Wild and Scenic Protections Threatened The people of Maine realized they needed a State policy to save their own wilderness areas. They petitioned their elected representatives to protect the last great wild river in the eastern United States, and the Maine legislature responded by creating the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, so that the people could own Read More
Clean & Free-flowing Waters
BEP Issues Draft Order for Androscoggin
By Scott Thistle, Regional Editor Sun Journal news story LEWISTON – Advocates for improving water quality on the Androscoggin River said Friday they both win and lose in a recently issued draft order for changes to pollution permits for two mills and a dam operator on the river. Among other things the order, which won’t Read More
Revitalized River Flows to Healthy Future
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
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
Deal Completed, Katahdin Lake Now Part of Baxter State Park
By the Associated Press Bangor Daily News news story MILLINOCKET – A 4,000-acre parcel that includes Katahdin Lake has been added to Baxter State Park, fulfilling its benefactor’s vision and providing the ultimate holiday gift to the people of Maine, Gov. John Baldacci announced Friday. The announcement followed completion of the purchase Thursday by the Read More
Progress on the Allagash
Bangor Daily News editorial When environmentalists and residents of northern Maine agree on anything related to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, it is a momentous occasion. That’s why proposals, which are the same in principle but differ in detail, to create a commission to oversee and make management decisions for the waterway offer a positive way 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