The Sebasticook River watershed…
• Covers 5 counties and 43 towns.
• Covers an area of 947 square miles (606,000 acres).
• Is larger than 7 of Maine’s 16 counties.
• Historically contained sea run fish such as striped bass, shad and alewives.
• Has yielded archaeological finds that are older than the pyramids of ancient Egypt.
• Was one of the most important canoe routes for Native Americans in Maine.
• Is home to many rare and endangered species of fish, wildlife and plants, such as black tern, bald eagle, yellow lamp mussel, Tomah mayfly, and several rare orchids.
• Includes over 50 lakes and ponds
The Sebasticook River is the largest tributary (985 square miles) to the Kennebec and thus plays an important role in the restoration of both the anadromous and resident aquatic fisheries of the Kennebec basin and the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Due to it’s relatively close proximity to the lower Kennebec, large drainage area, and low gradient, this watershed historically contributed a major percentage of available spawning and nursery habitat for anadromous runs of alewife, blueback herring, American shad, rainbow smelt, and striped bass associated with the Kennebec River watershed and Gulf of Maine ecosystems. To a lesser extent, the river provided habitat for Atlantic salmon.
