A Plan for the Future of the Presumpscot River: A Vision for the Future, Findings and Recommendations

The Presumpscot River, including its tributaries and shorelands, is managed to realize the greatest good for all its communities, both human and ecological, through a careful balancing of all potential uses. The river supports the production of renewable energy, and the full range of natural and economic benefits and uses that are dependent upon a restored and ecologically healthy river, including the benefits to resident and migratory fish and wildlife, and the use and enjoyment of the river for open space and recreation. In pursuing this vision, the participants in this planning effort recognize two important and inescapable conclusions: balancing and optimizing among potentially competing uses, values and interests is complex and requires considered judgments on how to integrate uses to achieve the greatest overall benefits; the optimum mix of uses and management of the river will change over time as our knowledge and society’s needs change. Thus, the planning effort should not be viewed as finished at any point in time. Rather, to be effective, it will require a periodic reexamination of the issues involved in management of the river. In fact, this shift in our understanding of appropriate management, and the changing needs of our society over the last two centuries is what has prompted renewed interest in the Presumpscot, and a reexamination of its management