On June 30, 2017, Penobscot Nation v. Mills came to its legal rest in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. Justices ruled in favor of the government of Maine, deciding that the Penobscot River is not included in reservation territory. They also ruled that the Penobscot Nation did not have jurisdiction over the waters surrounding their island nation, because there was not substantial enough threat to their subsistence fishing practices to warrant this. Tribal members were outraged at this decision, but were determined to continue protecting and maintaining a relationship with their ancestral homeland.
However, where legal recourse did not favor the PIN, a powerful group of local non-governmental organizations did. The Penobscot River Restoration Trust (PRRT) is composed of seven conservationist groups, PPL Corporation, Black Bear Hydroelectric Company, and the Penobscot Indian Nation. This unprecedented partnership has worked to restore the Penobscot River by removing the many dams that obstruct the flow of the river.
In 2007, the PRRT successfully fundraised $25 million dollars, enough to purchase the Great Works, Veazie, and Howland Dams. This began a process in which the PRRT gained the legal licenses over the dams to remove each. Under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), PRRT confirmed with the State Historic Preservation Officer that none of the dams qualified as Historic Places for the National Register in May 2008. Then, under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), PRRT confirmed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that removal of the dams would have no significant negative impact on the environment. In May 2010, FERC completed an Environmental Assessment which addressed the cultural importance of the Penobscot River to the Penobscot Nation and proposed that two of the three major dams be removed. Finally, on December 17, 2010, the Penobscot River Restoration Trust officially purchased all three dams and their licenses.
From this point on, the Trust would attempt to balance the power of the hydroelectric power companies and the natural environment of the river. A 2011 study in Ecology and Society analyzed the future effects on the 11 core fish species in the Penobscot River as a result of the dam removals. Atlantic salmon were expected to grow from a population of 2,000 to 12,000. They were expected to have improved access to 5148 km for a total of 6893 km, or 60% of their historic range. However, to those involved in the hydropower industry, the expected improvements of salmon count were trivial. The project faced some opposition from companies concerned that the project “could have significant consequences for non-Indian waste discharge licensees discharging into the river or its tributaries.”
Despite the opposition, the PRRT has made great headway in restoring the river. By the end of 2012, the Great Works Dam was completely removed. In 2013, the Veazie Dam was removed as well.
Today is truly historic. The Veazie Dam has been the biggest obstruction. This is also historically a very significant place for the Penobscots. We had an encampment and villages here and there’s a huge archeological site here, so we’re just beside ourselves that we’ve reached this kind of care and we’re bringing this river back to its health and vitality and its natural state. We’re excited for the day when we can have salmon again in our ceremonies and get people eating them and focusing on the traditional practice that sustained us for so many years”
Chief Kirk Francis, 2013
Wendi Weiber, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region Director added, “For the first time in 150 years, the Atlantic salmon run will naturally reach the Penobscot Indian Nation’s ancient fishing grounds on the river that bears their name.” Finally, in 2017, the PRRT completed a bypass channel around the Howland Dam to allow fish migration and improve river flow.
