The Kennebec River has been surging with life this spring as millions of alewives (river herring) travel inland from the sea to reach spawning habitat that was inaccessible before two key dams were removed in 1999 and 2008.
Osprey and bald eagles have been well fed, and the entire river ecosystem has benefited, as a result of what may be the largest alewife run in the United States. NRCM Staff Scientist Nick Bennett and other NRCM staff traveled to witness the spectacle on the Sebasticook River, a tributary of the Kennebec. “The river has come back to life. This shows us that nature can come back in full force if you just give it a chance,” said Bennett.
NRCM and other organizations worked for decades to achieve removal of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec in 1999, and the Ft. Halifax dam on the Sebasticook River in 2008.
