For a long while, our displeasure at the second-class treatment of the Androscoggin River, versus the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers, regarding the restoration of the river’s habitat, has been apparent.

Now, here comes the federal government – namely the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – proposing endangered species status for Atlantic salmon that used to swim in great numbers in the Androscoggin, Kennebec and Penobscot rivers.

Let’s get the cynicism out of the way. It’s an honor just to be nominated.

Cynicism aside, we fear this designation could pose more trouble than it’s worth, because the Androscoggin is not ready – politically or environmentally – for what an endangered species declaration would demand.

In fact, this otherwise laudable environmental advancement by the federal government could jeopardize nascent efforts now under way to bring the Androscoggin to equal footing with its sister rivers.

Make no mistake – we appreciate this scrutiny upon the Androscoggin. For too long, the river has escaped it, for reasons of too little political will, too much political pressure, or simple inattention to the declining habitat.

This is changing. Androscoggin advocates are growing in number and influence; their work so far has been veiled, but important. They don’t always agree on means, but their ends are united: what’s good for the river is good for everybody who lives and works along it.

Yet their work is just starting, unlike the mature efforts now for the Kennebec and Penobscot, which has yielded progress such as the recent agreement about the Howland, Veazie and Great Works dams.

A model of cooperative conservation is emerging, which for the Androscoggin, is the course we endorse. As long as this river remains critical for industry, community and recreation, hard-line approaches should be unwelcome.

An endangered species designation could bring this outcome. Rumblings are already starting. Fighting over salmon has precedents in recent Maine history. While there’s much to gain from the designation, there’s also much to lose.

Political infighting and a lack of compromise among stakeholders about the Androscoggin have been primary contributors to why the river has failed to meet Clean Water Act standards, despite being its inspiration.

Now river progress is in its infancy, but this thunderclap of a potential designation regarding Atlantic salmon – just one species of the watershed – could wreak havoc upon this process. As this proposed designation moves ahead, this concern must be minded. Public comment is running through Dec. 2.

Improving the Androscoggin habitat is necessary. The river has come far, but still has far to go.

It can’t get there in a single stroke of a federal agency’s pen. The river is not ready for that.

Not yet.