Guided Alewife Migration Walks at Mill Brook Preserve Will Be Held on the Following Dates:

Saturday, May 23 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 30 from 11 a. m. – 1 p. m.
Tuesday, June 2 from 2 p.m. – 4: p.m.
Saturday, June 6 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
The walk is 2 miles round trip.
Pre-registration is required at www.prlt.org/events.
There is a suggested donation of $10 per person, but no one will be turned away if that is a financial burden.
Learn more about Mill Brook Preserve and the alewife migration at
https://www.prlt.org

World Fish Migration Day will be celebrated on Saturday, May 23 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Riverbank Park in Westbrook. The free family event with fish-themed arts and crafts will be held along the scenic Presumpscot River.
The Presumpscot River played a major role in the history of our area, and continues to draw us together. The river’s name means “many falls” or “many rough places” in the Abenaki language spoken by the first people of the region. They survived on the river’s abundance and lived along its fertile shores for centuries. It provided transportation as well.
During this time, vast numbers of salmon, shad and alewives swam upriver to spawn. The Presumpscot was also home to land-locked salmon and brook trout. Artifacts from these early ancestors dating back thousands of years have been found in numerous archaeological sites along the banks.
The Presumpscot is a short but mighty river. It flows 25.8 miles from the southern end of Sebago Lake in North Gorham, passing through and draining many smaller streams in Standish, Windham, Gorham and Westbrook before reaching the ocean in Falmouth. The 28-mile-long Sebago to the Sea Trail provides great access for recreation along much of this distance.
The river drops over 270 feet along its 25-mile course, which made it perfect for water-driven mills during the colonial era and for electric generation in more modern times. The river continues to be a vital waterway for fish migration, transportation, energy production, recreation and tourism. It always was and continues to be a vital economic engine for the area.
The river was a major transportation hub. The historic Cumberland Oxford Canal, which was opened in 1832, used flat-bottomed horse-drawn boats to carry lumber and ice out of Long Lake and Sebago Lake down to the Fore River estuary in Portland for shipment all over the world. Remnants of the canal can still be seen along the riverbanks in Shaw Park near White Rock in Gorham.
In that same area, and an easy walk from the same parking lot at Shaw Park, are the ruins of another significant industrial site from the Civil War era. The Gambo Gunpowder Mills operated from 1824 to 1905. They provided 25 percent of the gunpowder for Union troops. The round stone mills that ground the necessary ingredients are still visible. If you’ve never been, it’s a great place to visit.
In recent years, several dams have been removed from the river to allow for fish runs to occur. In Westbrook, a fish ladder provides access for them to make their way upstream to spawn.
World Fish Migration Day is celebrated worldwide and is sponsored locally by Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, Friends of the Presumpscot River, Discover Downtown Westbrook, Portland Trails, and Trout Unlimited.