TNC ME Campaign Impact Report 2024 - Flipbook - Page 4
CLIMATE & Rivers
RECONNECTING THE WOLASTOQ-ST. JOHN RIVER
The Wolastoq-St. John River flows for over 400
miles through Maine, Quebec, and New Brunswick,
connecting Aroostook County with the Bay of
Fundy. Its banks are home to rare and iconic plants
and animals, from fiddlehead ferns to the federally
endangered Furbish’s lousewort. Its cold waters teem
with eastern brook trout and historically, Atlantic searun salmon, too. But today, many dams and undersized
culverts constrain the flow of the Wolastoq, posing
flood risks and blocking the migration of sea-run fish.
For millennia, the lands and waters of the Wolastoq
have been home to the ancestors of people now known
as the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (HBMI).
As part of healing the river, the HBMI is leading
partners in a watershed-scale effort to remove barriers,
improve water quality, and reduce flood hazards. TNC
is contributing spatial data, project management, and
planning capacity to the effort, and we have assisted
with securing public and private grants to develop local
capacity for implementation.
Reaching our campaign goal of restoring 2,000 river miles is only possible when we work with partners to develop
local capacity. Thank you for supporting our freshwater team in building these partnerships and scaling up the
implementation of nature-friendly climate solutions.
Our Goals by 2024
Rivers
1,036 Miles
GOAL: AT LEAST 2,000 MILES
52%
Miles of rivers and streams protected and reconnected
14,000,000 Sea-Run Fish
GOAL: MORE THAN 15 MILLION SEA-RUN FISH
55%
Number of sea-run fish returning to Maine's rivers each year
4 | A TOUR OF YOUR IMPACT
93%
