by David Ferris Forbes.com news story Today, steel rams will start to break apart an old hydroelectric dam on Maine’s longest river, ushering in a restoration project that will keep the electricity flowing while rehabilitating some of the state’s most damaged and valuable fisheries, like herring and Atlantic salmon. The dam destruction on the Penobscot Read More
Maine Environmental News
Maine environmental news often comes quickly and with little warning. Stay up to date on Maine environment news.
From issues such as climate change, healthy waters, Maine forests and wildlife, and sustainability—and environmental policy that could impact them—you’ll find NRCM’s up-to-the-minute news releases to see our perspective on the most pressing issues facing Maine’s land, air, waters, and wildlife. This includes findings relating to our role as Maine’s watchdog of activities of state environmental agencies—we stand ready to blow the whistle when regulations are not enforced.
You can also find our news “round up,” News & Noteworthy, which puts the spotlight on media stories that do a particularly good job capturing current news about Maine's environment. We hope you find this part of our website helpful and informative!
Crews Begin Removing Great Works Dam; Kenneth Salazar Calls Effort ‘Milestone for River Conservation’
By Nick McCrea, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BRADLEY, Maine — Workers began removing the Great Works dam late Monday morning, part of a historic effort to open nearly 1,000 miles of habitat to 11 species of fish that haven’t had open access to the Penobscot River for two centuries. U.S. Interior Secretary Read More
Great Collaboration, Work Behind Great Works Dam Removal
Bangor Daily News editorial Monday was a good day for fish. After nearly 200 years of bumping their heads against a dam wall, the Penobscot River’s salmon, shad, alewives, sturgeon and blueback herring are a big step closer to being able to return to their native waters to feed, spawn and boost the larger ecosystem. Read More
A Great Day as Dam Removal Begins
Hundreds watch the start of a Penobscot River project viewed as a model for fish and waterway restoration. by Tom Bell, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story INDIAN ISLAND – Bill Townsend is an old man, at 84, but he’s steady enough on his feet to walk down a muddy bank of the Penobscot Read More
Penobscot River Restoration Project Begins Removal of Great Works Dam
Penobscot River Restoration Trust news release Old Town, Maine—On Monday, June 11, demolition of the Penobscot River’s Great Works Dam begins. This is a major step toward allowing the river to flow free from Old Town to the Gulf of Maine for the first time in generations. For centuries, dams along the Penobscot River have Read More
Maine Dam Removal Aims to Rescue Fish Species
by David Abel Boston Globe news story BRADLEY, Maine – When the steel claw of an excavator slashes into the berm of the Great Works Dam on Monday morning, it will mark the start of a multimillion-dollar project to allow endangered and dwindling species to return to their historic spawning grounds along Maine’s longest river, Read More
A Damned Dam On The Penobscot River
by Susan Sharon NPR news story Like most members of the Penobscot Nation, Scott Phillips grew up near the Penobscot River and learned to paddle and fish as a young boy. He took to it like a duck to water. He became a competitive racer and eventually opened his own business selling canoes, kayaks and Read More
‘It’s Easy for People in Maine to Forget What a Big Deal This Is’
by Tom Bell, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story INDIAN ISLAND — Work crews today began demolition of the Great Works Dam on the Penobscot River, the largest-ever river restoration project in eastern North America. Excavators began pounding the defunct concrete fishway in the middle of the dam following more than an hour of Read More
Great Works Dam Removal Celebration
Statement by Lisa Pohlmann, NRCM Executive Director Today is a great day for the Penobscot River and all of the wildlife and communities that depend upon it. The removal of the Great Works Dam is a landmark in the Penobscot River Restoration Project. We are on our way to giving Maine’s largest river a new Read More
