PORTLAND — The state of Maine has received a $173,250 grant to protect Atlantic salmon.

The money will allow the Maine Department of Marine Resources to start the beginning phase of a statewide conservation plan.

Additional Photos

An Atlantic salmon smolt swims near the surface of the Saco River, in Biddeford, after 8,000 of the fish were stocked in April 2009. Jack Milton Staff Photographer

U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins said Monday that with the grant funding the state will be able to work with private landowners, conservation organizations and other partners to protect the threatened species.

The grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund will cover one-year of planning to develop a conservation plan for Atlantic salmon and other fish species.