Things are looking up for Atlantic salmon
In Maine, things are looking up a bit for Atlantic salmon. On November 7, the Penobscot River Restoration Trust filed its state and federal permit applications for the Penobscot River Restoration Project, which proposes to remove the two lowest dams on the Penobscot River and construct a fish bypass around a third dam at the mouth of a major tributary. The project will improve access to nearly 1,000 stream miles containing salmon habitat. TU staff and student volunteers from the University of Virginia's Environmental Law Clinic were working in November to file comments in support of a proposal to expand the " endangered" listing for Maine salmon to include the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin Rivers. A decision is expected by April. This has turned into the best year in a long time for salmon returns to Maine. Trap counts from rivers with dams or weirs, and redd counts to find spawning salmon showed increased adult salmon returns in every river. In the Penobscot River, 2115 adult salmon ascended the fish ladder at the Veazie Dam, the first dam on the river. That's the largest return since 1992, and more than double the 10-year average. At the other end of the scale, the tiny Ducktrap River, less than 10 miles long, had spawning salmon this year for the first time since 2005.
Links:
[1] http://www.tu.org/conservation/eastern-conservation