On Thursday evening, about 70 people gathered in Brewer to share their thoughts on a federal proposal that would increase the Endangered Species Act protection of Atlantic salmon in three Maine rivers.

The Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin are on the list. Of those, the Penobscot has the largest annual return of adult salmon. This year, in fact, more than 2,100 salmon reached the Veazie Dam fish trap.

Atlantic salmon need any advantage we can give them, and conservationists in this area (and around the nation) have proven they feel the same way.

Funds have been raised for conservation efforts, and millions of salmon have been stocked in the Penobscot over more than 100 years.

Now, the federal government is poised to offer even more protection to those fish. Perhaps officials will determine that an “endangered” listing is needed. Perhaps they’ll decide that a “threatened” designation goes far enough.

Whatever the ultimate decision might be, I’m worried about the effect such a listing may have on those who’ve given so much to the cause over the years.

The Bangor-area salmon clubs are full of conservation-minded individuals who kept up the good fight even during the years when fishing wasn’t allowed on the Penobscot.

They met regularly during those years, from 1999 until 2006, even though they never got the chance to fish their home water.

Some lobbied vigorously for a return to fishing, and eventually, their wishes came true.

In 2006 and 2007, a fall catch-and-release season was held. This year, a monthlong spring season was offered.

I spent hours along the river during that season, and an amazing thing happened … just like the fishermen said it would.

The Penobscot gained new vitality, and people began stopping in at the salmon clubs to chat, whether they were members or not.

Visitors walked to the water’s edge just to listen to the stories and to watch as anglers made cast after cast in the famous Penobscot pools.

The river was alive with activity. People were paying attention to the Penobscot again. Fathers brought sons to the water. Mothers brought daughters. Old-timers whose health didn’t allow them to fish still showed up, just to chat.

Now, it seems very unlikely that we’ll be able to enjoy a scene like that again.

Perhaps that’s what the fish really need. A break. More help. More projects designed to assure clean water and passage to upstream spawning habitat. Biologists far more qualified than I will make those determinations.

My concern, though, is this: What if we don’t fish the river for another 10 years? Or 20. Or 50?

What happens to the clubs, which have been at the forefront of conservation battles for generations?

Who fights the battles when the aging membership in those clubs begins to dwindle?

Who speaks for the river then?

Momentum has been building on Penobscot conservation projects for the past several years.

The Penobscot River Restoration Project has combined bold ideas with cooperative efforts to form a partnership that will serve a model across the country.

My hope is that no matter what the federal government decides, the folks who have done so much valuable work in the past continue to realize the important roles they play.

Even if they don’t like the decision.

And even if they never fish the Penobscot for salmon again.

The salmon clubs have always provided a link between their membership and the river.

That river divides Bangor from Brewer, Orrington from Hampden, Veazie from Eddington.

That same river binds people from those communities and can inspire them toward goals that no individual could accomplish alone.

No matter what the federal decision, it will be important to remember that fact.

Deer hard to find

Because I often go entire deer seasons without seeing many (or any) deer, the fact that I’ve yet to set eyes upon one this season probably comes as little surprise.

Most years, people ask me how my deer season is going, listen to my tales of woe, then regale me with their own stories about deer parading past their stands.

This year, things are different.

With the exception of a friend who filled his tag by shooting a buck just two hours into opening day, the stories I’ve been hearing have been decidedly deerless.

On Thursday, I headed to Augusta to conduct a couple of interviews for an upcoming story and sat down for a bit with Paul Jacques.

Jacques, who is the deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, said the hunters he’d been talking to were saying the same thing.

In one case, Jacques said, a group of hunters from Vermont made the trek to northern Maine to enjoy some time in the North Maine Woods but quickly decided to scrap their trip and head back home.

Jacques said the hunters drove hundreds of miles through the North Maine Woods the day after a snowstorm dumped a couple inches of prime tracking snow.

In those conditions, many hunters drive to find deer tracks, then park their trucks and try to catch up with the critter that made the prints.

In their travels, the veteran hunters never spotted a track, even though they were looking in areas where they’d had luck in the past.

Not one track.

After discussing the matter, Jacques said the hunters abandoned their hunt as a lost cause and headed back to Vermont.

I know that’s not exactly the optimistic message that you wanted to hear before heading into the woods this morning.

I also know it won’t keep you (or me) from heading afield on this second Saturday of the season.

You can’t fill your tag if you don’t try, I figure.

And try (again) I will.

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

990-8214