The Topsham Select Board voted March 6 to join the effort to restore the Androscoggin River to health and prosperity after decades of blockage and neglect. The unanimous vote to support improvement in migratory fish passage at the Brunswick-Topsham dam comes a month after Brunswick officials signaled support for a new fish ladder.

The Topsham resolution, sponsored by Free the Andro Coalition, comes as the dam comes under review for relicensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The resolution states that the Select Board is committed to actions to support improvements in migratory fish passage and educating Topsham residents on the benefits of improved passage designs as well as the consequences of poor fish passage. The board also urges FERC “to fulfill its mission to regulate and oversee energy industries in the economic, environmental, and safety interests of the American public.”

“Topsham recognizes that the Androscoggin River is an amazing resource for its residents and for the environment where we live,” Chip Spies, founder and coordinator of the Free the Andro Coalition, said in a prepared release. “With this resolution, Topsham also recognizes that the river’s value as an economic resource will be significantly improved by restoring migratory fish runs that support recreation, our lobster fisheries and other commercial fisherman.”

Launched in January 2025, Free the Andro creates a voice for migratory fish including herring, shad, sturgeon and Atlantic salmon that historically used Maine’s third-largest river, the Androscoggin, to access freshwater spawning grounds. The organization is backed by founding members Maine Rivers, American Rivers and the Merrymeeting Bay Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

“The Brunswick-Topsham dam with its active hydro-power facility is well documented as a significant obstacle to both upstream and downstream fish passage,” Spies said. “The just-beginning relicensing process of this dam by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission creates a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with all parties involved to assure that unfettered fish passage is restored to the Lower Androscoggin River to the benefit of fish, wildlife of every kind, commercial and recreational fishers, and everyone who cares about healthy, abundant rivers in our beautiful state.”