Rivers
Scenic rivers and streams run through the EPI sanctuaries, most notable of which is the East Branch-Seboeis River system located in the East Branch Sanctuary. Identified as one of the least-developed watersheds in the Northeast and meriting special protection by the 1982 Maine Rivers Study, the watershed includes the East Branch of the Penobscot, the Seboeis River, and Wassataquoik Stream. The system is also eligible for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Historically habitat to ocean-run Atlantic salmon and native brook trout, a popular fishery today, the East Branch runs south from Matagamon 26 miles before the first bridge at Whetstone Falls. In T5R8, the river drops 200 feet in 5 miles over a series of spectacular rapids and waterfalls, including Stair Falls, Haskell Rock Pitch, Pond Pitch, and the Hulling Machine.
Wassataquoik Stream, which flows from a remote, wild area of Baxter State Park known as the Klondike, drops over 500 feet in 14 miles over a series of continuous rapids, including Orin Falls. The stream has equal beauty to the East Branch and an undeveloped character identified as "greater than statewide or national significance" (1982 Maine Rivers Study).
To the south, Sandy Stream, which rises in Sandy Stream Pond within the Park, drops almost 400 feet in its winding, 7-mile course through the sanctuary. For most of its distance, it is a pleasant, sandy and gravelly bottomed stream, swiftly flowing on its way to Millinocket Lake and eventually the West Branch of the Penobscot.
For information on fishing in the sanctuaries, see fishing.