#penobscotriver — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #penobscotriver, aggregated by home.social.
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4 Dams Set for Removal in #Maine Will Open Hundreds of Miles of #River for #Salmon, #Herring and #Sturgeon
By Andy Corbley, Oct 15, 2025
"In Maine, ownership of 4 large dams has been transferred to #TheNatureConservancy in a sale it hopes will return the river they operate on into prime habitat for salmon for the first time in a century.
"Operated by #BrookfieldRenewables, the dams along the lower #KennebecRiver prevent ocean going, freshwater fish like salmon from accessing #AncestralSpawningGrounds upriver.
"On September 15th, 2025, The Nature Conservancy (#TNC) and #Brookfield signed a purchase and sale agreement for the four dams totaling $138 million.
"The Kennebec River is fed by #SandyRiver in the heart of Maine before running down to the #GulfOfMaine past the towns of #SkowheganME and #WatervilleME. The Weston, Shawmut, #HydroKennebec, and Lockwood dams are located in intervals along this stretch, called the #LowerKennebec.
"The federal regulatory process for decommissioning a dam, as seen in the recent parallel in #California, where four dams were removed to make way for salmon, needed more than 5 years from start to finish. As a result, TNC will look to gather another $30 million in funding to create a nonprofit that will manage and oversee the decommissioning process, during which the dams could continue to generate power for 5 to 10 years.
"That would include working with Sappi North America, whose Somerset Mill, located between the town of Skowhegan and the #ShawmutDam, to find a solution to the company’s long-term water needs, which are currently met by this dam.
"Their twin goals in the decommissioning project are to return free-flowing conditions to the lower Kennebec River to support regionally-#endangered #NorthAtlanticSalmon, while doing so in collaboration with existing stakeholders in the dams’ activities, Sappi included.
" 'TNC and its partners are 100% committed to developing a solution with Sappi that fully addresses the Somerset Mill’s long-term water system needs,' the organization wrote in a statement. 'We understand the vital role of the Somerset Mill for the forest products industry and the state’s economy.'
"#AtlanticSalmon are considered near-threatened worldwide, but certain stocks in the North Atlantic have almost completely disappeared. Access to Sandy River via the lower Kennebec would open up hundreds of miles of prime habitat for spawning and coming of age.
"Brookfield maintains dams higher up the river, but these areas are considered to be of poor habitat quality. Those dams also happen to produce substantially more electricity than the dams along the lower stretch of the river—those set to be removed.
"The Maine Monitor reports that fishing advocacy groups have argued for the dam’s removal for 'decades.' #RiverHerring [#Alewives], the federally-protected #AtlanticSturgeon, and #AmericanEel all rely on Maine’s freshwater rivers to either spawn or feed before swimming out to sea.
"The current predicament finds around one-twelfth of the historic spawning population of Atlantic salmon returning to the Kennebec via the gulf, where they’re captured at #LockwoodDam and actually trucked up the roads past the next three dams to spawn. During the reverse journey many do not survive the journey to the gulf past the industrial infrastructure.
"The removal of the #KlamathRiver dams this time last year produced incredible results immediately, with fish finding their way back upstream far past the farthest dam to spawn within a single season, proving that ancestral instincts can remain intact despite generations of fish not being able to act on them.
"But examples also lie closer to home, with dams removed years past along another Maine river, the #PenobscotRiver, resulting in long-term economic and environmental improvements."
#SolarPunkSunday #DamRemoval #Maine #EndangeredSpecies #WaterIsLife
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#PenobscotNation citizens rally in opposition to proposed expansion of #JuniperRidgeLandfill
Jul. 18, 2025
OLD TOWN/ALTON, #Maine (WABI) - "Penobscot Nation citizens rallied across the Penobscot County court Friday afternoon in opposition to a proposed expansion to Maine’s largest #landfill.
"The rally was in response to the #ConservationLawFoundation and the Penobscot Nation appealing an expansion to #JuniperRidgeLandfill, which will allow #CasellaWasteSystems to expand Juniper Ridge by 11.9 million cubic yards.
"According to members of the #WabanakiAlliance, the expansion would pose a threat to surrounding #TribalLands due to concerns of air and #WaterPollution surrounding the #PenobscotRiver from the landfill.
"Speakers at the rally represented citizens of the Penobscot Nation, the Wabanaki Alliance, as well as the environmental groups #Slingshot and #DontWasteME.
" 'It is incredibly powerful to see the number of people out here in opposition to this expansion and support of this appeal. We know the time for #EnvironmentalJustice is now. We need to turn the tide towards #ZeroWaste,' said #DanaColihan, Co-Executive Director of environmental group Slingshot.
" 'I just hope that the state can get serious about actual environmental justice, and Casella can implement some practices that it make it so that they don’t have to bring out of state waste to stabilize our sludge, and really find solutions instead of creating more problems with us,' stated #MaulianBryant, Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance."
Read more:
https://www.wabi.tv/2025/07/18/penobscot-nation-citizens-rally-opposition-proposed-expansion-juniper-ridge-landfill/
#AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #MaineResists #PFAS #PenobscotRiver #Casella #ProtectTheSacred #Wabanaki #Wabanakik #NativeAmericanNews #MaineNews -
Your Questions Answered: #Wolfden’s Proposed #PickettMountain #Mine
September 27, 2023"An untested and underfunded company called #WolfdenResources has submitted a second rezoning petition to the Land Use Planning Commission (#LUPC) to allow for the development of a zinc mine near #PickettMountain in the #Katahdin region. The Canada-based exploration and development company focused on metallic mining deposits was forced to withdraw its first application in 2021 because it was riddled with errors.
"The proposed mine has been identified by the LUPC as an 'issue of statewide concern' and has attracted a lot of attention because of its location just miles away from #BaxterStatePark and #Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument.
"Here are some answers to frequently asked questions that have arisen as people seek to better understand what is being proposed.
"What is the potential impact on local wildlife and fisheries?
"The location of the proposed mine is directly adjacent to some of the state’s best habitat for #BrookTrout and #AtlanticSalmon. It is next to three State Heritage Fish Waters and contains the headwaters of the West Branch of the #MattawamkeagRiver, which is federally designated critical habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon. The #PenobscotNation and other organizations have worked hard to restore habitat for Atlantic salmon and brook trout in Maine. #Mining pollution could reverse this progress.
"The mine would destroy critical habitat for threatened #CanadaLynx and habitat for other iconic Maine species, such as #moose and #PineMarten.
"What is the significance of the area surrounding the proposed mine site to Wabanaki tribes?
"The Katahdin region and #PenobscotRiver #watershed are sacred to #WabanakiTribes. The tribes have an intimate cultural and physical relationship with the land and water, which continues today through traditional practices such as sustenance fishing and hunting. The location of Wolfden’s proposed mine is near several important tribal trust lands.
"The tribes also have a close connection to Atlantic salmon and have long worked to recover habitat for the species. The proposed mine would be located in critical habitat for endangered at Atlantic salmon and would endanger that progress."
https://www.nrcm.org/blog/faqs-wolfden-proposed-pickett-mountain-mine/
#Maine #MetalMiningPollution #NatureOfMaineBlog #Waters #WaterIsLife #MetalMining #EnvironmentalRacism #WabanakiConfederacy