BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 1, 2021
The struggle on the Kennebec River continues. Endangered Atlantic salmon are being stocked and reared in the Sandy River in the hope they head down the Kennebec River to the sea, survive, return and spawn. Brookfield Renewable continues to produce hydroelectric power for its customers with its dams under federal guidelines. At Lockwood Dam, salmon at least have a chance to enter the fishway and get into the holding tanks to be transported upriver. The hope among scientists is that all four of the Kennebec dams, if still operating, eventually will have functioning fishways that will allow Atlantic salmon and other fish to safely get upriver. In the meantime, conservation groups are working to help the fish survive and reproduce in Maine rivers.