MORNING SENTINEL • March 20, 2021
The Waterville City Council this week endorsed a proposed amendment to the Maine Department of Marine Resources plan for the protection and restoration of the Atlantic salmon run that happens in Maine’s great rivers, particularly in the Kennebec. Wild populations are crucial to maintain the necessary genetic diversity for the continued resilience of the species that aquaculture cannot provide. Current efforts to restore the biologically essential migration up the Kennebec to the historic spawning grounds in the Sandy River are not working. Four hydroelectric dams between the ocean and the Sandy River stand in the way. The Atlantic salmon is one of the world’s great fish species and its survival is to an extent in our hands right here in Waterville. If dam removal is what is necessary to save the Atlantic salmon then I support that. ~ Thomas Klepach represents Ward 3 on the Waterville City Council