The St. John River is a major feature of the Valley landscape, and on a larger scale, of the state of Maine. It flows 435 miles from northern Maine to the Bay of Fundy, draining approximately 21,500 square miles of Maine, Québec, and New Brunswick (the greater St. John basin covers one-quarter of Maine). John Martin, a native of the Valley and member of the Maine Acadian Culture Preservation Commission, stated the importance of the St. John River (Schaner 1993: 3):

When you look at the history of this area you have to ask why people stopped here. The reason is simple: the St. John River. The St. John River is what made the St. John River Valley what it is today. The river was a lifeblood of this region. . . and what they used to fuel this lifeblood was the use of its natural resources around the river. We have gone away from this.

The rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes were critically important in the settling and development of the Upper St. John Valley. Floodplains were settled first, and then developed for farming and industry. Settlement spread up the tributaries to surrounding lakes. Most tributaries supported grist and saw mills. Today the Fraser Paper mill is sited on opposite banks of the St. John in Madawaska, Maine, and Edmunston, New Brunswick (at the mouth of the Madawaska River).

The river provided the primary transportation link to and in the Valley until railroads and, later, motor roads were built. The 75-foot falls at Grand Falls blocked boat traffic, but once goods were above the falls traffic moved up and down, and across the river freely. A variety of craft--canoes, small flat-bottomed boats, steamboats, and hand-powered ferries, among others--plied the waters of the Valley well into the 20th century. Logs and pulpwood moved from the river's upper reaches to mills as far downstream as Van Buren.

Some Valley residents who take a historical view think of the river as a link to their early Acadian heritage. It appears that others, however, make connections between the St. John and the more recent past they themselves have known in the Valley. During a 1993 focus group in Van Buren participants were asked to group similar items printed on cards. One person placed the "St. John River" with "Acadian migration and settlement." The St. John River was placed in its own group by two respondents because it divides two countries. Another associated the St. John River with "woods/forest" because, "I remember when the wood used to come down the St. John River, and I used to love and go see that in the spring."

During the latter half of the 20th century, Maine Acadians turned their backs on the river. For instance, today there are few public landings on the Maine side and views of the river from public vantage points are infrequent, given the 70-mile length of the study area. Boating is generally limited to recreational use of area lakes. Water quality varies from pristine through several degrees of pollution.

During the past few years there has been a growing concern for the future of the river and the surrounding environment. There are proposals to develop riverfront parks and to increase public access to the water. A local land trust was formed in Fort Kent in 1991 and another in Van Buren in 1993. Local schools have implemented a river awareness program focused on the natural history and environmental quality of the St. John River. In describing why she likes living in the Upper St. John River Valley, Shelley Chasse (a student at Dr. Levesque Elementary School in Frenchville, Maine) expressed the connections to and concern about the natural environment shared by many Valley residents (Schaner 1993: 18):

I like living in the St. John Valley now because there is a lot of fish. We can go ice fishing in the winter. My family can go for a boat ride. We can go camping. It is also pretty here. We can tell the seasons--winter, fall, spring, and summer. . . . In the year 2000 I don't think it will be as pretty as now. There would be much more pollution. The rivers would be dirty and the fish would die. I would hope that the Valley will remain clean with its natural resources such as trees and flowers; and clean of pesticides; and that there would be more jobs for our community; and that people would be happy in their jobs and in what they do."

The Fish River drainage, which drains into the St. John, includes a chain of lakes important to Maine Acadians historically and today for economic, recreational, and aesthetic reasons. The two largest lakes among the series are Eagle Lake (5,581 acres) and Long Lake (6,000 acres). Eagle Lake is home to the town of the same name, and the village of St. Agatha is located on the shores of Long Lake. Both are deep (136 and 163 feet, respectively) and cool, providing excellent salmon and trout habitat.

The Fish River chain of lakes is at the top of the list for most local anglers, but recreational fishing is popular throughout the region. There are widespread fly patterns tied by local fishermen like Pat Roy of Eagle Lake. Some of the most popular forms include the "black fly" and the "mosquito," both of which closely resemble their natural counterparts. In addition to open-water season, fishing is extremely popular during the winter, when fish houses are pulled out onto the frozen lakes and holes are sawn or drilled in the ice for fishing.