by Jeff Clark Down East magazine August 2004 Five years after the demolition of Edwards Dam, the Kennebec has rebounded. Five years ago the Edwards Dam disappeared from the Kennebec River in Augusta. Today, no one misses it. Jim Thibodeau doesn’t miss it. The removal of Edwards Dam drained seventeen miles of dead-water impoundment below Read More
Edwards Dam and Kennebec Restoration
For more than a decade, NRCM and the Kennebec Coalition worked to open up the Kennebec River to sea-run fish past the Edwards Dam in Augusta. In a precedent-setting action, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decided that the ecological value of a free-flowing river was greater than the economic value of a dam. The Edwards Dam was removed on July 1, 1999.
Today, millions of alewives swim from the Atlantic Ocean up the Kennebec every spring in what is perhaps the largest alewife run on the eastern seaboard.
Kennebec River Flows Free as Edwards Dam is Removed
Dam Removal Marks Turning Point for River Restoration Nationwide Statement by Brownie Carson, NRCM Executive Director Good morning and welcome to this historic celebration for the people, wildlife and communities of the Kennebec River. My name is Brownie Carson. I am the executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine and am pleased to be Read More
