SUN JOURNAL • June 30, 2024
Despite dams blocking their path up the Kennebec River, a growing number of endangered Atlantic salmon have made their way to the cold-water habitat of the Sandy River to spawn each fall. But that habitat of braided channels in the South Branch of the Sandy River was destroyed following a December flood when town officials brought in excavators and other large equipment and dredged a large section of the river. Thousands of salmon eggs and juveniles were destroyed due to the dredging that turned the branch with numerous channels into a “canal.” The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the town for destroying the delicate habitat.