Midcoast Conservancy announced the acquisition of a 12.5-acre parcel with 1300 feet of frontage along the West Branch Sheepscot River near China, Maine. Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) supported the project as part of its Rivers Initiative. The parcel includes forested land and priority habitat areas for Wild Brook trout. This area also produces one of the highest numbers of juvenile Atlantic salmon in the Sheepscot Watershed.

The West Branch is one of the most well-connected habitats in the Sheepscot River. Wild brook trout priority areas and endangered Atlantic salmon spawning, and rearing habitats are mapped along the entire 1300 feet of the parcel’s Sheepscot River frontage. Additionally, this property is the site of the Pullen Mill Fish Passage project — a fishway that was installed in 2012. The fishway is a natural constructed pool and weir fishway that provides passage for alewives around the remnants of the mill’s dam. The fishway is dedicated in memory of Dr. Melissa Laser, a biologist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources who worked tirelessly to protect, improve, and restore aquatic ecosystems in Maine and along the entire Atlantic coast.

The Department of Marine Resources is also active on this stretch of the West Branch and recently installed several post-assisted log structures (PALS) in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ecological Services and Project SHARE.

“For a small property, Pullen Mills has significant habitat values worth protecting. The streamside forest alone provides an enormous number of benefits to the water quality of the Sheepscot River,” says Daniel Hohl from MCHT. “The forest helps keep the river clean by filtering out sediment and extra nutrients from stormwater runoff before it enters the river. The forest canopy provides shade to the river, helping keep the water cool. In short, the forest provides the exact cool and clean river conditions favored by native species of fish such as brook trout and Atlantic salmon.

“The Sheepscot Watershed is a hotspot of conservation values and a focus area for Midcoast Conservancy. The protection of this property gives us an important foothold where further progress can be made as we move toward our 30X30 goal of protecting 30,000 acres by 2030,” says Erika Presley, Midcoast Conservancy’s Senior Land Protection Manager. “We look forward to collaborating with MCHT again in the future. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of land left to protect but our shared dedication and passion will keep us moving forward!”