by Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story HOWLAND, Maine — Construction of the $3.5 million fish bypass at the former Howland tannery site is likely to begin next month, ending 11 years of preparation, officials said Friday. Construction crews already demolished the former powerhouse attached to the Howland Dam on the Read More
river restoration
Fish Bypass Construction Starts in Howland While Hunt Goes On for Developer of Former Tannery Site
By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story HOWLAND, Maine — Preparation work for the construction of a $3.2 million fish bypass and the marketing of the former Howland tannery site are underway, officials said Tuesday. Workers from SumCo Eco-Contracting LLC were installing security fences and silt control devices at the site Read More
Setting Rivers Free: As Dams are Torn Down, Nature is Quickly Recovering
By Doug Struck, Contributor Christian Science Monitor cover story BENTON FALLS, Maine — “Look underneath you,” commands Nate Gray, a burly biologist for the state of Maine. He reaches down to the grate floor of a steel cage perched on a dam straddling the Sebasticook River, and pulls back a board revealing the roiling river Read More
Grand Lake Stream Guides Association Should Help Restore Access of Native Fish to St. Croix River
Anadromous fish such as alewives were native to the river before dams were built, two studies show. By Clinton B. Townsend Portland Press Herald op-ed J.R. Mabee, of the Grand Lake Stream Guides Association, once again raised the hoary and incorrect assertion that alewives were not historically present in the upper St. Croix River basin, Read More
A Kennebec for the Generations
Fifteen years ago, the efforts of the passionate souls at the Natural Resources Council of Maine resulted in the removal of the Edwards Dam in Augusta. I didn’t work here then but I’m quite certain that, just as it is today, the culture here was one of steadfast resolve to protect the nature of Maine. Read More
15th Anniversary of Edwards Dam Removal: Benefits to People and Wildlife Keep Flowing
Record-breaking numbers of alewives, eagles News Release Alewives return to Kennebec (chart) C-SPAN story about Edwards Dam, including interview with NRCM’s Pete Didisheim Brief history timeline of Edwards Dam More about the Edwards Dam removal and Kennebec River restoration The health of the Kennebec River is making great strides just fifteen years after the breach Read More
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
Dam Owners Should Help Finance Kennebec Fish Run Restoration
by Clinton B. “Bill” Townsend Kennebec Journal op-ed The Kennebec River once hosted enormous runs of Atlantic salmon, river herring and other fish that live part of their lives in fresh water and part in the ocean. By the 19th century, however, those resources had become only a fast-fading memory. Water pollution, over-harvesting and impassable 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
