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
Penobscot River Restoration Trust
On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, hundreds of people gathered in Howland, Maine, to mark and celebrate the completion of the last major milestone in the Penobscot River Restoration Project, widely considered one of the largest, most innovative river restoration projects in the nation.
The completion fulfilled the Penobscot Project’s goal of significantly improving access to 2,000 miles of Maine’s largest river for eleven species of native sea-run fish, while maintaining energy through increased hydropower generation at other dams in the watershed.
The project is already showing success. More than two million river herring are expected to surge past the former Veazie dam site this year, and in just the past few weeks more than 225 Atlantic salmon have also entered the river. “It is thrilling to see the river rebounding since the Penobscot Project reconnected the Gulf of Maine to more than 2,000 miles of upstream waters,” says Don Hudson, Chairman of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust. “The fish know just what to do, and the eagles, otters, wildlife watchers, boaters, and fishermen do, too.”
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
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
Recovering a River
Demolition of the Great Works Dam on the Penobscot, starting this week, is part of an ambitious restoration project that will open 1,000 miles of waterways to Atlantic salmon. by Tom Bell, staff writer Maine Sunday Telegram news story After 13 years of legal, political and engineering work, the largest-ever river restoration project in eastern Read More
Celebrating a Big Moment for the Penobscot River
by Bill Houston Bangor Daily News op-ed Maine’s largest and arguably most impressive river, the Penobscot, is about to take a major leap toward a new future — and what a grand future it will be. As removal of the Great Works Dam begins this Monday, I will be there to celebrate the Penobscot and Read More
NRCM Gives Award for Historic Penobscot River Restoration
News Release Augusta, ME – The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) has awarded Scott Hall and Richard Fennelly of PPL Maine a 2009 Environmental Award for their leadership and collaboration in making the historic restoration of the Penobscot River a reality. The award is given each year by NRCM to an individual or group who Read More
Atlantic Salmon Fishing Returns to Maine
Portland Press Herald editorial It’s not a long season, there are plenty of restrictions and fishermen can’t keep their catch. But starting this morning, anglers will once more be angling for sea-run Atlantic salmon in Maine. The month-long, experimental season is limited to a short stretch of the Penobscot, the river that has the healthiest Read More
Penobscot’s Rebirth is Cause for Rejoicing
by Dr. Paul Liebow Bangor Daily News news story Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s visit to the Veazie Salmon Club last week gives the Bush administration’s final blessing to a project that will add immensely to Bangor’s revitalization. The Penobscot River Restoration Project is a brilliant example of how the needs of society and the environment Read More
A River Reborn
Agreement could lead to dam removals and restoration of fish runs by Misty Edgecomb Bangor Daily News news story OLD TOWN – In what conservationists are calling the biggest restoration project north of the Everglades, two dams will be removed from the lower Penobscot River. Representatives of a broad coalition including the Penobscot Nation, environmental Read More
