Saco River will get more fish passages (Maine)

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=148131&ac=PHnws

SACO — The owner of nine dams along the Saco River has agreed to build a series of fish lifts and ladders as part of a long-range effort to restore runs of Atlantic salmon, shad, river herring and eels.

FPL Energy Maine Hydro expects to spend more than $30 million over the next 20 years, ultimately allowing sea-run fish to reach spawning grounds that have been blocked off for generations by dams that produce electricity.

FPL officials announced the agreement at Saco City Hall on Wednesday. Federal and state regulators and local conservationists negotiated with FPL for three years before finalizing the plan. They said it will restore balance between the river's hydropower dams and its value for wildlife habitat and community uses.

"There are many competing interests on the Saco," said Mayor Mark Johnson. The agreement "makes sure the Saco is open to all, including the fish."

<more>

That will help keep the Saco stocked with feedfish for the Blues and Stripers. Might even become a tourist stop to watch the fish make their way up the fish ladders to spawn.