A Happy Fish Tale

In colonial times, there were so many fish in Maine’s Kennebec River that settlers complained of having too many fish to eat. Today, residents can only imagine what that abundance must have been like. Since the Edwards Dam was built in 1837, passage for fish coming from the sea to spawn in the river had been completely blocked. Concerned about the economic and environmental impacts of the lost fish, citizens, scientists, and environmental groups convinced the federal government that the costs of the dam far outweighed the limited electricity it produced, and the dam was removed. The Kennebec now supports healthy—and growing—populations of fish and birds like ospreys and bald eagles. Many fisheries biologists look to the Kennebec as an example of the benefits of free-flowing rivers, and they’re starting to look for other places where outdated dams should be taken out so biodiversity can move back in.