Green Lake Arctic Charr: Yes, No, Yes, Maybe, Likely?
Green Lake is one of just 12 native Arctic charr waters remaining in the contiguous United States, all of which are in Maine. It is also one of just 4 native landlocked salmon waters in Maine, and the only water in the United States where these two rare species occurred naturally. Green Lake is also a native rainbow smelt water, and along with Floods Pond, one of only two waters where charr and smelt occurred naturally. It empties into Graham Lake, a manmade reservoir on the Union River, a historic Atlantic salmon river.
To say Green Lake is unique from a fish species assemblage standpoint would be fair. To say it has the most unique species assemblage in Maine, and possibly the northeast, would not be unreasonable. The idea that three exceedingly rare coldwater fish coevolved in the watershed makes Green lake a natural resource of significance.
In a period of just a few years, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has referred to the charr of Green Lake as native, nonnative, native again, “not firmly established”, and “likely indigenous.” This all came to a head when MDIFW submitted a written position as part of a dam relicensing application that referred to the fish as of unclear origin.
NFC formally rebutted the claim using prior correspondences - see below. This was the second time that NFC has had to intervene on behalf of these fish and for the same reason. Once publicly challenged, the formal reply was that the biologist was acting on old data and the population was “likely” native.
This is critically important as if allowed to be referred to as nonnative, the pressure for MDIFW to do the right thing, like suspend the nonnative lake trout stocking is off, and they can proceed with business as usual. It’s time we stopped playing cat-and-mouse with this important rare fish population. Let’s call the Arctic charr of Green Lake what they are, and start treating them the way they should be treated…
The quote below came from MDIW as a result of NFCs recent formal challenge to what was submitted as part of the FLA:
“yes the department does acknowledge that charr in Green Lake are likely endemic”
