Penobscot River Restoration Partnership

The Penobscot River drains more than 8,500 square miles in north central Maine and provides the largest freshwater input into the Gulf of Maine. Historically, the migration of diadromous (searun) fish contributed nutrients that enriched both freshwater and saltwater systems, and provided abundant food for other fish, wildlife and people.

Today, passage for 11 species of diadromous fish on the Penobscot River are impeded by dams, and populations of fish have declined to a vestige of their former abundance. An unprecedented collaboration between the dam owner (PPL Corporation), the Penobscot Indian Nation, multiple state and federal agencies, and six conservation groups, has led to an Agreement to complete a landscape-scale restoration initiative and re-establish diadromous fish passage for an estimated 500 river-miles. The Agreement specifies that conservation groups will:

purchase three mainstem Penobscot dams from PPL Corporation,
remove the two dams closest to the sea at Veazie and Great Works, and
decommission and construct a fish bypass at Howland Dam.

Other components of the Agreement make it possible for PPL Corporation to maintain nearly all of its existing hydropower generating capacity. All creatures -- freshwater mussles, fish, bald eagles and wading birds in the rivers and lakes, seabirds and groundfish in the Gulf of Maine, and people throughout the watershed -- will benefit from revitalized diadromous fish populations.

Shortly after the Agreement was signed, Gulf of Maine Coastal Program (GOMCP) provided initial funds through the Maine Atlantic Salmon Conservation Fund (MASCF) to help catalyze federal involvement with the Penobscot River Restoration Parntership. Subsequently, GOMCP has cooperated with regional and national efforts to provide technical assistance and additional federal funding. To-date, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has provided several million dollars in support of the Partnership, with funds from MASCF, National Coastal Wetland Grant Program and Endangered Species Recovery Funds.

Projects

Restoring Habitat

Atlantic Salmon Protection and Restoration Slideshow