By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story HOWLAND, Maine — Atlantic Ocean-based salmon, sturgeon, American shad and alewives will be able to find spawning grounds in northern Maine for the first time in more than a century with the culmination of a 16-year project next spring, officials said this week. Engineers Read More
dam removal
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
Don’t Reverse Three Decades of Work that Helped Our Rivers
By Clinton B. Townsend and Landis Hudson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Maine’s rivers belong to all of us. They flow through our cities and towns and through our history. For the last half-century, the state of Maine has been a leader in protecting our rivers against damage by the hydroelectric power Read More
Whitewater Regatta Focuses Spotlight on Penobscot River Restoration
By Jay Field MPBN news story OLD TOWN, Maine – Whitewater canoeists and kayakers from across the country are in Maine for a competition event that wouldn’t have been possible just three years ago. The Penobscot River Whitewater Nationals Regatta got underway in Old Town Thursday, with races scheduled to take place through Sunday afternoon. Read More
Penobscot Dam Removals Enable National Paddling Event
By Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story OLD TOWN, Maine — Removal of the Great Works Dam in Bradley and the Veazie Dam, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project, had an added benefit for those who like whitewater, according to organizers of the upcoming Penobscot River Whitewater Nationals Regatta. “It’s got Read More
Greenland Salmon Quota Worries Maine Conservationists
Some U.S. officials worry about the effect on vulnerable Atlantic salmon populations in the United States. The Associated Press news story ORONO — Commercial fishing activity nearly 2,000 miles away is worrying Maine conservationists working to restore Atlantic salmon to the Penobscot River. At a recent summit, Greenland awarded itself an annual salmon quota of Read More
Howland Fish Bypass Construction to Start Next Month
by Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story HOWLAND, Maine — Construction of the $3.5 million fish bypass at the former Howland tannery site is likely to begin next month, ending 11 years of preparation, officials said Friday. Construction crews already demolished the former powerhouse attached to the Howland Dam on the Read More
Setting Rivers Free: As Dams are Torn Down, Nature is Quickly Recovering
By Doug Struck, Contributor Christian Science Monitor cover story BENTON FALLS, Maine — “Look underneath you,” commands Nate Gray, a burly biologist for the state of Maine. He reaches down to the grate floor of a steel cage perched on a dam straddling the Sebasticook River, and pulls back a board revealing the roiling river Read More