A Huge Win for the Whole Team
The day of the Great Works Dam removal celebration dawned sparkling clear. For me it started early at the Veazie Salmon Club, and had a few moments by the Penobscot River before everyone arrived. The...
View ArticleDecommissioning Dams: The Penobscot’s Song
Here’s to eco-tourismTHE Penobscot river takes its name from the Penobscot nation, the American-Indian tribe whose ancestral lands lie along its banks. It is the largest river in Maine and the...
View ArticlePassamaquoddy Tribe Now United in Support of Restoring the St. Croix Alewife Run
The Passamaquoddy tribe is now united in its support of restoring the St. Croix alewife run. The three Passamaquoddy chiefs from Pleasant Point and Indian Township in Maine and the Passamaquoddy tribe...
View ArticleNew Study Says Maine’s Natural Areas Worth Far More Than Most People Think
BRUNSWICK, Maine — Most people have their own criteria for determining the value of nature, ranging from “it’s heaven” to “there are bugs out there,” but a recent study by the Manomet Center for...
View ArticleEPA Orders State: Open St. Croix to Alewives
In a victory for environmentalists, lobstermen and the Passamaquoddy Indians, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has directed the state to allow alewives into the St. Croix River.The ruling was...
View ArticleDon't Underestimate Kennebec Atlantic Salmons' Drive to Return
In mid-July, five adult Atlantic salmon were live-trapped at Waterville's Lockwood Dam, the first of four Kennebec River dams blocking the upstream passage of salmon, alewives and other sea-run...
View ArticleRoyal River Restoration
YARMOUTH - With steel cables, a grip hoist and a lot of sweat, the first fish-passage restoration project on the Royal River got under way on Tuesday.The three-day project will remove a tumble of 25...
View ArticleThe St. Croix River Should Be Opened to Alewives
It’s time alewives were allowed into the upper reaches of the St. Croix River.Research, in addition to dozens of ponds and streams in Maine, show that alewives can coexist with smallmouth bass. Until...
View ArticleState Alewife Policy Hurts Fishing Industry
AUGUSTA - Gov. LePage could have given a big boost to Maine lobstermen and fishermen by supporting full restoration of the alewife population in the St. Croix River.The U.S. Environmental Protection...
View ArticleReplenishing Water Fund is Good for Environment, Public Safety
Question 5: Do you favor a $7,925,000 bond issue to be expended over two years for revolving loan funds for drinking water systems and for wastewater treatment facilities, which will make the state...
View ArticleMaine Nabs $1.3 Million in Wetlands Restoration Grants
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced $20 million in grants Tuesday to 24 coastal wetlands projects in 13 states and territories, including two in Maine.The grants, designed to conserve...
View ArticleVeazie Dam Removal Project Gets $1 Million Boost
VEAZIE, Maine — The organization behind a key conservation project on the Penobscot River has been awarded a major grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, members of the state’s congressional...
View ArticleHuge Northern Maine Dam Proposal Fell 30 Years Ago
AUGUSTA — Three decades ago this year, construction on New England's largest public works project was to have begun, but instead a shovel was never put in the Earth, and the massive project was...
View ArticleTestimony in Opposition to LD 336, An Act Relating to Clean Water...
Dear Senator Boyle, Representative Welsh and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee:I am the Staff Scientist with the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s...
View ArticleSappi Surprise: Westbrook Mill Considers Removing Controversial Dam
A long-running fight over a hydroelectric dam in downtown Westbrook took an unexpected turn this week when the dam's owner announced that it's considering tearing down the structure. Sappi Fine Paper...
View ArticleCrossing the Piscataqua
I’d love to believe that many years from now, my grandchildren will be able to catch brook trout in the same lovely little Maine pools where my father taught me to fish. Those native fish reply so...
View ArticleTestimony in Opposition to LD 470, An Act Regarding Working Waterfront Projects
Dear Senator Boyle, Representative Welsh and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. My name is Nick Bennett. I am the Staff Scientist at the Natural Resources Council of Maine,...
View ArticleMaine Bill Seeks to Restore Alewives to St. Croix River
Scientists, tribal leaders and fishermen turned out in Augusta today in support of a proposal to immediately restore alewives to their traditional spawning grounds in the St. Croix River, along the...
View ArticleLet Those Alewives Go
The state committee charged with recommending whether to let alewives back into the upper reaches of the St. Croix River should base its decision on science, not anecdotes or politics, and approve a...
View ArticleAlewives' Passage in St. Croix Hinges on Passage of Bills in Augusta
AUGUSTA — Though reduced in numbers, the St. Croix River’s alewives have a lot of friends.At a legislative hearing Monday, speaker after speaker rose in support of a bill that would open most of the...
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