Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday that her administration has awarded $3.7 million in grant funding to projects that will help the state’s sea-run fish species access their habitats.
Sea-run fish refer to species of fish that spend portions of their lives in both the ocean and freshwater, usually having to undergo a significant migration once or twice in their lifetime.
Natural and manmade obstacles, such as dams or pollution, can be an impediment to the completion of their migration cycles.
The projects receiving funding will seek to improve the migration pathways to Maine’s lakes and ponds for American shad, blueback herring, American eel, and Atlantic Salmon.
The funding, which comes as a part of Mills’ Jobs and Recovery Plan, will be distributed across 12 projects, and will include the construction of fishways, the removal of obsolete structures, and the enhancement of in-stream or coastal habitats.
The projects will also leverage tens of millions of dollars in federal funds from the COVID-era American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act.
“Restoration projects like these improve critical infrastructure, public safety, flood protection and ecotourism, while enhancing valuable opportunities for commercial and recreational fishing,” said Gov. Mills in a Wednesday press release.
“These projects will provide long term economic and environmental benefits to Maine’s communities and are yet another example of my Administration’s commitment to protecting our environment and our fisheries, which are a vital part of our state’s heritage,” Mills said.
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The recipient of the largest grant — over $1 million — is Alden Labs, a Massachusetts-based fluid dynamics research laboratory.
Alden Labs will be working Maine paper company Woodland Pulp to design four fishways on the 71-mile St. Croix River, which forms part of the Canada-U.S. border.
The river has seen a reduction in its previously large population of Atlantic salmon following the construction of hydroelectric dams.
The project aims to improve access to over 600 miles of habitat for sea-run fish, and support the migration of up to 20 million river herring annually.
“These projects will have widespread and long lasting benefits for these communities and for Maine’s vital sea run species that support our state’s economy and sustain the health of our marine and inland ecosystems,” said Patrick Keliher, Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources.
For a full list of the projects that were awarded grants by the Mills administration, see their Wednesday press release here.
