"These projects are among the most important land and wildlife conservation projects for Maine. If we are to preserve our valuable natural treasures, we must continue to support these essential programs with the funding they so rightly deserve," said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement.
Senators Snowe and Collins announced that the Interior Appropriations bill includes funding for the following Maine projects:
$5 million for the Katahdin Ironworks Forest Legacy Project. The inclusion of this project mirrors the President's request in his FY 2006 request. The project was ranked number four in the nation out of all Forest Legacy projects and proposes a conservation easement over 37,000 acres of forested lands for the protection of the property''s significant natural and recreational resources, to ensure permanent public access to the tract''s many outstanding lakes, streams and mountain peaks, and to provide for sustainable harvesting to support the local wood products economy.
$2.48 million for the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery. This funding will support wastewater treatment compliance at the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in East Orland, and will enable the hatchery to be in compliance with State of Maine and national EPA laws and policies regarding hatchery discharges. In addition, there will be a direct benefit to receiving waters and users of receiving waters in assuring that fully treated effluents are being discharged from these Service facilities. The ability to continue full production of Atlantic salmon fry and smolt operations for these hatcheries and their partners depends on the capability of administering high technology water and wastewater treatment systems so that fish production can continue without jeopardizing environmental conditions in receiving waters.
$1.5 million for the Machias River Phase 2 Forest Legacy Project. This funding would support the Phase II Forest Legacy Project in order to acquire 7,785 acres of land, including a 1,000'' corridor along shorelines on 3rd, 4th, and 5th Machias Lakes and 5th Machias Stream, as well as a 2,286 acre parcel of forest land expanding the Duck Lake Unit to Nicatous Lake and Gassabias Stream. In all, Phase II will protect over 47 miles of lakeshore and over 13 miles of stream frontage. With both phases completed, 270 miles of prime lake, river, and stream frontage will be protected, some 86% of the Machias River''s Atlantic salmon spawning and reaing habitat, and the famous backcountry canoe route will also be preserved.
$1 million for the Penobscot River Restoration Project. This funding would be used for the purchase and removal of the Great Works Dam and the Veazie Dam on the Penobscot River. The Penobscot River Restoration Project is a five-year, $50 million project to restore the natural flow of Maine''s largest watershed. This project is a partnership of the State of Maine, 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 Inc., the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and other environmental groups.
$1 million for the Atlantic Salmon Recovery – National Forrest Wildlife Foundation. This funding, through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, will support efforts to protect the Atlantic salmon in Maine. The Atlantic Salmon was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
$750,000 for the New England Green Chemistry Consortium. This project will further develop a New England regional Green Chemistry Consortium to support interdisciplinary research collaborations between New England universities and industry. Green chemistry is a science-based approach to pollution prevention involving reducing or eliminating the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture or application of chemical products. Academic partners include the University of Massachusetts, the University of Maine, the University of Connecticut, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Vermont. The University of Maine will focus on Green Chemistry technologies for Natural Resource Processing.
$600,000 for Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. These funds would allow the Rachel Carson NWR to acquire 4 properties, including two significant ownerships in the Parsons Beach area that total 100 acres and abut already protected refuge lands in a critical protection focus area. The 56 acre Parsons Woods tract contains the headwaters of a tributary of the Little River, the bulk of which flows through existing refuge lands and empties into the Atlantic between Laudholm and Crescent Surf beaches. The 44-acre Back Creek Woodlands property consists of wetlands and associated wooded upland habitat and has considerable frontage along Back Creek, which flows into Back Creek Cove, a tidal inlet that lies a mere two-thirds of a mile from the confluence of the Mousam River and the Atlantic Ocean at Parsons Beach. The Back Creek Woodlands property abuts the Harts Woods property, which was acquired by the Refuge in FY 2003, and together with the Parsons Woods property will provide additional critical linkages to previously protected lands.
$500,000 for the University of Maine: Northern States Research Cooperative. This funding, as a part of the Northern States Research Consortium (NSRC), would greatly enhance the ability to assure sustained productivity of the Acadian forest. Specifically, it would be used to study the long-term effects of different modes of partial harvesting on growth and yield, genetic diversity of crop trees, the benefits of trying to manage for late-successional forest types, and the maintenance of biodiversity and environmental quality. This is essential for the management of Maine's hardwood trees to address stand improvement practices and the effects of harvesting practices on residual crop trees. The Northern States Research Consortium (NSRC) was authorized by Congress in 1998 (Public Law 105-185) to support cross disciplinary, integrative, and collaborative research on ecosystems, economic development, community development, forest products and conservation efforts to benefit the Northern Forest.
$472,000 Dover-Foxcroft Water District: Pleasant River Lumber Waterline Extension Project. The funding would allow the completion of the waterline extension and water system upgrade project in the Town of Dover-Foxcroft, beginning on Fairview Avenue and extending to the Pleasant River Lumber mill yard. The project will provide improved fire protection at the Pleasant River Lumber mill. This facility has had several major fires in recent years, including 1984, when the main mill burned, and again in 1995 and 1998.
$500,000 for the Town of Machias: CSO replacement project. This funding will address deficiencies at the town of Machias' wastewater collection system and wastewater treatment facility. Presently, waste flows exceed the capacity of the sewer pipes to convey the waste, resulting in overflows of untreated sewage to the Machias River. In addition, the existing wastewater treatment plant is aging and in need of renovation.
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