The Maine Native Fish Coalition, in partnership with Maine Department of Marine Resources and Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition, have developed an informational sign for Midcoast and southern Maine sea-run brook trout rivers and streams.
These signs are similar to those we developed for the Downeast region, except in our standard 12”x18” aluminum format versus the experimental 9”x11” corrugated plastic we used Downeast.
Starting late April 2022, signs were posted at kiosks on the Ducktrap River and Tanglewood 4-H Camp & Learning Center in Camden Hills State Park. Signs will continue going up as our volunteers get out into the field.
Special thanks to ME NFC Chair Tom Johnson and National Vice Chair Emily Bastian for getting the project off the ground, George’s River TU for helping with coordination, and Tom and Rich Bouchard and Jessica Decke from Tanglewood 4-H Camp & Learning Center for posting the signs.
ABOUT NATIVE FISH COALITION
Native Fish Coalition is a nonpartisan, grassroots, donor-funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to the conservation, preservation, and restoration of wild native fish. While most of our members are avid fly fishers, our focus is not limited to so-called “gamefish.” We are however primarily – but not exclusively – focused on salmonids, and the reason is twofold: Salmonids are often the species that are most threatened, and what is good for these native “indicator species” is good for all native fish.
It is the belief of Native Fish Coalition that no stream, river, pond or lake is truly healthy or “restored” until its full complement of native species is intact and it is devoid of nonnative species and hatchery-raised fish. While clean water and healthy riparian zones are a necessary foundation for establishing healthy aquatic ecosystems, they are not an absolute indication of overall ecological health.
The complete restoration of native species assemblages and the removal of nonnative fish is often not attainable, or practical. It is however a starting point and general blueprint for where we can make a difference. While our mission is absolute, our execution of that mission is pragmatic and based on reality and likelihood of success as much as ideology.
