Article by Caroline Hilli, included in FSM’s Newsletter, Forest View, Vol. 25 #2.
Aquatic connectivity is not necessarily something we consider when discussing forestland conservation, but waterways play a key role in forest ecosystems. Rivers and streams are not only conduits for water and fish, but they also provide habitat and support the flow of nutrients through ecosystems. Having healthy waterways determines what species are likely present in the surrounding region. Aquatic connectivity supports healthy forests.
In 2020, FSM partnered with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and one of our large conservation easement landowners to assess how replacing different road-stream crossings could improve fish passage and connectivity. Of the assessed sites on the landowner’s property, Gulliver Brook stream crossing on the Golden Road was identified as an ideal candidate to be upgraded, as it would reconnect nine miles of riverine habitat directly to Seboomook Lake.
Knowing the benefit this project would have on passage and the surrounding ecosystem, FSM agreed to apply for NRCS funding to help support the replacement of the three failing culverts at the site with a bridge. The project was approved by NRCS late in 2021, with a goal of engineering and field assessment to be completed in 2022, culminating in the replacement in 2023. The demand and cost of materials, however, skyrocketed in 2022, which postponed the replacement. This pushed FSM to reach out to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to see if they could provide additional funding, as this project aligned with TNC’s 2030 goals of conserving one million kilometers of rivers. TNC was able to provide additional funding and, in the summer of 2022, the contractor ordered the steel beams with the new goal of replacing the crossing in the summer of 2023. However, 2023 proved to be a wet year and the brook experienced high-water levels during the entire federal in-stream work window, so the replacement had to be pushed out another year to 2024.
During the winter of 2023-2024 there were several extreme weather events, including a mid-winter thaw that caused the upstream end of the crossing to completely wash away. This was another sign that replacing the crossing was both ecologically and structurally important, especially since the Golden Road is one of the “main veins” of the North Maine Woods. As the summer of 2024 approached, we had our fingers crossed that the water levels would stay low enough to complete the project, and “lo and behold” they did!
The crossing replacement began in July of 2024 and within three weeks the old culverts were removed and replaced with a bridge. The installation of this bridge not only ensures safe passage of vehicles and logging trucks along the Golden Road but also allows the stream to flow naturally, allowing fish and other aquatic species to make their way upstream. This partnership between the USDA-NRCS, TNC, Huber Resources, Dirigo Timberlands, and FSM was a lengthy but meaningful partnership that we hope can be a model for future conservation successes.
A timelapse of the project. View on FSM’s YouTube channel.
