In the 18^th century, over a half million Atlantic salmon returned to New England’s rivers to spawn every year. Today, all that's left of this legacy are a few thousand fish in a handful of rivers in Maine. Trout Unlimited has worked for decades to restore the Atlantic salmon. TU’s Kennebec Valley Chapter started the process that eventually led to the removal of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River. TU led the fight for the Atlantic salmon to receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, which finally happened in 2000. Today, TU and its partners on the Penobscot River Restoration Project are on the precipice of the Northeast’s largest river restoration project removing two dams while bypassing a third to allow fish to access 1,100 miles of historic habitat.