Atlantic salmon

Opponents say only removing the obstructions will restore endangered Atlantic salmon to the waterway.

Multiple conservation groups have been improving road crossings over streams around the state, to facilitate fish passage and bolster climate resilience.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is investigating allegations that the town of Phillips dredged the south branch of the Sandy River, affecting other branches where endangered Atlantic Salmon migrate.

Residents from across the state voiced their opposition to the relicensing of four Kennebec River dams at a public hearing in Augusta today.

The Sandy River is an improbable salmon stream. It's not been known for its salmon runs in recent years, and it's blocked by four dams. But despite all that, biologists say the salmon population is growing in this tributary of the Kennebec. And the river's cold water could provide a refuge for the endangered species as the climate warms.

A river restoration project in Maine's Pleasant River watershed will allow Atlantic salmon and brook trout to access several miles of a cold brook in the Hundred Mile Wilderness.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources says nearly 1,500 salmon have returned to dams in Orono and Milford along the Penobscot River this year, and about 150 have been counted at two dams along the Kennebec.

The conservation groups say they will now take their fight to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is reviewing the dams' licenses.

Shawmut is one of four dams that Brookfield Renewable U.S. owns along the Kennebec River. And it has become the latest flashpoint in Maine's decades-long debate over how to restore habitat for Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish while preserving jobs and tax revenues that rely on the dams.

American Rivers says federal regulators should take strong action in the Kennebec, Union and Penobscot Rivers to restore vital upstream habitats for endangered Atlantic salmon.