Rangeley is home to one of the most beautiful and rich landscapes in the world, but it’s threatened by changing climate and potential biodiversity loss. RLHT’s Kennebago Headwaters Project is our largest restoration project to date and aims to reconnect the Kennebago watershed and build climate resiliency within our region and beyond.

The Nature Conservancy, one of the largest conservation organizations in the world, recognizes the upper Androscoggin River, as one of five global priority watersheds. It contains 675 miles of connected streams and rivers, including the Kennebago River, that join a network of deep-water lakes and ponds. Factors such as high elevation, intact riparian forests, the absence of non-native fish species, and access to thermal refuge combine to provide the clean, cold, well-oxygenated water that species like wild, native brook trout require to thrive.

This critical project has been years in the making, with early negotiations commencing in 2008. In October 2024, RLHT secured the final phase of the Headwaters Acquisition: 3,300 adjacent acres along the shores of Kennebago Lake and the surrounding wetland area known as the Logans. Thank you to the Adelman Rogers family for this conservation easement. All three tracts are contiguous. Together, these acquisitions will protect 10,000 wetland acres, 9 miles of undeveloped lake and pond frontage, and 15 miles of intact, wooded riparian areas on the Kennebago River and smaller tributary streams.