Maine removed major dams and river herring have returned in a big way

In this week's Maine Sunday Telegram, I wrote about the continuing recovery of river herring -- alewives and blueback erring -- in Maine rivers after the removal of major dams and other obstructions in recent years.

The Kennebec has seen the biggest run -- 3.8 million fish -- of the post-dam era, and the St. Croix has set a 20 year record after a legislative sentence against the forage fish was repealed a few years ago.

I've written on alewives quite a few times over the years, starting with the epic argument over the St. Croix fish passages. My Press Herald colleague Kevin Miller had this overview of the effort to remove the dams a couple of years back.