PENOBSCOT RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT
PENOBSCOT RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT
Implementing an ecosystem approach to restoring a full assemblage of diadromous fishes including endangered Atlantic salmon Laura Rose Day & George Aponte Clarke Penobscot River Restoration Trust
• Penobscot Basin is the second largest river system in New England • One of the largest freshwater sources to the Gulf of Maine • Historic fish community has been severely altered • Penobscot River supports the largest run of AtlanBc salmon in the U.S. • Over 100 dams located in the Penobscot Basin • 1000s of road crossings
Map Courtesy of Tara Trinko Lake, NOAA
Lower Penobscot River Dams
Factors contributing to the reduction in DFS numbers include the cumulative impact of multiple dams, a significant known yet unaddressed impact. (Laser ‘09 and NRC ’04)
Veazie Adult Atlantic Salmon Trap Update July 11, 2013
“AKer this the Great Works dam was built, and in 1834 or 1835 the Veazie Dam. The laVer dam was closed in the winter. When the fish came in the spring they found an impassable barrier across their way; they gathered in mulBtudes below the dam and strove in vain to surmount it. . . . A great many shad and alewives lingered about the dam and died there, unBl the air was loaded with the stench.” Maine Commissioner of Fisheries, Charles Atkins, 1869 “Forage stocks such as alewives and bluebacks were lost when dams were built . . ., and caused the cod that pursued them to the mouths of rivers and streams to disappear, triggering the collapse of the coastal cod fishery (Baird 1883).” Ted Ames-‐-‐“Atlan.c Cod Stock Structure in the Gulf of Maine.” Fisheries, Volume 29, No. 1
Watershed size (mi2)
Number of dams (Blue Bars)
Project context – why here?
Comparison of rivers in the Northeast U.S. (slide courtesy of TNC)
Dams, water polluBon and over fishing have virtually eliminated sea-‐run fish above Bangor in the Penobscot River
Species River herring
Historic
Current
14-‐20 million Below 1,000
PotenBal ~ 15 million
AtlanBc salmon 75–100,000
1,300 (10 yr. avg.)
10,000-‐12,000
American shad 3-‐5 million
Near 1000
1.5 million
Remove two dams closest to the sea – Veazie & Great Works Bypass Howland dam to allow access to inland habitat Improved fish passage at four other dams Increased energy generation at six dams to maintain pre-project power generation. Significantly improve access to nearly 1,000 miles of historic habitat Help restore 11 species of native sea-run fish and
Partners in the Penobscot River Restoration Project Penobscot River Restoration Trust
Penobscot River Restoration Project Before and After Habitat Access East EastBranch BranchPenobscot Penobscot River River
East Branch Penobscot River
Diminished use of upstream spawning habitat by salmon and eels
Mattawamkeag River
Pleasant River
Piscataquis River
Little or no commercial, recreational, or tribal sustenance fisheries
West Enfield
Underused state of the art upstream fish passage
Howland
Old Town Orono Bangor
Penobscot River Bucksport
Little if any passage of shad, alewife, blueback herring, striped bass, sturgeon, smelt, and tomcod, impaired passage of eels
Existing Access for Sea-Run Fish
Restored of Restored use ofuse upriver upriver spawning spawning habitat for habitat foralewife, salmon, salmon, shad, shad, alewife, blueback herring, and eels blueback herring, and eels
Mattawamkeag River Mattawamkeag River
River Pleasant River Pleasant
Piscataquis River Piscataquis River
Restored commercial, recreational, and tribal sustenance fisheries
West WestEnfield Enfield Howland Howland
Orono Bangor Bangor
Old OldTown Town Orono
PenobscotRiver River Penobscot Bucksport Bucksport
State of the art passage for salmon, alewife, shad, blueback herring, and eels
Full restoration of historical habitat and access for salmon, shad, alewife, blueback herring, eel, striped bass, sturgeon, smelt, and tomcod
Significantly Improved Access for Sea-Run Fish to Nearly 1,000 Miles
Photo by Monty Rand
Great Work Dam removal – Summer 2012
Photo by R.W. Estella
Veazie Dam Breach Event – July 22, 2013
Photo by R.W. Estella
Veazie Site -‐ December 2013
AquaTc Science Associates • Boyle Associates • Biodrawversity • CES • Cianbro CorporaTon • Kleinschmidt Associates • Milone & MacBroom • R.F. Jordan & Sons ConstrucTon • Sargent CorporaTon • Sewall • Stantec • Sullivan and Merri[ Constructors • S.W. Cole Summit Environmental • University of Maine • USM • Wright-‐Pierce
Howland Dam – Fish bypass construcBon planned for 2014
EffecBveness Monitoring Studies • Fish migraTon and habitat use
Ø adult ATS upstream passage at dams Ø ATS smolt downstream passage at dams Ø sturgeon habitat use Ø diadromous fish biomass flux via hydroacousTcs
• Fish community structure (IBI) • Riverine and marine ecosystem response Ø Riparian wetland response Ø Marine-‐freshwater food web linkages
• Water quality and benthic macro invertebrates • Channel and floodplain physical response ü Each has 2-3 years of pre-removal data collection ü Some have comparable baseline data further back
Using PIT Telemetry to Track Adult Salmon J. Zydlewski, D. B. Sigourney U.S. Geological Survey, Maine CooperaTve Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Maine
QuanBfying the Structure of Fish Assemblages in the Penobscot River S. M. Coghlan Jr. et al. Dept. of Wildlife Ecology University of Maine
AcousBcally Tagged AtlanBc Salmon Smolt Survival in the Penobscot River and Estuary 201-‐2011 J. Zydlewski and D. STtch Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine/U.S. Geological Survey, Maine CooperaTve Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Shortnose Sturgeon on the Penobscot River G. Zydlewski et al. School of Marine Sciences and School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine/ U.S. Geological Survey, Maine CooperaTve Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Using Stable Isotopes to Assess Freshwater and Marine Food Web Change K. Wilson Dept. of Environmental Science, Univ. of Southern Maine & G. Sherwood Gulf of Maine Research InsTtute
SONAR Sampling to Understand Changes in Penobscot River Fish Community Dynamics G. Zydlewski, J. Zydlewski, P. Erbland School of Marine Sciences and School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine/U.S. Geological Survey, Maine CooperaTve Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Pre-‐dam Removal Geomorphic Monitoring A. Kelley, D. Belknap, A. Heller Dept. of Earth Sciences and Climate Change InsTtute, University of Maine
Benthic Macro Invertebrates & Water Quality Monitoring D. H. Kusnierz t al. Penobscot Indian NaTon Water Resources Program
Acknowledgements - Monitoring Barbara Arter John Banks Charlie Baeder Dan Belknap Arum Calhoun Steve Coghlan Ma[ Collins Blaine Copp Oliver Cox David Hart Alice Kelley John Kocik Blaine Kopp Brandon Kulick Dan Kusnierz Dan McCaw Jeff Murphy Jeff Reardon Josh Royte Rory Saunders Catherine Schmidt Tim Sheehan Joan Trial Tara Trinko Lake Karen Wilson Gayle Zydlewski Joe Zydlewski
Penobscot River Restoration Trust
Partnership projects in Maine’s headwaters
Photos courtesy of ASF
Davis-‐Holbrook Pond Fishway
Pushaw Lake Fishway Photos courtesy of ASF
MaVamisconBs Lake
www.penobscotriver.org www.facebook.com/PenobscotRiver
Implementing an ecosystem approach to restoring a full assemblage of diadromous fishes including endangered Atlantic salmon Laura Rose Day & George Aponte Clarke Penobscot River Restoration Trust
• Penobscot Basin is the second largest river system in New England • One of the largest freshwater sources to the Gulf of Maine • Historic fish community has been severely altered • Penobscot River supports the largest run of AtlanBc salmon in the U.S. • Over 100 dams located in the Penobscot Basin • 1000s of road crossings
Map Courtesy of Tara Trinko Lake, NOAA
Lower Penobscot River Dams
Factors contributing to the reduction in DFS numbers include the cumulative impact of multiple dams, a significant known yet unaddressed impact. (Laser ‘09 and NRC ’04)
Veazie Adult Atlantic Salmon Trap Update July 11, 2013
“AKer this the Great Works dam was built, and in 1834 or 1835 the Veazie Dam. The laVer dam was closed in the winter. When the fish came in the spring they found an impassable barrier across their way; they gathered in mulBtudes below the dam and strove in vain to surmount it. . . . A great many shad and alewives lingered about the dam and died there, unBl the air was loaded with the stench.” Maine Commissioner of Fisheries, Charles Atkins, 1869 “Forage stocks such as alewives and bluebacks were lost when dams were built . . ., and caused the cod that pursued them to the mouths of rivers and streams to disappear, triggering the collapse of the coastal cod fishery (Baird 1883).” Ted Ames-‐-‐“Atlan.c Cod Stock Structure in the Gulf of Maine.” Fisheries, Volume 29, No. 1
Watershed size (mi2)
Number of dams (Blue Bars)
Project context – why here?
Comparison of rivers in the Northeast U.S. (slide courtesy of TNC)
Dams, water polluBon and over fishing have virtually eliminated sea-‐run fish above Bangor in the Penobscot River
Species River herring
Historic
Current
14-‐20 million Below 1,000
PotenBal ~ 15 million
AtlanBc salmon 75–100,000
1,300 (10 yr. avg.)
10,000-‐12,000
American shad 3-‐5 million
Near 1000
1.5 million
Remove two dams closest to the sea – Veazie & Great Works Bypass Howland dam to allow access to inland habitat Improved fish passage at four other dams Increased energy generation at six dams to maintain pre-project power generation. Significantly improve access to nearly 1,000 miles of historic habitat Help restore 11 species of native sea-run fish and
Partners in the Penobscot River Restoration Project Penobscot River Restoration Trust
Penobscot River Restoration Project Before and After Habitat Access East EastBranch BranchPenobscot Penobscot River River
East Branch Penobscot River
Diminished use of upstream spawning habitat by salmon and eels
Mattawamkeag River
Pleasant River
Piscataquis River
Little or no commercial, recreational, or tribal sustenance fisheries
West Enfield
Underused state of the art upstream fish passage
Howland
Old Town Orono Bangor
Penobscot River Bucksport
Little if any passage of shad, alewife, blueback herring, striped bass, sturgeon, smelt, and tomcod, impaired passage of eels
Existing Access for Sea-Run Fish
Restored of Restored use ofuse upriver upriver spawning spawning habitat for habitat foralewife, salmon, salmon, shad, shad, alewife, blueback herring, and eels blueback herring, and eels
Mattawamkeag River Mattawamkeag River
River Pleasant River Pleasant
Piscataquis River Piscataquis River
Restored commercial, recreational, and tribal sustenance fisheries
West WestEnfield Enfield Howland Howland
Orono Bangor Bangor
Old OldTown Town Orono
PenobscotRiver River Penobscot Bucksport Bucksport
State of the art passage for salmon, alewife, shad, blueback herring, and eels
Full restoration of historical habitat and access for salmon, shad, alewife, blueback herring, eel, striped bass, sturgeon, smelt, and tomcod
Significantly Improved Access for Sea-Run Fish to Nearly 1,000 Miles
Photo by Monty Rand
Great Work Dam removal – Summer 2012
Photo by R.W. Estella
Veazie Dam Breach Event – July 22, 2013
Photo by R.W. Estella
Veazie Site -‐ December 2013
AquaTc Science Associates • Boyle Associates • Biodrawversity • CES • Cianbro CorporaTon • Kleinschmidt Associates • Milone & MacBroom • R.F. Jordan & Sons ConstrucTon • Sargent CorporaTon • Sewall • Stantec • Sullivan and Merri[ Constructors • S.W. Cole Summit Environmental • University of Maine • USM • Wright-‐Pierce
Howland Dam – Fish bypass construcBon planned for 2014
EffecBveness Monitoring Studies • Fish migraTon and habitat use
Ø adult ATS upstream passage at dams Ø ATS smolt downstream passage at dams Ø sturgeon habitat use Ø diadromous fish biomass flux via hydroacousTcs
• Fish community structure (IBI) • Riverine and marine ecosystem response Ø Riparian wetland response Ø Marine-‐freshwater food web linkages
• Water quality and benthic macro invertebrates • Channel and floodplain physical response ü Each has 2-3 years of pre-removal data collection ü Some have comparable baseline data further back
Using PIT Telemetry to Track Adult Salmon J. Zydlewski, D. B. Sigourney U.S. Geological Survey, Maine CooperaTve Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Maine
QuanBfying the Structure of Fish Assemblages in the Penobscot River S. M. Coghlan Jr. et al. Dept. of Wildlife Ecology University of Maine
AcousBcally Tagged AtlanBc Salmon Smolt Survival in the Penobscot River and Estuary 201-‐2011 J. Zydlewski and D. STtch Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine/U.S. Geological Survey, Maine CooperaTve Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Shortnose Sturgeon on the Penobscot River G. Zydlewski et al. School of Marine Sciences and School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine/ U.S. Geological Survey, Maine CooperaTve Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Using Stable Isotopes to Assess Freshwater and Marine Food Web Change K. Wilson Dept. of Environmental Science, Univ. of Southern Maine & G. Sherwood Gulf of Maine Research InsTtute
SONAR Sampling to Understand Changes in Penobscot River Fish Community Dynamics G. Zydlewski, J. Zydlewski, P. Erbland School of Marine Sciences and School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine/U.S. Geological Survey, Maine CooperaTve Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Pre-‐dam Removal Geomorphic Monitoring A. Kelley, D. Belknap, A. Heller Dept. of Earth Sciences and Climate Change InsTtute, University of Maine
Benthic Macro Invertebrates & Water Quality Monitoring D. H. Kusnierz t al. Penobscot Indian NaTon Water Resources Program
Acknowledgements - Monitoring Barbara Arter John Banks Charlie Baeder Dan Belknap Arum Calhoun Steve Coghlan Ma[ Collins Blaine Copp Oliver Cox David Hart Alice Kelley John Kocik Blaine Kopp Brandon Kulick Dan Kusnierz Dan McCaw Jeff Murphy Jeff Reardon Josh Royte Rory Saunders Catherine Schmidt Tim Sheehan Joan Trial Tara Trinko Lake Karen Wilson Gayle Zydlewski Joe Zydlewski
Penobscot River Restoration Trust
Partnership projects in Maine’s headwaters
Photos courtesy of ASF
Davis-‐Holbrook Pond Fishway
Pushaw Lake Fishway Photos courtesy of ASF
MaVamisconBs Lake
www.penobscotriver.org www.facebook.com/PenobscotRiver
