Downeast Salmon Federation will remove Cherryfield dam with $9.1M grant

The Downeast Salmon Federation will use a $9.1 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant to remove an ice retention dam on the Narraguagus River in Cherryfield, according to the group’s assistant director.

The federation has been working with the town of Cherryfield since 2014 to find a solution that works for the endangered Atlantic salmon trying to reach their spawning grounds and the town, which doesn’t want to be vulnerable to spring flooding.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the dam 63 years ago to prevent ice buildup and flooding in other parts of the river. The federation’s proposed nature-like fishway, which is a series of rapids and pools, is not a standard fishway nor a fish ladder. It is unique because it will encompass the entire width of the river, without a side channel.

“It will essentially look like a string of rapids in the river and allow for the passage of all sea-run fish species. It will also keep flood protection intact and allow for the continued harvest of alewives in that location,” said Charlie Foster, associate director of Downeast Salmon Federation.

The federation submitted revisions to its proposal to NOAA and the grant is waiting for final authorization in Congress, which Foster hoped would be just a formality. It should pay for the entire project, barring inflation, he said.

Narraguagus River is in the Downeast Salmon Habitat Recovery Unit, which is one of three regions in Maine designated for restoring salmon habitat. Penobscot Salmon Habitat Recovery  expects $19.9 million and the Merrymeeting Bay Salmon Habitat Recovery Unit, 13.5 million to improve fish passage in their respective areas.

The funding is part of the Water Resources Development Act expected to be finalized by fall. The Narraguagus grant was among seven announced in May, totaling $70.9 million.

Cherryfield residents voted unanimously last fall to allow the federation to pursue having the dam deauthorized by the Army Corps of Engineers. The town’s requirements included that flood protection remain, the headpond elevation stay the same and that the alewife harvest be held at the traditional place in the river.

Now the deauthorization needs an act of Congress before it may proceed.

Once the funds are released, engineers will finish the new fishway’s design, which is about 30 percent done. The group will seek all of the necessary permits in 2025 and hopes construction of the fishway will begin in the summer of 2026.

“We are so thankful for the town. We look forward to working with the town and other partners throughout the course of this project,” he said.