In a recent ceremony, officials from the Penobscot Trust, the Nature Conservancy, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and the Maine Marine Resource Bureau presented Senator Susan Collins with a framed photo of an alewife swimming upstream in the Kennebec River by Maine photographer Doug Watts. The group was in Washington to thank Senator Collins for her continued support of the continuing Penobscot River project and noted that upon its completion, these groups look forward to alewife and other species of fish returning to the river.
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Undersecretary Adm. Conrad Lautenbacher was also in attendance.
Late last year, Senator Collins helped secure $10 million in federal funding, helping match $10 million in privately raised funding for the purchase of two dams on the Penobscot River. The dams will be removed, helping restore the river to its natural flow.
“The Penobscot River Restoration is a large project of national significance and we thank you for your support,” noted Adm. Lautenbacher.
Consisting of two phases, the Penobscot River Restoration Project aims to restore the historic habitat for species such as the endangered shortnose sturgeon and greatly improve access to over 1000 miles of key habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon. In addition to enhancing Atlantic salmon recovery efforts, it will also have far-ranging benefits for the entire Gulf of Maine, protecting endangered species, migratory birds, and a diversity of riverine and estuarine wetlands. The project will also help revive the social, cultural, and economic traditions of New England's second largest river.
Phase one consists of raising $25 million in order to purchase three dams on the Penobscot River. The second phase will require an estimated additional $25 million in order to remove two dams and bypass a third.
The Penobscot River Restoration Project is a five-year project and is a partnership of the State of Maine, local communities, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Interior, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Penobscot Indian Nation, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, PPL Corporation, the Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, American Rivers, Maine Audobon, and Trout Unlimited. Through collaboration with dam owners, the project will maintain virtually all of the hydroelectric generation on the river through a series of energy enhancements higher up in the Penobscot watershed.