Good morning Chairman Parker and members of the Board of Environmental Protection. My name is Nick Bennett, I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and I am testifying in opposition to these proposed rules. Previous versions of these rules were not protective of Maine’s water quality or its taxpayers, and Read More
Clean & Free-flowing Waters
Thanks largely to the Clean Water Act, Maine’s great rivers are much cleaner than they were 40 years ago, but we still have a long way to go to restore many of them. NRCM continues to make clean water a high priority. NRCM was founded by a group of Mainers working to protect the Allagash River, which was designated as the nation's first Wild & Scenic River. Today, it is known as the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. In partnership with others, we also opened up part of the Kennebec River with the removal of the Edwards Dam, and we reopened 2,000 miles of habitat in the Penobscot River Watershed for Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish.
Why the Penobscot River’s Revitalization is Just Beginning
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial Last week, the last piece of a years-long project to return much of the Penobscot River to a free-flowing waterway was completed with the opening of a bypass around the Howland Dam. The Penobscot River is Maine’s largest watershed. For more than a century, however, the Read More
Hundreds Celebrate Completion of Penobscot Restoration Project
By John Holyoke, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story HOWLAND, Maine — Pat Keliher still remembers an early morning phone call during which a professional colleague outlined a bold idea that could help transform the Penobscot River. “[Andy Goode of the Atlantic Salmon Federation] said, ‘Hey. We want to take two dams off the Read More
Penobscot River Restoration Project Celebrates Final Milestone, Reconnects River to the Sea
Howland fish bypass completes collaborative effort to rebalance fisheries and hydropower on Maine’s largest river News release Howland, ME – Today, federal, state, local, and tribal representatives, and project partners gathered in Howland, Maine, to mark and celebrate the completion of the last major milestone in the Penobscot River Restoration Project: the newly constructed fish Read More
Brook Trout Make Maine World-class Fishing Destination
The wild and native fish are a vital natural resource that provide an economic boost to the state. By Deirdre Fleming, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Robert and Teresa Proctor of Atlanta have fished in New Zealand, Alaska, Chile, Belize and the Amazon. But every summer they travel to Libby Camps in Aroostook Read More
Brunswick Joins List of Towns that Ban Styrofoam Packaging
By Beth Brogan, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BRUNSWICK, Maine — The Brunswick Town Council voted unanimously Monday evening to ban polystyrene foam, or Styrofoam, food containers beginning in October. The vote followed a public hearing before a standing-room-only crowd at which 16 people spoke, all but one in support of the ban, Read More
Two Years After Dams’ Removal, Penobscot River Flourishes
Alewives, shad and even whitewater paddlers have returned as the largest river restoration endeavor in U.S. history starts to yield results. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story VEAZIE — For nearly four decades, Barbara Wilson could watch from her deck as the waters of the Penobscot River cascaded over the 30-foot Read More
Surry Celebration: Alewife Restoration Project Nears Completion
By John Holyoke, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story SURRY, Maine — About six years ago, a group of concerned town residents started paying attention to a problem that had been years in the making. Patten Stream, which runs through the center of Surry and empties into Patten Bay, was full of fish. And Read More
State Shouldn’t Relinquish Water Quality Permitting Authority
by the BDN editorial board Bangor Daily News editorial Unfortunately, a water quality dispute involving state and federal regulators and the state’s Indian tribes is moving further away from resolution. The uncertainty over water quality standards has gotten so bad that Gov. Paul LePage is threatening to quit a system that allows the state to Read More
