CHERRYFIELD, Maine — According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, extreme drought conditions have extended through all of Down East. This is creating concerns about the survival of local fish like brook trout and salmon.

"They need very cold water,” Mike Manning, the fisheries biologist for the Downeast Salmon Federation , said. "There's just so many different ways that a drought can impact the freshwater environment.

In Cherryfield, which is home to dozens of cold-water species, the extreme drought conditions are impacting water levels on the Narraguagus River, which Manning routinely measures. He said water levels are about a third of what they usually are during the fall season.

"I was walking across it in my hiking boots, and the water wasn't even going on top of my boots,” Mann

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