BIDDEFORD — The Saco Salmon Restoration Alliance and Hatchery is moving forward on cutting edge practices to restore the local Atlantic salmon population, and is looking for volunteers to assist in its endeavors.

The all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, formerly known as the Salmon Club and Hatchery, was founded in 1983 to restore and maintain a habitat of Atlantic salmon in the Saco River, and for many years has run a salmon hatchery on Marble Lane in Biddeford. The group recently changed its name to better reflect its work, said President Rick LaRiviere.

The alliance collaborates with government agencies and other organizations to restore salmon habitat in the Saco River. Atlantic salmon are an endangered species in Maine, their once prominent population having been depleted by a combination of factors including historical overfishing, pollution and dams, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website.

“The work that we’re doing is critical,” said LaRiviere.

Past efforts to restore the salmon by growing them in the hatchery and releasing them into the river did not produce the desired results, partly because the fish weren’t used to their natural habitat and were easy pickings for predators.

So the group is now trying a “cutting-edge” eggplanting method that uses a hydraulic planter to create a hole in stream bed gravel, said LaRiviere. The eggs are then lowered into the hole and covered with gravel. This allows the salmon to hatch and grow in their natural habitat, making for a more predator-savvy fish.

“It’s a more natural approach,” said LaRiviere. “It’s much better for the fish.”

The group began using the egg-planting method last year, and so far, results have exceeded expectations, he said.

The alliance also identifies barriers such as abandoned beaver dams that block the flow of the Saco River and its tributaries. In 2014, it worked with volunteers from the University of New England and the University of Southern Maine to restore the flow in Swan Pond Creek, part of the Saco River watershed.

As many of the longtime members are aging, the group is looking for younger people to sustain the effort to restore the Saco River’s salmon population.

And given that it currently doesn’t receive state or federal funds, the alliance is hosting a fundraiser from noon to 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at Run of the Mill Public House, 100 Main St., Saco. A $100 donation includes a meal and a raffle ticket for a trip to Grant’s Kennebago Camps in Rangeley.

There will also be a silent auction, and an audio and visual presentation documenting the alliance’s 2015 accomplishments and goals for 2016. Tickets are available through Thursday, and can be purchased by contacting Garry Kasten at [email protected] or 283-4003.

For more information on the Saco Salmon Restoration Alliance, go to sacosalmon.com.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].