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Clean & Free-flowing Waters

Thanks largely to the Clean Water Act, Maine’s great rivers are much cleaner than they were 40 years ago, but we still have a long way to go to restore many of them. NRCM continues to make clean water a high priority. NRCM was founded by a group of Mainers working to protect the Allagash River, which was designated as the nation's first Wild & Scenic River. Today, it is known as the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. In partnership with others, we also opened up part of the Kennebec River with the removal of the Edwards Dam, and we reopened 2,000 miles of habitat in the Penobscot River Watershed for Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish.

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rocks and trees along shoreline of lake
January 27, 2025 | Luke Frankel, Woods, Waters, & Wildlife Director and Staff Scientist

Nature-based Shoreline Rules Protect Maine’s Waterways

Historically, riprap, retaining walls, and other hardened structures have been the dominant means by which erosion has been controlled along the shorelands of our lakes,…
Allagash Wilderness Waterway
February 17, 2022 | Pete Didisheim, Senior Director of Advocacy

50 Years of the Clean Water Act 

Progress Made but Challenges Remain Clean water is central to Maine’s identity and vital for the future of our economy and way of life. We…