By Henry Heyburn Jr., former NRCM board member In July of 1999, I attended the breaching of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River. There were hundreds of others in attendance including Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer John McPhee, author of Coming Into the Country, The Survival of the Birch Read More
Penobscot River
The River Wild
One of the most ambitious river restorations ever undertaken in the United States is happening on the Penobscot River. By Virginia M. Wright Down East magazine The reporters call John Banks from far-flung places like India, China, and Japan. They want to know how Maine is freeing a river from dams that have devastated eleven 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
Removal of Veazie Dam to Free Historic Paddling Route on Penobscot
By Aislinn Sarnacki, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Water burst through the Veazie Dam on July 22, a day that marked the beginning of its destruction. By the end of the year, the river will flow free. And after the ice melts next spring, canoeists and kayakers will be able to paddle from Read More
A River In the Balance
Bangor Daily News editorial On Monday, crews began demolishing the Penobscot River’s Veazie Dam. It marked an important moment for sea-run fish, efforts to restore a complex habitat and unlikely partnerships. The day was notable not only for the state but also for the nation: The dam breaching is part of one of the largest Read More
Veazie Dam Demolition Begins on Penobscot River
The Associated Press Sun Journal news story VEAZIE (AP) — Removal of the Veazie Dam on Maine’s Penobscot River began Monday, a move that environmentalists are calling a monumental step toward resurrecting the river’s once-abundant marine life. Demolition of the 830-foot-long dam connecting Veazie and Eddington near Bangor on Maine’s largest river is part of Read More
Ceremony “and Eagles” Mark Beginning of Veazie Dam Removal
Gale Courey Toensing Indian Country Today Media Network news story The restoration of the Penobscot River in Maine has taken a monumental step forward with the breaching of the Veazie Dam, which will open up the river from Indian Island at Old Town to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in more than 150 Read More
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
