoggin watershed, according to the trust’s newsletter.
It’s also one of the nation’s remaining strongholds for wild Eastern brook trout populations.
The holistic restoration project includes watershed-wide habitat restoration and enhancements, including the removal of culverts, construction of new open-bottom bridges, strategic wood additions, riparian buffers and sustainable forest management.
With the help of Rangeley-based M&H Construction and U.S. Fish and Wildlife System’s Gulf of Maine Coastal Program, the trust replaced three culverts with open-bottom bridges this summer.
Perched and undersized culverts create barriers for native brook trout and other aquatic organism passage. Replacing the barriers with open-bottom bridges has reconnected 10 miles of critical upstream habitat in the Kennebago watershed.
The projects aim to improve the health and resiliency of wild brook trout populations, prevent future degradation of aquatic habitats and ensure access to the public for outdoor recreation, and forest operations.