St. John River

Geography
In the remote forests of northern Maine, the upper St. John River flows for 130 miles without passing a single settlement. Gathering strength from its tributary streams and rivers, the St. John grows mile by mile from an over-sized stream at the outlet of Baker Lake to a major river full of challenges and surprises.

When the warmth of spring finds its way to the remote northwestern corner of Maine's North woods, it is the frozen headwaters of the St. John that first begin to groan and crack. As the ice fractures, mammoth slabs slowly break away and begin to move with the swollen current. Flowing northward they outpace the thaw, piling one upon the other, creating the only dams the upper reaches of the St. John have ever known. Inevitably, pressures build and ice jams are breached, tossing house-sized blocks of ice into the forest and sending massive shards hurtling downstream to sweep away trees, scour banks clear of vegetation and reshape the river's shoreline in a brutal cycle thousands of years old.

In the wake of this violent display, the St. John becomes the most rewarding wilderness canoe experience in the East. For a matter of weeks after ice-out, the waters run high and fast. More fearsome rapids do exist, but no river east of the Mississippi offers more miles of solitude, wildlife and adventure. Meeting a bull moose midstream is but one of the trip's allures.

Wildlife
Beneath the scampering feet of the pine marten and otter and the plodding paws of the black bear, a contingent of rare plants sends pale shoots up through the jumble of rock and gravel. Less imposing than the moose and less lyrical than the loon, these hardy pioneers have a distinction of their own. Along stretches of the river, they represent the second highest concentration of rare plants in Maine (only Mount Katahdin can boast more).

Conservancy staff and other scientists also discovered the largest population of purple false-oats in the United States, stands of black spruce over 300 years old and a dozen rare dragonflies - one of which is entirely new to science. The land also boasts prime habitat for Canada lynx, listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, and ponds with full complements of native minnow populations (rare in a state where so many water bodies are compromised by alien species).

What The Nature Conservancy is Doing
The Conservancy's vision for the upper St. John River watershed is one in which its most important natural features and recreational lands are permanently preserved for the people of Maine, and where compatibly managed forests provide habitat for Maine's wildlife as well as economic opportunities for the region.

In the process of protecting one of our nation's most outstanding rivers and the forests through which it flows, the Conservancy has proven once again that cooperation works. Reaching out to a variety of stakeholders including conservation organizations, the forest products industry, landowners, state agencies, state and community leaders and sportsmen, the Conservancy has gathered a vast amount of information as we work to ensure this natural resource. These relationships have been extremely valuable, as the Conservancy looks to increase protection along the river and works to manage and steward its property for future generations to enjoy.

Our collaboration with J.M. Huber, Dunn Timberlands and the Pingree family has nearly doubled the protection along the river corridor and its buffer forests. Still, there are miles to go in the Conservancy's quest to protect the upper St. John River - about sixty miles, actually.