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
Penobscot River
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
Crossing the Piscataqua
I’d love to believe that many years from now, my grandchildren will be able to catch brook trout in the same lovely little Maine pools where my father taught me to fish. Those native fish reply so reliably to our visits each spring that it has taken me a long time to realize that I shouldn’t Read More
Veazie Dam Removal Project Gets $1 Million Boost
by Dawn Gagnon, BDN staff Bangor Daily News news story VEAZIE, Maine — The organization behind a key conservation project on the Penobscot River has been awarded a major grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, members of the state’s congressional delegation announced last week. The Penobscot River Restoration Trust will receive a $1 Read More
A Climb Worth the Effort
On June 28th, I climbed Maine’s great Mount Katahdin, in Baxter State Park, with colleagues from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I’ve wanted to do it ever since I settled in Maine 33 years ago, so this was a big occasion for me. Katahdin is a mile high at the summit, and to get there one Read More
Decommissioning Dams: The Penobscot’s Song
A river is brought to life again The Economist news story Here’s to eco-tourism. The Penobscot river takes its name from the Penobscot nation, the American-Indian tribe whose ancestral lands lie along its banks. It is the largest river in Maine and the second-largest in New England. For thousands of years the tribe lived along, Read More
A Huge Win for the Whole Team
The day of the Great Works Dam removal celebration dawned sparkling clear. For me it started early at the Veazie Salmon Club, and had a few moments by the Penobscot River before everyone arrived. The power of the river was palpable, especially after all the rain we’ve had. It coursed over the Veazie Dam, and I 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
LePage Should Have Attended Dam Ceremony
A mutually beneficial compromise that brings diverse interests together should be celebrated. Portland Press Herald editorial On Monday, Maine showed the world how to advance economic and environmental interests at the same time with a comprehensive project that involved state, federal and tribal governments along with private power companies and nonprofit groups all working together. Read More
