LISBON — Androscoggin River advocates will celebrate the removal of a dam on the Little River on Wednesday.

Removal of the nearly 100-year-old dam, which began on Monday, will help restore and improve access to 43 miles of habitat for the endangered Atlantic salmon, American eel and sea lamprey, according to a release issued by the Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Androscoggin River Alliance on Tuesday.

“This is the first proactive dam removal in the Androscoggin watershed and an important milestone in the effort of restoring the river’s ecology and native sea-run fish populations,” said John Burrows of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, the lead partner on the dam removal project.

Advocates are hopeful the removal will provide an immediate benefit to the Androscoggin’s struggling wild Atlantic salmon population.

“Historically, the Androscoggin had an annual run of Atlantic salmon exceeding 50,000 adults,” Burrows said. “In recent decades, the number of returning salmon has ranged from a couple of fish to a few dozen. Removing the dam on the Little River will provide salmon with access to the best available spawning and rearing habitat in the Lower Androscoggin River watershed.”

Neil Ward, program director for the Androscoggin River Alliance, said for those who love the Androscoggin River the removal marks an important milestone.

“This is an exciting day for the citizens of the Androscoggin River Valley,” Ward said in a written statement. “It has been many generations since we could even dream of fishing for salmon in our river. But today we can dream again.”

A group will gather on the Lisbon Falls side of the Little River near the Lisbon Sewer Treatment Plant. The plant is on Summer Street of Route 196 in Lisbon but near the Durham town line.

The cost of the project, estimated at about $75,000, was funded by the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Androscoggin River Alliance, F.I.S.H., Maine Council-Atlantic Salmon Federation, Maine Department of Marine Resources, Miller Industries Inc., Patagonia Inc., Orchard Foundation, Orvis Inc., Stantec Consulting Services Inc., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, Shaw Brothers Construction Inc., and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

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Ryan Bliss, right, waits for engineer Michael Chelminski, left, and Corey Foster, center, to decide where to best move the silt screen to protect the Little River in Lisbon as they removed a dam that had blocked habitat for Atlantic Salmon and brook trout since 1953.