The Ladd dam was one of six barriers prevented fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.

Learn more about fish passage
along Outlet Stream in central Maine.

The China Lake Outlet Stream Restoration Project will restore connectivity through the entire Outlet Stream in central Maine, opening fish passage from China Lake's incredible 3,939 acres of alewife spawning and nursery habitat to the mainstem Sebasticook and Kennebec Rivers, which flow into the Atlantic Ocean. Formerly, six barriers prevented fish passage along the stream.

Through work by USFWS and partners, four barriers have been addressed (Box Mill dam fishway, Ladd dam fishway, Lombard dam removal, Masse dam removal) and the remaining two barriers will be taken care of soon (Morneau dam removal, Outlet dam fishway). The USFWS and partners are working to re-establish a self-sustaining run of 800,000 to 950,000 adult alewives into the spawning habitat of China Lake and provide downstream passage for out-migrating juveniles. The project is also restoring natural ecological processes and the habitat of Outlet Stream, improving the resiliency of the system, supporting benthic species that provide forage for fish and serve as an integral component of the riverine food web, and promoting the distribution of native freshwater mussels that depend on the movement of host fish species for colonization. The China Lake Outlet Stream Restoration Project has benefits for the local communities around Vassalboro, ME too- this project improves water quality, reduces public safety risks by removing obsolete and deteriorating dams, and aims to restore a run of alewife that is economically important to this area.

Contact Information

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Programs

A person is walks through a large wide culvert that passes under a gravel road. A small river runs through the culvert.
Across the country, millions of barriers are fragmenting rivers, blocking fish migration, and putting communities at higher risk to flooding. Improving fish passage is one of the most effective ways to help conserve vulnerable species while building safer infrastructure for communities and...
Juvenile Northern Pike in aquarium at Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery, South Dakota
The Fish and Aquatic Conservation program leads aquatic conservation efforts for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We are committed to tackling the nation’s highest priority aquatic conservation and recreational challenges to conserve, restore, and enhance fisheries for future generations.
A rocky shoreline of a river. The water is calm. Mist and green branches line the river.
The Ecological Services Program works to restore and protect healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and plants and the environments upon which they depend. Using the best available science, we work with federal, state, Tribal, local, and non-profit stakeholders, as well as private land owners, to...

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Maine stream
The Maine Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office strives to restore fish habitat throughout our rivers in Maine, for freshwater and sea-run migratory fishes, through collaboration with local, state and tribal partners.