Didymo Algae Epidemic

More on the Didymo algae.
Tuesday, July 24th
There has been confirmation tothe existence of didymo algae (rock snot) on the NH side of the Upper Connecticut River in the headwaters area. It is PARAMOUNT that we initiate the Home Rivers program as soon as possible--many of the partners needed to make that happen are already coming together for a common cause on the river. It would be judicious to capture that momentum and get local guides, resort owners, outdoorsmen and local citizens involved.

Indian Stream, a tributary of the Conn. R. runs along border with the Canadian Province of Quebec. Lots of fishermen are known to cross into NH to fish for wild Brook Trout in the more remote upper reaches of that fishery. If didymo gets up there, it could easily spread into Canadian watersheds, and depending on flows, wildlife movement and other spread factors, could possibly take hold in Northern Maine as well, especially since numerous streams run in a Northerly direction.

Hall's Stream forms the border between NH and Quebec in Pittsburg. Indian Stream, which is one of the focus areas of the Silvio Conte NFWR and a possible habitat improvement site for Home Rivers, lies entirely within NH and is largely contained within the permanently protected conservation easement created by the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Conservation Project that was supported by numerous organizations, including TU.

We excluded Hall's Stream from our potential project list in the Home Rivers project proposal, largely because of the problem of doing projects that cross the international border, and also because of the well known problem of fish poaching that occurs along the Canadian border. Also, access from the US side is constrained by a lack of a public road. The access road is private and often gated.