A Free-Flowing River for Fish

A Free-Flowing River for Fish

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Read about NFWF's projects and results.

As bulldozers began the dismantling of Maine's Veazie Dam on July 222013 conservation partners including NFWF celebrated a major victory in river restoration. Demolition of the massive structure on the Penobscot near Bangor re-opened more than 1000 miles of free-flowing water for Atlantic salmon and other native sea-run fish.

Fish passage up the Penobscot had been blocked by a series of dams for nearly two hundred years. Removal of Veazie the lowest dam on the river was a giant step toward re-establishing fish populations including river herring a species that NFWF has focused on since 2009.

The event capped more than a decade of work by the Penobscot River Restoration Trust the Penobscot Indian Nation Maine Department of Marine Resources federal and state agencies and many conservation groups.

The restoration kicked off with the removal of Great Works Dam. Demolition of Veazie and the installation of fish passages at other dams will complete the project reconnecting the length of the state's largest river with the Gulf of Maine.

Investments in equipment at Black Bear Hydro facilities along the river will keep energy generation at the same level as when the project began – a double win for the ecosystem and local residents.


Watch videos about NFWF's most successful conservation projects.

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