The Impacts of Industry

While you gaze out at the Saco River flowing up to this point, it's important to recognize that while the early dams generated power for the growing industry of Saco, they brought fish migration to a grinding halt, having a major impact on fisheries that continues today.

Considerable efforts have been made over the decades to improve fish passage, attempting to restore access to critical spawning habitat upstream.

In the 1990s, a fish ladder was installed to increase options for Atlantic Salmon to access the river.

And in 2024, renovations to the Cataract East Dam completed updates to a fish lift that's meant to provide fish passage for River Herring, Shad, and other migratory fish via an underwater elevator.

Fisheries biologists are hopeful that these, and future improvements, can restore access to critical spawning habitat and increase fish populations to their historic numbers.