September 19, 2024 — An 1874 map hanging in the Calais, Maine, library depicts the St. Croix, or Skutik, River flowing past the town. A spot on the river called Salmon Falls marks the location of a tribal fishing village. In 1881, the Milltown Dam was built across the river near the same site. The village—and the sea-run fish that sustained members of the Passamaquoddy People for thousands of years—disappeared. The Passamaquoddy now compose the tribal communities Sipayik and Indian Township in Maine and Skutik in New Brunswick.
This year, a major cross-border collaboration championed by the Passamaquoddy People resulted in the dismantling of the Milltown Dam, the lowermost dam on the river. It had persisted for more than 140 years. Following removal of the Milltown Dam, hundreds of thousands of alewives, a keystone species in river and ocean ecosystems, surged upriver during their annual spring migration. With further fish passage restoration, the Skutik could host North America’s largest run of alewives.
Now, the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik and the Maine Department of Marine Resources are focused on the next major barriers to fish passage on the river: the Woodland and Grand Falls dams. Existing 1960s-era fishways on both dams are inadequate. With $35.6 million from NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the partners will develop state-of-the-art fishways to carry six species of migratory fish over the dams.
The project includes:
- Conducting studies to determine best designs for upstream American eel passage and downstream passage for alewives and eels at both dams
- Designing and building multiple upstream and downstream fish passage solutions at the Woodland Dam, including a fish ladder and a fish lift
- Designing multiple upstream and downstream fish passage solutions for the Grand Falls Dam
- Expanding the ability of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik to participate in restoration through workforce development and job support
- Helping the local economy by creating jobs and supporting fisheries for alewives and American eels