Today, a local contractor (Sargent Corporation, Old Town) will begin to remove the Veazie Dam, re-opening the Penobscot River from Old Town, Maine to the sea for the first time in nearly 200 years. The removal of the 830-foot long, 30 foot high buttress-style Veazie Dam, built in 1913, is a monumental step in the Read More
dam removal
Down Comes Another Dam
New York Times editorial On Monday, a demolition crew will begin removing the Veazie Dam on the Penobscot River just above Bangor, Me. The Veazie is the lowest of the Penobscot dams and closest to the river’s mouth on the Maine coast. It is also critical to the entire Penobscot River watershed, which covers nearly Read More
‘Ah, Freedom’: Historic Penobscot Dam Removal Begins
The river restoration project will allow fish access to spawn deep in the heart of Maine. by Tom Bell, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story EDDINGTON — A backhoe equipped with a big jackhammer smashed through the top of the Veazie Dam on Monday morning, sending chunks of concrete and a spray of water Read More
Lower Kennebec River a Secret Jewel for Paddlers
Waterville to Gardiner stretch ‘kind of a little gem of a river trip that’s very accessible for people that live here,’s says state official by Paul Koenig, staff writer Morning Sentinel news story The paddling trip from Waterville to Augusta, or even farther south to Gardiner, is an underrated trip compared to more popular waterways, Read More
Return of Alewives on St. Croix River Celebrated
by John Holyoke, BDN staff Bangor Daily News news story BAILEYVILLE, Maine — For nearly 20 years, conservationists and, at times, state natural resource agencies, have sought to open the St. Croix River watershed to alewives. Those river herring had their passage at dam fishways officially blocked in 1995 due to concerns that their presence Read More
Sebasticook to the Sea: Alewives’ Perilous Lives Crucial to Ecosystem, Economy
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, MaineTodayMedia staff Morning Sentinel news story BENTON — Alewives are little fish with a big story. Each year, billions of the silver fish hatch out of eggs in the cool waters of the Sebasticook River and embark on a dangerous journey to the sea and back again. Those that return must make it Read More
A Home Run for Maine Alewives
The Benton Alewife Festival is set to celebrate a record return of fish hatched from eggs that were laid in 2009. By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, Morning Sentinel Portland Press Herald news story BENTON – Alewives are on pace for a record run in Benton, whose residents will celebrate their relationship with the migratory fish Saturday during Read More
Alewives Swimming Up Maine’s St. Croix River
The Associated Press Boston Globe news story BAILEYVILLE, Maine (AP) — Alewives are expected to swim upriver of the Grand Falls dam on eastern Maine’s St. Croix River this week for the first time in 22 years. Lawmakers passed a law this spring allowing the fish, also known as river herring, to swim upriver of Read More
Alewives are Heading Up Into the St. Croix River for the First Time in 22 Years
Poised to become largest alewife run in the nation NRCM news release Baileyville, Maine – This week marks a big leap in the lives of river herring of the St. Croix River. For the first time in 22 years, this year alewives will be passing the Grand Falls Dam to return to spawn in high-quality Read More
