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MDIFW Commissioner Approves Cumberland Mills Dam Fishway

After nearly 125 years, anadromous alewife, blueback herring, and American shad soon will be able to ascend the Presumpscot River to reach historical spawning areas. On October 5, 2010, Roland D. Martin, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) issued his final order in the Cumberland Mills Dam Fishway Proceeding. This was the first use of Maine’s fishway law (12 M.R.S.A. § 12760), which enables the Commissioner to require fish passage by the owners of any (nonhydropower) dam within inland waters for anadromous or migratory fish species. Commissioner Martin ordered S.D. Warren Company (Warren) and its successors to construct and maintain fish passage at the Cumberland Mills Dam, the first barrier on the Presumpscot River, in accordance with design requirements and other terms and conditions jointly developed by parties to the proceeding – Warren, the Maine Department of Marine Resources with technical assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Friends of the Presumpscot River, and American Rivers. Fish passage at Cumberland Mills, expected to be operational on May 1, 2013, will in turn trigger scheduled fish passage at the next five barriers - hydropower projects also owned by Warren.

MDIF&W Press Release, October 12, 2010

Text of Commissioner Martin's order, PDF file, 3 pages, 131 kb (PDF files may require Adobe Reader software (download here free) to view or print)