The last wild Atlantic salmon in the U.S. can coexist with dams

The salmon, once abundant in the U.S., now return to only a few Maine rivers. One is the Kennebec River, dammed by Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday that the dams are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the salmon if conservation measures are taken. Conservation measures along Brookfield’s four Kennebec dams are designed to improve fish passages and will require an investment of more than $100 million by Brookfield, NOAA said. The dam upgrades would allow the salmon to swim up the Kennebec from the Atlantic Ocean to freshwater inland habitats for the first time since the construction of the dams in the 19th century, the agency said. The agency reviewed the dams because Brookfield is seeking to relicense one of them and amend the licenses for three others, said NOAA spokesperson Allison Ferreira. NOAA said in a statement that it will “oversee an extensive monitoring program to ensure that the dams ...