By Doug Struck, Contributor Christian Science Monitor cover story BENTON FALLS, Maine — “Look underneath you,” commands Nate Gray, a burly biologist for the state of Maine. He reaches down to the grate floor of a steel cage perched on a dam straddling the Sebasticook River, and pulls back a board revealing the roiling river Read More
dam removal
Without Edwards Dam, Fish and Birds Thrive on the Kennebec
Augusta city officials who initially opposed the removal of the dam now say it’s been good for the city. By Keith Edwards, staff writer Kennebec Journal news story AUGUSTA — The first water to flow through when Edwards Dam was breached 15 years ago was brown and thick with mud from the earthen cofferdam built Read More
A Kennebec for the Generations
Fifteen years ago, the efforts of the passionate souls at the Natural Resources Council of Maine resulted in the removal of the Edwards Dam in Augusta. I didn’t work here then but I’m quite certain that, just as it is today, the culture here was one of steadfast resolve to protect the nature of Maine. Read More
Kennebec River Rebounds After Edwards Dam Removal
by Danielle Waugh WCSH-6 TV news story AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — It’s been 15 years since the removal of the Edwards Dam, and the water and wildlife of the Kennebec River has changed dramatically. On July 1, 1999, the 900-foot dam breached, restoring a free-flowing Kennebec River for the first time in 160 years. Read More
15th Anniversary of Edwards Dam Removal: Benefits to People and Wildlife Keep Flowing
Record-breaking numbers of alewives, eagles News Release Alewives return to Kennebec (chart) C-SPAN story about Edwards Dam, including interview with NRCM’s Pete Didisheim Brief history timeline of Edwards Dam More about the Edwards Dam removal and Kennebec River restoration The health of the Kennebec River is making great strides just fifteen years after the breach Read More
Humans Changed Behavior, and Alewives are Rebounding in Kennebec, Penobscot, St. Croix
By Lisa Pohlmann, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed For the last few weeks sea-run fish known as alewives have been heading up Maine’s rivers to lay their eggs. Their journey is a breathtaking force of nature to behold, as they fight strong currents, heading upstream in droves. While probably hundreds of millions Read More
Dam Owners Should Help Finance Kennebec Fish Run Restoration
by Clinton B. “Bill” Townsend Kennebec Journal op-ed The Kennebec River once hosted enormous runs of Atlantic salmon, river herring and other fish that live part of their lives in fresh water and part in the ocean. By the 19th century, however, those resources had become only a fast-fading memory. Water pollution, over-harvesting and impassable Read More
Dam Removal Tells New Chapter in Maine History
Throughout history, Maine has always relied on its rivers, and that will not change now. Maine Sunday Telegram editorial The history of Maine is told by its rivers. For native people they were the source of food and transportation. For European shipbuilders, they were the highways into a trackless forest. For a century they provided Read More
Hopes for a Fish Revival as a Dam is Demolished
The dismantling of the Veazie Dam will help give 11 species of fish better access to 1,000 miles of spawning habitat. by Jess Bidgood New York Times news story EDDINGTON, Me. — There is a bend in the Penobscot River here, embanked by an Indian burial ground, through which millions of fish used to make Read More
