Bangor Daily News
1 December 2014
Mention “river conservation” to many Mainers, and they might talk about the Edwards Dam removal on the Kennebec River or the long-term Penobscot River Restoration Project, during which two more dams were destroyed and fish passage was provided at another.
But in what might be the stealthiest conservation effort in recent years, the Atlantic Salmon Federation has been working with partners to achieve success on a smaller scale, which could play a huge role in fisheries restorations efforts for generations.
Three fish passage projects have been completed on tributary streams in the last few months, and the ASF’s Maine Headwaters Project has completed 20 such projects over the past decade, allowing access to 18,500 acres of lakes and ponds, along with 400 river miles of prime habitat.
“The approach [in the past] has been to fix the first blockage [to access by migrating fish],” Andrew Goode, ASF’s vice president of U.S. Programs, said. “When we go into a watershed, we try to fix blockages from top to bottom.”