The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is projected to release a final environmental impact statement this fall, outlining the next steps for four hydroelectric dams on the Kennebec subject to relicensing. NRCM staff photo

The removal of the Edwards Dam in 1999 is what Pete Didisheim, advocacy director for the National Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), calls “the start of the modern dam removal movement.” It paved the way for similar efforts nationwide. 

This year, four additional dams up for relicensing under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) purview interrupt the Kennebec River’s natural movement of wildlife, which has many wondering if the river could ever flow freely. Two dams, one built in the early 20th century and the other in the 1980s, remain on the river’s lower reaches, preventing salmon from reaching their prime spawning tributary, the Sandy River. 

NRCM, the Kennebec Coalition and the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) are again advocating for removal of the dams.

FERC is considering relicensing one of the dams, the Shawmut, and amending the licenses of the other three (Weston, Lockwood and Hydro Kennebec) to require the operator, Brookfield Renewable, to install fish passageways at each site. 

“It’s the tale of two rivers,” said Didisheim, noting the healthy tributaries upstream. “Dams supply the grid with energy and support local jobs, but many fear climate change’s effect on the waterways. What will the next generations of Mainers grow up with if these dams continue to suffocate this ecosystem?” 

Proponents favor removing the lower dams to enable salmon to spawn in their preferred cold water tributaries and migrate downstream to the Gulf of Maine. The turnout at the recent FERC public hearings on May 21 and 22 indicated solid support for this proposal.

The Kennebec estuary focus area stretched from Gardiner upstream to Phippsburg and Georgetown farther down the coast. 

Didisheim said removing the dams would result in a resurgence in salmon populations in the river and benefit other sea-run species in the estuary. Given the system’s interconnectedness, the spring migration of fish through Merrymeeting Bay would increase once the prime spawning habitat in the Sandy River had reconnected access to the Atlantic.

FERC is projected to release a final environmental impact statement this fall. While advocates await the outcome, they’ve turned to public outreach to continue educating locals about the benefits of dam removal.

The National Resource Council of Maine hosts a talk on wild Atlantic salmon restoration efforts in the Kennebec River at Sasanoa Brewing Company on Aug. 1. NRCM staff photo

Opting for dam removal

Historically, large populations of sea-run fish-filled Maine’s waterways — 32,000 miles of rivers, lakes and streams — each spring. Salmon were once so plentiful they were used as a currency for barter. According to Didisheim, you could trade 48 pounds of salmon for a bushel of corn. 

However, things changed in the late 1700s when dams were constructed to provide mechanical power and fire protection for nearby paper mills. By the 1960s, entire sections of rivers were devoid of fish.

On Aug. 1, at Sasanoa Brewing Company, Didisheim highlighted the contrast between two maps. One showed the abundance of fish that used to swim 150 miles inland from the sea to the North Woods, while the other displayed the thousands of dams that blocked the fish from reaching their freshwater habitat.

Between the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, fishing regulations and the removal of Edwards Dam, sea-run fish have seen a significant resurgence over the past quarter century. This is evident in the population of river herring species, which numbered in the thousands just a few years ago but now, Didisheim said, are in the millions. 

“I was there when Edwards Dam closed, and everyone gathered, cheering,” Didisheim said. “It was the removal heard around the world. Seeing is believing. People are more aware of the benefits of a healthy marine ecosystem than they were years ago and aren’t afraid to speak up about it.” 

Though adding fish lifts is an option, John Burrows, Atlantic Salmon Federation vice president of U.S. operations, pointed out that there’s only so much technology can do — “multiple dams change the ecosystem from a free-flow waterway to a series of unnatural impoundments that impact oxygen levels and thermal temperatures.”

This impacts fish and eelgrass, smothered by higher rates of epiphytic algae from stagnating estuarine waters.

“If you look at the habitat above the dams, it’s alive and vibrant,” Burrows said. “It’s an entirely different ecosystem downstream. If there’s any chance of reviving a self-sustaining salmon population in the Kennebec, it can’t be done with four dams on the river.” 

Recent public hearings and public comment periods, which remained open until June 4, were among the first opportunities in decades for the public to get involved in deciding the future of Kennebec. Federal licenses are issued for terms of 30-50 years. 

An aerial photo of the Weston Dam in Skowhegan. NRCM staff photo

Disputed benefits of fish lifts

Nick Bennett, a retired Natural Resources Council of Maine staff scientist, expected a closer split at the FERC public hearings between those favoring dam removal and those against it. 

Three residents expressed concerns about the potential loss of hydropower energy, the fate of the impoundment and the impact on jobs at nearby paper mills. One of those residents was Walter Elery Keene of Winslow, who advocated keeping the dams out of fear that the loss of electricity would prove detrimental.

Bennett recognized that removing the dams would decrease energy production. The four dams in question have a total capacity of nearly 47 megawatts, enough to power tens of thousands of homes. Nonetheless, their output accounts for only 6% of the state’s overall hydroelectric capacity, which he considers “inconsequential” compared to the state’s plans to generate 3,000 megawatts of wind turbines by 2040.

“We’re very hopeful the proposed dams will close,” Didisheim said. “The changes required for improved fish passage would cost tens of millions. Even if they were relicensed, they might get rejected because doing so would make them money losers.” 

Bennett agreed, stating that in the past, it was possible to catch 20 American shad in an hour using a hook and line. However, despite the new fish lift at the Lockwood Dam in Waterville, only four shad passed through last year. He chalked its poor success up to the significant size difference between the river (500 feet) and the passage system (5 feet).

“Fish don’t know how to find the lift, let alone use it,” he said.

“Not only is this an unethical project,” Burrows said, “but soon it’ll be uneconomic. The benefits outweigh the cons.” 

NRCM staff and guests did an 8-mile paddle on the Kennebec River from Skowhegan to Hinckley to educate locals about the diversity of wildlife in the ecosystem and current restoration opportunities on June 15. NRCM staff photo

Summoning a new chapter for the Kennebec

At the recent public hearing, Didisheim said in many ways the room was like a mirror, with those who started the modern dam removal movement and younger advocates continuing their work. 

“It’s a significant chapter for the Kennebec, but certainly not the end of the story,” Didisheim said.

Burrows argued that if FERC prioritized fish passage, it would examine the impact of removing Edwards Dam. 

Some results have been immediate, such as the Atlantic sturgeon returning upstream in the Cobbosseecontee Stream, while others took longer. For example, 6 million alewives returned to Benton Falls Dam in the spring and 100 bald eagles were recorded on a 5-mile stretch of the Sebasticook River.

“Removal would benefit a whole suite of species,” Bennett said. “For millennia, sea-run fish would migrate through the river, completing an incredible, unseen journey. Moving together provided protection — predators had many fish to prey on, leaving others unharmed. So when we discuss the importance of reuniting the river, it’s for the prospect of ecosystem recovery.” 

Didisheim agreed that doubling the amount of habitat would have a ripple effect across the landscape, pulling several species off life support and allowing them to reach self-sustaining populations again.

“We can open up 900 miles of the watershed,” he said. “This doesn’t happen often, and we’re very optimistic.”