March 5, 2025 (Augusta, ME) — A final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) issued for four dams on Maine’s lower Kennebec River ignores the best available science and could doom endangered Atlantic salmon to extinction while harming recovery of other sea-run fish, according to a coalition of local residents, conservation organizations, and fishing groups, together with the Penobscot Nation and Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF).
The Kennebec Coalition, along with the Wabanaki Nations and CLF, have long called for removal of the four dams between Waterville and Skowhegan because they block access to some of the best Atlantic salmon spawning habitat in the Northeast on the Sandy River.
Previous dam removal projects in Maine and across the nation successfully brought back multiple species of sea-run fish and supported economic development in local riverfront communities while protecting infrastructure for industry along the river.
The EIS published by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on February 28 ignores comments from more than 2,000 anglers, local businesses, scientists, and others who spoke at public hearings in Waterville and Augusta, submitted comments online, or signed a petition, all calling for a solution on the Kennebec that results in recovery of millions of sea-run fish, including alewives, blueback herring, American shad, eel, and critically endangered Atlantic salmon.
FERC’s flawed EIS relies on engineered fish passage that has not worked anywhere else in the world where fish have had to pass by four dams in a row. Similar fish passage proposals have led to failures elsewhere in the U.S. resulting in dramatic loss of sea-run fish, including on the Connecticut, Merrimack, and Androscoggin Rivers.
Without effective fish passage on the Kennebec, recovery of endangered Atlantic salmon will not be possible, and restoration of commercially important species like alewives and eels and a recreational fishery for American shad will be stalled.
Here’s What People are Saying:
“Failure to remove mainstem dams on the lower Kennebec River will undermine salmon recovery efforts of Wabanaki in the Penobscot and Wolastoq-St. John Rivers and jeopardize the future of our sustenance fishing heritage. Demonstrating and providing leadership in the dam relicensing process to restore sea-run fish species to the Kennebec is a critical part of the federal government’s trust responsibilities to our tribes,” said Chief Kirk Francis, Penobscot Nation and Chief Clarissa Sabattis, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians.
“FERC’s EIS ignores the reality on the ground here in Maine, where the people who love this great river are observing fish species struggling to survive. Dooming the Kennebec to the same fate as other rivers where sea-run fish have disappeared would have catastrophic consequences for our outdoor recreation and commercial fishing industries. We will continue doing everything we can to bring Mainers together to craft a collaborative solution that protects endangered Atlantic salmon, restores millions of sea-run fish, promotes economic development, and protects industry located along the river,” said the Kennebec Coalition, comprised of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Maine Rivers, Natural Resources Council of Maine, Trout Unlimited, and Trout Unlimited’s Kennebec Valley Chapter.
“The federal government’s failure to take the required hard look at the severe impacts these dams have on the Kennebec River’s water quality—especially the ongoing destruction of Atlantic salmon and the continued prevention of their recovery in their native waters—is inexcusable and unlawful,” said Sean Mahoney, Conservation Law Foundation Vice President for Maine and Senior Counsel.
Learn more:
- Natural Resources Council of Maine: nrcm.org/programs/waters/kennebec-restoration/restoring-kennebec-river/
- Atlantic Salmon Federation: asf.ca/work/headwaters/
- Trout Unlimited: tu.org/kennebec and prioritywaters.tu.org/maine
- Maine Rivers: mainerivers.org/current-priorities/
- Conservation Law Foundation: clf.org
The Kennebec Coalition, comprised of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Maine Rivers, Natural Resources Council of Maine, Trout Unlimited, and Trout Unlimited’s Kennebec Valley Chapter, is working to restore Maine’s Kennebec River in partnership with the Conservation Law Foundation.
