CASCO, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The Crooked River is a hidden jewel providing much of the water for Maine's most populated area, Greater Portland. Sportsmen are volunteering to help protect this hidden gem, not just because of the drinking water, but also because of the fish that spawn here.
Because of urban sprawl in Southern Maine, the Crooked was named the seventh most threatened river in the country. It flows sixty-two miles from near Bethel to Sebago Lake.
It is where most of the wild Landlocked Salmon that end up in Sebago spawn. It also provides forty percent of the water for Sebago. Sebago Lake is the water source for the Portland Water District. This serves most of the communities in Greater Portland. Its water is so clean, that it does not have to be chlorinated.
Officials of the Oxford and Cumberland County Conservation Districts saw the need to identify potential points of pollution along the river and its tributaries. Volunteers from Trout Unlimited and the Sebago Lake Anglers paddled most of the watershed looking for threats from development and human contact.
Trout Unlimited project leader Steve Heinz said, "I have done the Moose River Bow Trip and the Allagash in the past and I was amazed that habitat so close to Portland could be so like that in those remote areas." If the efforts of this partnership are successful, the Crooked will remain a gem for a long time to come.