KENNEBEC JOURNAL • February 3, 2021
Peter Taylor’s book about the restoration of the Penobscot River, “From The Mountain To The Sea,” tells the amazing story of the very long and expensive effort to remove dams and build fishways on the Penobscot River. While a lot has been accomplished — including the removal of dams — fish are still blocked in many places. Atlantic salmon are on the brink of dying out in the Kennebec River. There is a new Kennebec River Management Plan, but I am skeptical it will make a difference. The biggest problems for Atlantic salmon are four dams between Waterville and Skowhegan, which block salmon from reaching their ancestral spawning and rearing habitat in the Sandy River. There is no viable spawning and rearing habitat for Atlantic salmon below the Sandy. These four dams also block vast amounts of habitat for other important species, including American shad, alewives, blueback herring, and eels. ~ George Smith