Veazie Dam Removal Date Set

It will be a historic day in Veazie as the Penobscot River will flow freely once again.

The date is set for Monday, July 22nd. The initial breaching of the dam, spanning from Veazie to Eddington, is another significant step forward in cleaning up the Penobscot River.

Once the century-old dam is removed, the Penobscot River Trust says there will lots of benefits to the wildlife in the river. Once removed, it will restore 225 acres of in-stream habitat and 65 acres of stream-side habitat. It also enhances the functionality and connectivity to 188,000 acres of wetland habitats for the endangered Atlantic Salmon, endangered shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon, as well as eight other fish species.

Once the dam is removed and the Howland dam is bypassed, sea-run fish friends will have access to more than 1,000 miles of up-stream habitat that has been closed off for more than a century.

The event kicks off with a ceremony and news conference at 10AM followed by a community barbecue. In the afternoon, folks can check out some of the important sites in the river restoration like the site of the former Great Works dam, the new fishway at the Maine Forest and Logging Museum at Leonard's Mill, a fishway at Blackman Stream and a tributary to the Penobscot. In addition, Riverview Park will have music, children's activities, food and more.

The removal project could last into next summer.