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
Penobscot River Restoration Trust
On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, hundreds of people gathered in Howland, Maine, to mark and celebrate the completion of the last major milestone in the Penobscot River Restoration Project, widely considered one of the largest, most innovative river restoration projects in the nation.
The completion fulfilled the Penobscot Project’s goal of significantly improving access to 2,000 miles of Maine’s largest river for eleven species of native sea-run fish, while maintaining energy through increased hydropower generation at other dams in the watershed.
The project is already showing success. More than two million river herring are expected to surge past the former Veazie dam site this year, and in just the past few weeks more than 225 Atlantic salmon have also entered the river. “It is thrilling to see the river rebounding since the Penobscot Project reconnected the Gulf of Maine to more than 2,000 miles of upstream waters,” says Don Hudson, Chairman of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust. “The fish know just what to do, and the eagles, otters, wildlife watchers, boaters, and fishermen do, too.”
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
Dam Removal Tells New Chapter in Maine History
Throughout history, Maine has always relied on its rivers, and that will not change now. Maine Sunday Telegram editorial The history of Maine is told by its rivers. For native people they were the source of food and transportation. For European shipbuilders, they were the highways into a trackless forest. For a century they provided Read More
Removal of Veazie Dam to Free Historic Paddling Route on Penobscot
By Aislinn Sarnacki, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Water burst through the Veazie Dam on July 22, a day that marked the beginning of its destruction. By the end of the year, the river will flow free. And after the ice melts next spring, canoeists and kayakers will be able to paddle from Read More
Ceremony “and Eagles” Mark Beginning of Veazie Dam Removal
Gale Courey Toensing Indian Country Today Media Network news story The restoration of the Penobscot River in Maine has taken a monumental step forward with the breaching of the Veazie Dam, which will open up the river from Indian Island at Old Town to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in more than 150 Read More
A River In the Balance
Bangor Daily News editorial On Monday, crews began demolishing the Penobscot River’s Veazie Dam. It marked an important moment for sea-run fish, efforts to restore a complex habitat and unlikely partnerships. The day was notable not only for the state but also for the nation: The dam breaching is part of one of the largest Read More
Down Comes Another Dam
New York Times editorial On Monday, a demolition crew will begin removing the Veazie Dam on the Penobscot River just above Bangor, Me. The Veazie is the lowest of the Penobscot dams and closest to the river’s mouth on the Maine coast. It is also critical to the entire Penobscot River watershed, which covers nearly Read More
‘Ah, Freedom’: Historic Penobscot Dam Removal Begins
The river restoration project will allow fish access to spawn deep in the heart of Maine. by Tom Bell, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story EDDINGTON — A backhoe equipped with a big jackhammer smashed through the top of the Veazie Dam on Monday morning, sending chunks of concrete and a spray of water Read More
Breaching of Veazie Dam Begins as Part of Penobscot River Restoration
by John Holyoke, BDN staff Bangor Daily News news story EDDINGTON, Maine — Hundreds of onlookers stood on the banks of the Penobscot River on Monday morning, watching as demolition crews breached the Veazie Dam, continuing the process of opening the river to sea-run fish for the first time in almost 200 years. The Veazie Read More
