by Susan Sharon MPBN news story Scientists, tribal leaders and fishermen turned out in Augusta today in support of a proposal to immediately restore alewives to their traditional spawning grounds in the St. Croix River, along the eastern border with Canada. Alewives, or river herring, have been blocked for nearly two decades by a state Read More
St. Croix River
Don’t Let This Legislation Get Away: Open the St. Croix to Alewives
by Dennis Damon Bangor Daily News op-ed The Marine Resources Committee and the Maine Legislature should act this session to pass legislation — LD 72, presented by Rep. Madonna Soctomah of the Passamaquoddy Tribe — that would remove the blockage it mandated in 1995 to stop native alewife from returning to the St. Croix River. Read More
Rival Measures Would Restore Alewives into the St. Croix
Gov. Paul LePage’s administration would move cautiously. A competing proposal would open river dams immediately. by Colin Woodard, staff writer Maine Sunday Telegram news story The future of spawning alewife runs in the St. Croix River will likely be decided by state lawmakers next month as they evaluate rival bills aimed at allowing the fish Read More
State Alewife Policy Hurts Fishing Industry
Stringent limits on the species’ reintroduction to the St. Croix River deprive fish harvesters of a critical source of bait. by Nick Bennett Maine Sunday Telegram op-ed AUGUSTA – Gov. LePage could have given a big boost to Maine lobstermen and fishermen by supporting full restoration of the alewife population in the St. Croix River. Read More
The St. Croix River Should Be Opened to Alewives
Bangor Daily News editorial It’s time alewives were allowed into the upper reaches of the St. Croix River. Research, in addition to dozens of ponds and streams in Maine, show that alewives can coexist with smallmouth bass. Until there is solid scientific evidence that bass populations will diminish with an influx of alewives north of Read More
EPA Orders State: Open St. Croix to Alewives
The directive overrules two Maine laws intended to protect other fish species, but environmentalists say the presence of the foragers will benefit ecosystems. by Colin Woodard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story In a victory for environmentalists, lobstermen, and the Passamaquoddy Indians, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has directed the state to allow alewives Read More
Group Threatens EPA with Lawsuit Over St. Croix Alewives
By Kevin Miller, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story ELLSWORTH, Maine — Two individuals and a southern Maine organization are ramping up their legal fight to restore alewives to the St. Croix River, this time accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of complicity in preventing the fish from spawning Down East. Friends of Merrymeeting Read More
