Maine’s Penobscot River will come one step closer to flowing freely into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in almost 200 years on Monday, when authorities begin the process of dismantling the hydroelectric Veazie Dam. Contractors will begin taking out the 830-foot concrete structure at 10 a.m., following a press conference and a ceremony presided over by an elder from the Penobscot Indian Nation.
The removal, organized by the Penobscot River Restoration Trust, has been in the works for 14 years, since Pennsylvania-based PPL Corporation bought the Veazie and several other dams on the Penobscot.
In 2012, the Penobscot River Restoration Trust spearheaded the removal of the Great Works Dam, between Old Town and Bradley, Maine. The group hopes that the removal of the Veazie will open the way for the 11 species of ocean fish that use spawning grounds in the river to return.