MACHIAS, Maine (AP) _ Maine Gov. Paul LePage is giving $25,000 to the Downeast Salmon Federation to help with improving the East Machias Aquatic Research Center.
LePage says Friday the money to aid the Columbia Falls-based federation will come from state contingency funds. The federation is working to conserve wild Atlantic salmon populations in Maine.
The federation recently completed a renovation of the East Machias Aquatic Research Center, which includes a hatchery. Another construction phase will expand the facility with a classroom and water quality laboratory. LePage says students at the nearby University of Maine at Machias will be able to use the lab.
The governor says the facility received more than 100,000 salmon eggs from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at the end of last year and is slated to receive more.