by Larry Grard, staff writer Kennebec Journal news story There was a time within many people’s lifetimes when almost no one would have fished the confluence of the Kennebec and Sebasticook rivers in Winslow. Tanneries, factories and mills dumped municipal sewage into the Kennebec and its tributaries, fouling the waters as they flowed through Augusta 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.
Battle of Fort Halifax Drawing to a Close?
Kennebec Journal editorial The end may finally be in sight for the long-running conflicts over the Fort Halifax Dam on the Sebasticook in Winslow. The dam is an integral part of the state and federal government’s plan to restore native, migratory fish such as alewives, shad, sturgeon and atlantic salmon to the upper reaches of Read More
Company Seeks Approval to Buy Fort Halifax Dam
Deal Would Keep Dam, Build Fish Passage By Craig Crosby, Staff Writer Kennebec Journal news story WINSLOW — A Boston company is primed to purchase Fort Halifax Dam with the intention of saving it from destruction. Essex Hydro Associates has reached a deal in principle to purchase the dam from FPL Energy, said Barry Flynn, vice Read More
Legislators Seek to Boost Riverfront Community Development
$25 Million Bond to Fund Revitalization Along Maine’s Rivers Today communities have rediscovered clean and healthy rivers as a key to increasing economic opportunities and preserving Maine’s way of life. To seize this opportunity, leverage community investments, and bring about river-based economic revitalization projects, a bi-partisan group of legislators has introduced a $25 million Riverfront Read More
200 Years of Troubled Waters for Atlantic Salmon
By Kevin Miller, staff writer Bangor Daily News news story Atlantic salmon did not disappear from New England rivers overnight. Rather, North American populations of this resilient fish beloved by anglers for its fight and by food aficionados for its flavor has suffered what some describe as “death by a thousand cuts” over the past Read More
Atlantic Salmon Fishing Returns to Maine
Portland Press Herald editorial It’s not a long season, there are plenty of restrictions and fishermen can’t keep their catch. But starting this morning, anglers will once more be angling for sea-run Atlantic salmon in Maine. The month-long, experimental season is limited to a short stretch of the Penobscot, the river that has the healthiest Read More
Fort Halifax Dam: SOS Can’t Stop the Unstoppable
Kennebec Journal editorial Things changed after the 1970s, when passage of the Clean Water Act resulted in the cleanup of pollution that flowed into the rivers. And over the last 20 years, a series of legally-binding agreements were entered into by state and federal regulators, citizens and owners of several dams along the Kennebec and Read More
Removal of Dam Ready to Begin
By Larry Grard, Staff Writer Kennebec Journal news story NORRIDGEWOCK — Breaching of the Sandy River Dam, a project designed to restore salmon and other sea-run fish from the Kennebec, is scheduled to begin this morning. Contractors will begin the removal of the dam located between Norridgewock and Starks on the Sandy River. The dam Read More
Supreme Court Ruling Impacts Androscoggin
By David Farmer, Staff Writer Sun Journal news story LEWISTON – A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is rippling along the Androscoggin River and into efforts to improve the quality of its water. The court ruled Monday that hydroelectric dams are subject to the federal Clean Water Act and must meet water quality standards Read More
