Project share was awarded eastern brook trout joint venture funding to add large wood to a section of west branch brook (upper narraguagus river near beddington maine) to increase habitat and flow…

This federal Project Grant award, worth $146,202, was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the National Fish Habitat Partnership (CFDA 15.686) program to the non-profit organization Project Share. The funding will be used to add large woody debris to a section of the West Branch Brook within the Upper Narraguagus River near Beddington, Maine, in order to increase habitat and flow diversity. The Maine Army National Guard will assist by delivering the large wood material to the project site via helicopter, which will also serve as a training exercise for their pilots and crews. Project Share staff and volunteers will then construct large wood jams within the stream and on its associated floodplains, and plant native vegetation along the riparian area to aid in recovery from past flooding issues. The period of performance for this project is from August 1, 2024 to December 31, 2028.

Project share was awarded eastern brook trout joint venture funding to add large wood to a section of west branch brook (upper narraguagus river near beddington maine) to increase habitat and flow diversity. Wood will either be sourced from the riparian area, where available, or will be delivered from off-site via maine army national guard helicopters. The treatment area is located within the deepwoods military operations area. The national guard uses this area as a training ground for ground and air units. The national guard will use this partnership as a training opportunity for its helicopter pilots and crews. Share staff will then use the delivered wood material to construct large wood jams within the stream and on its associated floodplains. Share staff will also partner with volunteers to plant native, woody and herbaceous plants along the riparian area to speed recovery from perpetual flooding due to a blocked road crossing. The road crossing was replaced with a bridge in 2018. Period of performance will be from august 1, 2024 to december 31, 2028.