Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and distinguished members of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. My name is Pete Didisheim. I am the Advocacy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of the nomination of Jerry Reid to serve as Commissioner of the Department of Read More
river restoration
Why These Conservationists are Feeling Optimistic about Atlantic Salmon
By John Holyoke, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Two pieces of fisheries-related news were welcomed with enthusiastic responses by Atlantic salmon conservationists in Maine last week. Dwayne Shaw, the executive director of the Downeast Salmon Federation, and Andrew Goode, the vice president of U.S. programs for the Atlantic Salmon Federation in Brunswick, said Read More
Restoration of Alewives in Maine Rivers is No Fish Tale
Some animal migrations are large and obvious. I’ve seen many films of giant wildebeest herds moving across the plains in Africa numbering in the hundreds of thousands. I’ve been to South Dakota to hunt the spring migration of snow geese on their way to arctic breeding areas. I stayed in the small city of Aberdeen, Read More
Conservation Projects Have Let ‘Astounding’ Number of Alewives Return to Maine Rivers
By A.J. Higgins Maine Public news story Watch videos. Alewives, or river herring, are making their usual spawning migration to Maine in unusually high numbers this year, thanks in part to restoration efforts and the removal of dams on the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers. Because they serve as a food source for several fish species Read More
The Return of Alewives to This Bangor-area Stream is an Epic Success Story
By John Holyoke, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BRADLEY, Maine — The old saying about migrating fish holds that during the peak of a run, it’d be possible to walk from stream bank to stream bank on the backs of the fish, and never get your feet wet. While most of us don’t Read More
Maine’s River Herring Making Dramatic Comeback, a Godsend for the Food Chain
With the path to inland spawning grounds clear, the species rebounds with unexpected speed, benefiting everything from bald eagles to Atlantic cod. By Colin Woodard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story BATH — Motorists crossing the bridge over the Kennebec this spring and early summer were afforded dramatic views of one of Maine’s mightiest Read More
Penobscot River Restoration Project Celebrates First Anniversary of Connecting 2000 Miles of River to the Sea
Collaborative effort to rebalance fisheries and hydropower on Maine’s largest river completed one year ago News release One year ago, on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, hundreds of people, including federal, state, local, and tribal officials, and project partners, gathered in Howland, Maine, to mark and celebrate the completion of the last major milestone in the Read More
Once Again, the River Runs Wild
The now-undammed Penobscot River has brought bounty to my backyard. by Robert Klose Christian Science Monitor news story MAY 3, 2017 —Until recently, my home was snuggled neatly between two dams along the banks of the Penobscot River here in central Maine. The behavior of the river was therefore a function of the human forces Read More
Support of LD 922, An Act Directing the Commissioner of Marine Resources To Investigate the Conditions of Sheepscot Pond Related to a Management Plan for Anadromous Fish
Senator Maker, Representative Kumiega, and members of the Marine Resources Committee: My name is Nick Bennett, and I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with more than 20,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in support of LD 922, which would reopen Read More
