e dams destruction. The EIS concluded that only the removal of the Edwards Dam could restore the natural habitats and environs of the Kennebec River, and that even the most expensive state-of-the-art fish passages would not provide adequate circumstances for the preservation of the rivers aquatic populations(Duane,Morris&Hecksher,Dec.1997).There are a number of environmental advantages that would occur upon decommissioning the Edwards Dam, most notably the rejuvenation of fish populations and the resulting increase in numbers of the osprey and bald eagles which feed upon them. Historically, the Kennebec River provided extensive top-quality breeding grounds for all ten species of anadromous fish native to the northeastern U.S., a distinction that the Kennebec River alone could boast of. Anadromous fish make their home in the ocean but embark upon the tough journey upstream once a year to lay their eggs. Since the erection of the Edwards Dam in 1837, and the subsequent construction of more than a hundred dams upstream of the Edwards, these fish have been effectively blocked off from prime spawning grounds. The removal of the dam would open up fifteen miles of these grounds, seventeen miles total before encountering the next obstruction, making this the longest uninterrupted stretch of high quality breeding grounds north of the Hudson River (Howe,1998). The possibility of freeing such a considerable amount of breeding grounds had conservationists up in arms over the matter of renewing the operation license of the Edwards Manufacturing Company. The species of fish that would utilize these grounds are alewives, American shad, Atlantic salmon, striped bass, rainbow smelt, Atlantic sturgeon, and shortnose sturgeon. In the fairly recent past the populations of all these species have been decimated to a critical point, and have been even more drastically reduced if compared to the numbers of fish before the dam was built; the shortnose s...
