I support free flowing waterways. In 1999, Maine made national news when the Edwards dam in Augusta was removed. It took years of hard work by Mainers to make this happen. For more than 150 years, the dam had been blocking movement and access to spawning grounds of anadromous fish such as shad, salmon, alewives, smelt, striped bass, and sturgeon. This was a hard fought and hard won victory for Maine people and the environment.
Since then, dam removal has become a national movement and Maine has led the way. Dams have been removed on the Penobscot and Sebasticook Rivers, among others, with the latter now supporting the largest run of alewives on the planet. In fact, the restoration of anadromous fish to the Sebasticook now supports the largest concentration of feeding bald eagles in Maine.
Free flowing waters not only support renewed abundance of fish and wildlife, they also support Maine’s economy. They result in increased fishing opportunities, increased tourism through wildlife watching, and increased recreation through kayaking and canoeing.
Maine no longer needs hundreds of obsolete dams. I will advocate for an active state supported program of identification and removal of such dams where appropriate.
