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Informational meeting discusses history, science of Atlantic salmon

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Roughly 50 people attended the first of three informational meetings regarding the Walton’s Mill Dam project.

FARMINGTON – The first in a series of three informational meetings was held Wednesday night, bringing a crowd of 50 to the Community Center to discuss the upcoming vote on whether to remove Walton’s Mill Dam or install a fish passage.

The town is currently in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act in regard to the dam, as it blocks Atlantic Salmon from accessing spawning and rearing habitat in Temple Stream. The dam was declared a barrier for salmon back in 2009. Two options for the town are to either install a fish ladder, which would allow salmon to bypass the dam, or remove the dam entirely.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation, an organization dedicated to the conservation of the fish, has offered to cover the cost of removing the dam, as well as the installation of a park, the installation of a couple of new culverts that feed into the stream and some funds for annual maintenance. The total cost of that project, estimated at $1.2 million, would be paid for by ASF.

The other option, the installation of the fish passage on the dam, would require repairs to the dam itself, a 20-foot-tall structure built in the early 19th century. Fixing the dam, which would be required if it wasn’t being outright removed, has been estimated to cost $350,000. That would increase the fishway option to an estimated total of $750,000. ASF representatives have said that while they may be able to help raise some funds to assist the town in the project, most of that money would be provided by Farmington.

The informational meetings, hosted by the Farmington Conservation Commission, will cover the topics of Atlantic salmon history, science and restoration efforts in the Kennebec River watershed, the ecology of dam removal and impacts on other fish and wildlife species, and the experiences of other dam removal projects in Maine and what impacts the removal of the Walton’s Mill Dam and associated park enhancements could have for the town’s community, recreation and tourism in the future. The next two meetings will be held on Oct. 10 and Oct. 24 beginning at 6 p.m.

Maine Sea Grant Communications Director Catherine Schmitt presented her information on the history and science of Atlantic salmon in the Kennebec watershed; Schmitt is the author of The President’s Salmon: Restoring the King of Fish and its Home Waters which focuses on the species within the Penobscot watershed.

Catherine Schmitt shows several before and after examples of dam projects in Maine.

Schmitt shared that Atlantic salmon have been in the area for 250,000 years and migrate 2,000 miles round trip from the tributaries of Maine to the coast of Greenland every 1-3 years. She gave a brief history of the decline of the fish in the state, beginning when colonists started harvesting in large numbers. The Atlantic salmon was on the table at the first Thanksgiving celebration and Kennebec salmon could be found on restaurant menus throughout the region dating back to 1881. Each year the first salmon caught would be sent to the president in a tradition that lasted from 1916 until just before World War II at which point the rivers were too polluted to continue.

In the Kennebec watershed, salmon began to lose significant ground around the 1800s as more and more colonies moved inland and began constructing dams and mills, obstructing the path of migration for the fish, polluting the waters, and subjecting the population to overfishing. It wasn’t until the mid 1900s, according to Schmitt, that the people began to organize restoration efforts for the species.

Since the Clean Air and Water act of 1970 the species has seen a slow gain in numbers, though Schmitt said there is still significant work to be done before the fish can be taken off the endangered species list.

“The habitat is there. Relatively, we don’t have as many dams compared to the West Coast,” she said.

In particular, Schmitt noted the clean, cold and fast waters of the Sandy River that are ideal for the salmon. The gravel bottom in combination with a number of pools and larger boulders make for a nearly perfect habitat for the fish. Paul Christman, a marine biologist of the Department of Marine Resources, reiterated this statement, adding that many of the tributaries in the Kennebec Watershed provide those conditions.

Christman and a team of volunteers have helped to restore the Atlantic salmon population in the local watershed by planting millions of eggs in the gravel-bottomed rivers and streams every winter. The eggs incubate until spring at which point they hatch and mature through two years of life stages before heading out to sea. During those two years, Christman said, the fish develop an olfactory imprint of their specific river which allows them to return to the same location one to two years later. Salmon in the Sandy River average 26 to 28 inches long, though Christman said a 36-inch fish was discovered in the river last year. Currently the migrating fish are transported from just below the Lockwood Dam in Waterville 30 miles upriver to their spawning locations in the tributaries of the Sandy River.

“The tributaries of the Sandy River are extremely important critical habitat for the salmon,” Christman said.

He went on to say that the Kennebec River, which makes up the bulk of the Merrymeeting Bay Salmon Habitat Recovery Unit, plays a major role in getting the salmon to recovery levels.

“The Kennebec River is the Sandy River and only from Farmington up. Salmon are tributary fish. There is no recovery without the Kennebec River,” he said.

The other dams that obstruct the path of the migrating fish are under Brookfield Renewable Power’s licensing which includes requirements from the Species Protection Plan to remedy with fish ladders or remove the dams altogether by 2022.

A map of the tributaries that feed into the Sandy River which leads to the Kennebec River. The red represents areas where the fish have been documented spawning.
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11 Comments

  1. The removal of the dam is a win win situation for the salmon, Farmington, Temple Stream and the Sandy River. My question is what is all the hype about? Is there something special about having this old dam remain in place? Restore the area to its original state and be happy that the ASF is footing the bill.

  2. Win Win should have TOLD US the area was being restored to its original state…
    The Aboriginal People will be happy to have this land restored back to them..
    Anyone told everyone in Temple they are leaving ?

    This is a meaningless scam and a total waste
    Of money.

  3. Money will be spent. The question for me is whose money will it be. I’d prefer not to pay for it.

  4. I question why these people want the cart before the horse. There are 4 Dams down stream from the Sandy River. Lockwood Dam, Hydro-Kennebec, Shawmut and the Weston Dam. Do they plan to transport these fish forever? Get rid of the down stream dams first.

  5. Steve, It was explained at the meeting,but also look at the last paragraph in this article, those dams in the Kennebec will have fishways in them or be removed by 2022, and if the Waltons Mill Dam is removed, it will likely take five years to get the permits, and do the engineering so those impediments will be removed first.

  6. It would sure be interesting to hear from the owners and operators of the four dams in reference to the planning, permitting, funding, and installation of the fish ways. If, as John states that the fish ways will be installed by 2022, it seems as though details of that process should be part of the presentation by the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

    I would think there will be a fair amount of opposition to the removal of these dams or installation of fish ways. Funding of either is the fly in the ointment.

    Having this information, would go a long way in making the removal of Walton Dam easier to understand.

  7. john

    I won’t hold my breath. In 1937 when the Edwards Dam in Augusta was built there was an agreement to provide access for Sea Run Fish. That never happened until 1999 when the dam was removed.

  8. Five years to get permits and do the engineering. It will be interesting to see what happens when everything is said and done. Most likely take longer, so many of us won’t see the outcome.

  9. I’m delerious with emotions right now about a fish that will never be..
    Bravo Bravo !!!
    Hip Hip Horayy !!!
    For he’s a jolly good fellow !!!

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