MAINE MONITOR • May 19, 2024
Federal officials have proposed a path to remove two historic dams on the Royal River in Yarmouth, the result of more than a decade of studies and discussions. A federal proposal offers a process toward rewilding a span of the river, fully removing the Bridge Street Dam and nearly half of the East Elm Street Dam. Officials presented the plans to the town council last week. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that removing the dams has the greatest potential to improve river habitat and restore fish access toward the headwaters of the Royal River, historic spawning grounds for sea-going fish like alewives that have largely disappeared upstream of the dams.