Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday a plan to invest millions of dollars into projects aimed at supporting Maine’s sea-run fish species.
The $3.7 million in grants will help fund a dozen projects across the state, including the construction of fishways and the removal of obsolete dams, the administration said. The grants, funded through Mills’ Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, will supplement federal dollars also earmarked to support sea-run fish species, which spend part of their lives in fresh water and a part in the ocean.
“These projects will have widespread and long-lasting benefits for these communities and for Maine’s vital sea-run species that support our state’s economy and sustain the health of our marine and inland ecosystems,” said Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources.
Projects in 10 Maine counties will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to over $1 million.
Just over $1 million in state funding will go to Alden Labs, which is partnering with Woodland Pulp to design and build four fishways on the St. Croix River. The project will improve access to over 600 miles of habitat and support the migration of up to 20 million river herring annually, according to the announcement.
Efforts to construct a fishway and repair the dam on Branch Pond in Palermo and to replace the tidal crossing over Old Ferry Marsh will each receive about half a million dollars from the state.
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