Weekly Column: "The Inspiring Vision of the Penobscot River Restoration Project"

Statement

Weekly Column: "The Inspiring Vision of the Penobscot River Restoration Project"

I recently had the pleasure of meeting in Washington with leaders of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust, who presented me with beautiful photo of an alewife swimming upstream in the Kennebec. What does a fish in one Maine river have to do with the restoration of the other?

A lot - it's about the power of a concerted effort by the environmental and sportsmen's organizations, the business community, Penobscot Tribe, government at all levels, and committed citizens to bring about positive change. The photo is a powerful reminder that, nine years ago, such a collaboration brought about the removal of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec, and today that great river, once choked off, is again teeming with life, in its waters, along its banks, and in the sky above.

The success we have seen in the Kennebec is about to be replicated in the Penobscot. Late last year, I helped secure $10 million in federal funds to match $10 million in privately raised contributions for the purchase of two dams on the Penobscot River. The dams will be removed, helping to restore the historic habitat for alewives and other species such as the endangered shortnose sturgeon, and to greatly improve access to over 1,000 miles of key habitat for the endangered Atlantic salmon.

In addition to enhancing these recovery efforts, this project 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 and Maine's largest watershed.

For more than 10,000 years, the Penobscot Indian Nation has lived at the heart of this great river's watershed. For most of that time, the Penobscot Tribe thrived along the banks of this wild free-flowing river, from the North Woods to the Gulf of Maine. Eleven species of native fish migrated and spawned throughout the river system, and deer, moose, bear, eagles and osprey drew sustenance from it.

Since dams were first placed nearly 200 years ago, the life that once pulsed through the Penobscot watershed has been diminished. The dams have restricted angling and paddling opportunities for the Penobscot Tribe and for all who enjoy the river. The massive runs of salmon, shad, alewife, rainbow smelt, sturgeon, striped bass, and other native species of fish that once migrated from the Gulf of Maine into the river have slowed to a trickle. The restoration of the Penobscot is essential to the Tribe's culture and traditions, to the quality of life for all communities along the river, and to the native species of this invaluable ecosystem.

The Penobscot River Restoration Project is the result of a partnership of the State of Maine, local communities, key federal agencies, the Penobscot Indian Nation, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, the Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, American Rivers, Maine Audubon, and Trout Unlimited. PPL Corporation, the owner of these dams, also has been a strong and committed member of this partnership throughout this process.
At our meeting in Washington, we were joined by Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Fisheries Undersecretary of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and a strong ally in helping me to overcome the many obstacles to securing this critical funding, who said that what we have done here in Maine "sets an example for restoring habitat like no other project in the nation."

We are all concerned about the soaring cost of energy, and the urgent need for greater energy independence through cleaner sources. It is important to note that, as a result of a landmark agreement reached between PPL and the Federal Energy Commission, the loss of hydroelectric generation capacity by the removal of the Great Works and Veazie dams will be offset through a series of energy enhancements at PPL facilities further up the river. This "Smart Hydro" approach - the blending of clean, renewable energy technology with efficient fish passage -- is a remarkable aspect of this project that will benefit other such projects in the future.

This is the largest, most creative East Coast river restoration project in our nation's history. I congratulate the partners of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust for their success. For generations to come, the people of Maine will be grateful for their inspiring vision and effort.

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