Augusta city officials who initially opposed the removal of the dam now say it’s been good for the city. By Keith Edwards, staff writer Kennebec Journal news story AUGUSTA — The first water to flow through when Edwards Dam was breached 15 years ago was brown and thick with mud from the earthen cofferdam built 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.
Kennebec River Rebounds After Edwards Dam Removal
by Danielle Waugh WCSH-6 TV news story AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — It’s been 15 years since the removal of the Edwards Dam, and the water and wildlife of the Kennebec River has changed dramatically. On July 1, 1999, the 900-foot dam breached, restoring a free-flowing Kennebec River for the first time in 160 years. 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
Clean Water Act Protections Vital to Maine Environment, Economy, People
Mainers who care about water quality should contact the EPA during a public comment period. By Nick Bennett Portland Press Herald op-ed AUGUSTA — Do you hunt or fish in Maine? Do you swim in Maine’s lakes or rivers? Do you drink Maine’s water? Do you own or work for a company that uses water? If Read More
How Unlikely Partners Came Together on a Maine River
Decades of dam building had decimated migratory fish populations that had long sustained local wildlife and people on the Penobscot River. After years of contentious battles, local stakeholders struck a deal. Today, for the first time in 200 years, river life is rebounding. And the power company has not lost any hydropower generation. By Laura Read More
Humans Changed Behavior, and Alewives are Rebounding in Kennebec, Penobscot, St. Croix
By Lisa Pohlmann, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed For the last few weeks sea-run fish known as alewives have been heading up Maine’s rivers to lay their eggs. Their journey is a breathtaking force of nature to behold, as they fight strong currents, heading upstream in droves. While probably hundreds of millions Read More
Concern for Maine’s Lakes: An Afternoon on Belgrade’s Great Pond
As Susan MacKenzie wrote about in her recent post, on June 10, a group of NRCM Board members and staff joined Professor Whitney King of Colby College to learn about the waters of Great Pond in Belgrade. Whitney gave quite an eye-opening presentation as he shared some of the startling research data currently being collected Read More
Maine’s LakeSmart Program: Good for You, Good for Maine’s Lakes
On June 10 several NRCM Board and staff members spent a delightful couple of hours with Dr. Whitney King, the Dr. Frank and Theodora Miselis Professor of Chemistry at Colby College and a member of the Maine Lake Resource Center Board of Directors. Following a brief introduction to the ecological and social history of the Read More
Veto of Lake Protection Bill Threatens Maine’s Lakes
NRCM Statement by Advocacy Director Pete Didisheim “Governor LePage today vetoed a bill that would protect one of Maine’s most important natural resources, our 6,000 lakes and ponds that are cherished by Maine people and visitors who come to Maine from around the world. This veto is an insult to the thousands of Maine people Read More
