Additional funding awarded for restoring St. Croix alewife run | The Quoddy Tides
By Edward French | The Quoddy Tides
Efforts to restore the alewife run on the St. Croix River, through a partnership involving federal, state, tribal, provincial and private entities, have been boosted by two large funding awards in a month, with a third award anticipated. Along with $5 million awarded in November for a new fish lift at the Woodland dam, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) has now a received $14.8 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to support removal of the Milltown dam and other work that will enhance passage for alewives and other sea run fish on the river. Additional matching support for the project comes from the removal of the dam by the owner, New Brunswick Power. The $14.8 million is being made available through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The DMR received both funding awards, and Commissioner Patrick Keliher comments, “Combined, the grant funds total nearly $20 million dollars and will allow DMR to work collaboratively with dam owners and other stakeholders to restore long restricted habitat to six sea run species, including over 60,000 acres of habitat for alewives.”
The St. Croix River, which once supported one of the largest runs of alewives in the northeastern U.S. and Atlantic Canada, may have the greatest production potential of any watershed probably in North America. A restoration plan for the Skutik River that was developed by the Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik estimates that the river is able to support 27 to 58 million alewives with dams in place and no fishing and perhaps up to 114 million without dams or harvesting, which would be more than the Penobscot and Kennebec rivers combined.
Removal of the Milltown dam, which will begin in 2023, will restore 10 miles of the St. Croix River to sea run fish. Since the Milltown dam site is approximately a half mile upstream of the head of tide, fish that need significant freshwater and non tidal areas to spawn, such as shad and blueback herring, have been severely limited in their spawning.
“The outdated fishway at Milltown has slowed meaningful restoration of these species,” says Sean Ledwin, director of DMR’s Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat. “Removal of this dam will allow for the reestablishment of these species in productive habitats and will lead to the rebuilding of their populations.” The removal will also enhance American eel populations, an important fishery in the state and the lower St. Croix River.
Design of a fish lift at the Woodland dam, which is owned by Woodland Pulp, will be finalized in 2023. “The existing 1960s era fishway at this site is at imminent risk of failure, is undersized and poorly designed, limiting fish runs and possibly precluding them if it fails,” says Keliher. “The partnership and commitment by Woodland Pulp is key to this project’s success and a testament to their dedication to environmental stewardship.”
Construction of the Woodland dam fish lift will begin in 2024, and removal of the U.S. side of the Milltown dam will be completed then. The following year, any remaining construction for the fish lift will be finished.
The project will help reestablish an important cultural connection to the river for the Passamaquoddy Tribe. “The St. Croix watershed lies at the heart of the homelands of the Passamaquoddy people,” says Keliher. “For thousands of years, its waters and plentiful fish provided them with physical and spiritual sustenance, and this project seeks to restore that.”
Along with the funding awards to the DMR, the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point also anticipates federal funding to help with the efforts. Ralph Dana of the Sipayik Environmental Department says, “We are pleased our proposal has been recommended for funding and look forward to advancing this vital work. We anticipate just over $2 million from NOAA under this opportunity. It is so encouraging to have a consensus among a diverse group of partners.” The tribe received letters of support from Maine DMR, The Nature Conservancy, Downeast Fisheries Partnership and Woodland Pulp. In addition to a letter of support, Downeast Fisheries Partnership assisted the tribe with the submission of its proposal.
The tribe’s proposal will build on design and engineering related to downstream passage at the Woodland and Grand Falls dams. “With resources being actively pursued to build a fish lift at Woodland dam, we wanted to complement restoration in a way that was viable and pertinent, yet not dependent on other pending proposals,” says Dana. Also, the Sipayik Environmental Department will build its capacity by adding a fisheries biologist and a technician to its staff. “An educational and outreach component was included to expand our annual ‘alewife day.’ The intent is to develop and refine our community education efforts,” says Dana. “Holding more events in other tribal communities as well as the region will be an area of focus. Raising awareness, educating and encouraging participation are keys to the effectiveness and long term sustainability of Skutik River restoration.”
In addition, the tribe will assist in operating the fish lift at the Woodland dam and monitoring changes in fish populations over time. Other partners on the project include New Brunswick Power, which will lead in removing the Milltown dam, and Woodland Pulp, which will help facilitate access to the project site and operate and maintain the fish lift. Alden Research Labs will function as the engineering lead for the fish lift, and the Nature Conservancy will provide technical support, project coordination and monitoring.
“Partnerships and collaborations on projects like this, which restore not only fish but also economic opportunity and community resiliency, are vital to their success,” says Ledwin.
Large scale watershed restoration actions that combine dam removal and improved fishways have been shown as a successful model for restoring migratory fish in Maine and nationally. “I would like to thank NOAA for their commitment to sea run fisheries restoration in Maine,” says Keliher. “NOAA’s investment in the St. Croix River continues their legacy of substantial support for the health of Maine’s major river systems, such as the Penobscot and Kennebec. While there is still work to be done on these great Maine rivers, these types of projects are critical for river and marine ecosystems and the people they support.”
To read the original article, click here.