“Biologists say that for the first time in decades, they are hearing from Bangor-area fishermen trying to figure out the best way to catch shad, the largest type of herring known for its savory meat.”
That a telling sentence in this Portland Press-Herald story about the status of the Penobscot River in Maine, two years after the large Veazie dam was removed. Fish are returning and the open river is drawing that other valuable species, the Free-Spending Kayaker. It’s all part of a unique fish-restoration program:
The Lower Penobscot River Settlement Accord, an unprecedented plan to remove two dams and build a fish bypass without reducing the amount of hydroelectric power generated on the Penobscot. In fact, the owner of the dams at the time, PPL Corp., was not only able to increase total generation through enhancements at other dams within the watershed, but also received legal assurances that the environmental and fish conservation groups involved in the pact would not fight future dam relicensing.
It’s a good story: Check it out here.
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