The Nature Conservancy has reached agreement with Brookfield Renewable for the purchase of the four dams on the lower Kennebec River—Lockwood, Hydro-Kennebec, Shawmut and Weston. This is the latest step in decades of work by many people and organizations to find a long-term solution for the Kennebec—a solution that will restore the river’s ecological health and protect the region’s economic vitality.

A new, independent, non-profit organization—the Kennebec River Restoration Trust—is currently being formed to take ownership of the dams, oversee operations of the hydroelectric facilities, and manage a multi-year restoration and redevelopment process in close collaboration with local communities. Its governing board, staff and advisory groups will represent a range of sectors and perspectives, drawing on a strong, diverse coalition. In the coming months, additional information about this new organization will be shared publicly. Please stay tuned.

Restoring the Ecological Health of the Kennebec

For thousands of years, the Kennebec River flowed freely from Moosehead Lake in Maine’s north woods to Merrymeeting Bay, one of the most productive estuaries in the country, and out to the Gulf of Maine. Tens of millions of sea-run fish—including American shad, river herring and Atlantic salmon—returned to spawn in its waters every year before heading back to the ocean. This natural migration helped sustain enormous fisheries in the Gulf of Maine, such as cod, as well as other wildlife and birds, like eagles and osprey. The Kennebec River is vital to the Indigenous Wabanaki people, for whom the river and its sea-run fish have been central to culture and sustenance for millennia.

During the past two centuries, dams have been built on the Kennebec to provide hydropower—lots of it. Today, the river and its tributaries host 20 hydroelectric dams. As a result, despite having some of the best Atlantic salmon spawning habitat in the country, the Kennebec’s run of salmon has dropped from hundreds of thousands each year to nearly zero. Science and nature are telling us that we’re asking too much of the Kennebec. The river is out of balance.

The Kennebec can be home to one of the largest river restoration efforts in the nation, reconnecting over 800 miles of river and stream habitat. Through thoughtful collaboration, it can be done in a way that provides economic benefits to towns along the river, from municipal revenue to local jobs, while supporting ecological benefits to fish populations and the communities that depend on them along the river and in the Gulf of Maine.