June 11, 2012 — INDIAN ISLAND — Work crews today began demolition of the Great Works Dam on the Penobscot River, the largest-ever river restoration project in eastern North America.
Excavators began pounding the defunct concrete fishway in the middle of the dam following more than an hour of speeches by federal, state and Penobscot Indian Nation officials.
Ken Salazar, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, said the $62 million project, which includes the removal of two dams and improved fish passages at two other dams, is a model for other restoration efforts in the nation because of its collaborative approach.
"It's really a great day for America and a great example for anyone who believes anything is possible," Salazar said.
Hundreds of people were on hand to hear the speeches and celebrate the project's start at the dam, the second of three located downstream from Indian Island, the Penobscot Indian reservation.
The project is seen as a model for river restoration in other parts of the world because the terms of a multi-party agreement will allow power companies to increase power generation elsewhere in the river watershed. In the end, there will be no loss of power production.
Environmental groups say the project is the largest-ever river restoration effort in eastern North America and represents the last best hope of restoring wild runs of Atlantic salmon in the United States.