Since before Europeans set foot on the continent, the Salmon River Basin's resources were highly valued, first for food, later for power, and more recently for uses ranging from electric generation to recreation under multi-use management practices. Europeans explored the river by 1600 and Jesuits documented its salmon resource in 1657. The British controlled the area by 1684, and from 1776 to 1788 the U.S. gained control from them. The first permanent settlement came in 1800, commercial fishing peaked in 1836, the first record of sport fishing appeared in 1864, and by 1869 eight dams blocked the river. Atlantic salmon became extinct in Lake Ontario in 1898. A dam built in 1914 formed Salmon River Reservoir, rainbow trout were introduced in 1926, and by 1930 power generation overshadowed the fishery. Pacific salmon stocking began in 1968, chemical contaminants were discovered in fish in 1976, the Salmon River Hatchery was built in 1980, Atlantic salmon were re-introduced in 1995, minimum flow standards were established in 1996, natural reproduction of Chinook salmon was documented in 1997, and in 1998 adult Atlantic salmon returned for the first time. In the present-day river, the main stem supports a high-quality migratory salmonid fishery including introduced Pacific salmon and re-introduced native Atlantic salmon, the reservoirs stop breeding salmon migration at Lighthouse Hill dam while supporting native and introduced cold-water fish, and the headwaters remain essentially intact natural habitat with native and introduced cold-water fishery.