Archives for Union River

Talk of the Towns 5/10/19: The Abbe Museum and the Road to De-Colonization

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Key discussion points:

How has the Abbe board, staff and stakeholders used your strategic planning process to better define the direction and aspirations for the Abbe

What is “decolonization” and how have you worked on that at the Abbe?

What differences might we see and feel in a museum that is down the road with decolonization?

The Abbe has been at the forefront of decolonization… what responses are most gratifying as you work with colleagues around the world?

One aspect of your strategic plan, and your efforts toward decolonization is the upcoming Abbe Museum Indian Market on May 17-19 in Bar Harbor.

What is the history of Indian Markets, including the earliest sales by Native Americans to summer visitors to Mount Desert Island up to the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market in Phoenix… is the Abbe an East Coast echo to the Heard event?  ?

Guests:

Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, President and CEO, Abbe Museum

Gabriel Frey, Abbe Board member, Passamaquoddy Basket Maker

Suzanne Greenlaw, Abbe Native Advisory Council, Maliseet Tribe, Doctoral Candidate, UMaine, research on sustainable harvest of sweetgrass, basketmaker

 

Talk of the Towns 4/12/19

The Union River and Relicensing for Electrical Generation

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Engineer: Joel Mann

What do we know about the ecology and history of the Union River and its watershed?

What do we know about the current use of the Union River to generate electricity?

What concerns have your organizations focused on as part of the relicensing process?
Fish passage (alewives, eels, salmon, etc)
Water level changes and sedimentation at Graham Lake
Recreational use of the river

What concerns have been expressed by others (City of Ellsworth, property owners along Leonard Lake, alewife harvesters, etc.?

What are the various scenarios that you see developing… whether or not there is a renewed license? Fish passage, dam removal, water level control on Graham Lake?

Guests:

Dwayne Shaw, Executive Director, Downeast Salmon Federation
Brad Perry, Friends of Graham Lake
Mark Whiting, retired biologist, Maine DEP

Talk of the Towns 7/10/15

Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Studio Engineer: Joel Mann

Issue: Community concerns and opportunities

Program Topic: The Union River, Fish and Dams

Key Discussion Points:

1. The Watershed

What is the watershed of the Union River, and how does it serve/impact the region?

What do we know about fish in the Union River—historical and present?

First dams for sawmills and other industry, later for electric power

2. Current dams and purposes

? What is the current ownership of the dams on the Union River… what do we know about

Brookfield Power and its economic goals for the Union River?

? How much power is being generated on the Union River, and how important is this as part of our

overall energy mix in Maine and the overall power grid?

? How important is the Ellsworth Dam to current flood control?

3. Alewives

From colonial times, alewives were allowed to be managed at the local level… what measures do the City

of Ellsworth and it’s partners use to manage alewife populations and catch… explain the trap and truck

process, who is involved, what is accomplished, what are the drawbacks?

What is the significance of Alewives to the Passamaquoddy people, and importance of removing barriers,

on the St Croix river and elsewhere… what work/fisheries research on behalf of the Passamaquoddy Tribe

connects with the Downeast Fisheries Partnership and others

4. Relicensing

? What agencies have oversight of dams and what do they monitor?

? What specifically is the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and what is

the process they are using to consider a request to relicense the dam on the Union River for

electrical power generation?

? Besides the current owner, Brookfield Power, who else is involved in relicensing?

? What factors are likely to be considered in the relicensing process? (power generation, fish

passage, environmental impacts, property values on river and lakes?)

? What are some of the likely points of contention, around fish passage up and down the river,

around water levels in Graham Lake, etc.

5. Wrapping Up

? What is the process going forward and how can citizens learn more?

? What hopes do you have for what happens on and around the Union River as a result of the

relicensing process?

Guests:

Dwayne Shaw, Downeast Salmon Federation

Morris Lambden, Union Salmon Association

Anne Hayden, Downeast Fisheries Partnership

Edward Basset, Sipayik Environmental Department Pleasant Point Reservation,

Alewives, eels, salmon, other species? (life cycles, etc.)

Passamaquoddy Tribe