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Presumpscot River Deal Sours Nonprofit Relations

February 26, 2008 - SEBAGO LAKE -- A meeting Thursday, Feb. 28, in South Portland to take public comments about a Presumpscot River use compromise may also signal the end of a partnership between two water-protection groups in the Lakes Region.

The public is invited to gather to comment on a preliminary agreement reached between Friends of the Presumpscot River, Sappi Fine Paper North America and the Maine Department of Marine Resources that outlining plans for Sappi to remove its Cumberland Mills hydroelectric dam and build fish passages for the next four dams on the river. This will allow fish to migrate to most of the Presumpscot River from the Atlantic Ocean.

Also included in the agreement are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the nonprofit group American Rivers Inc.

Not included in the deal, however, is the Friends of Sebago Lake advocacy group. Roger Wheeler of the Friends of Sebago Lake said the proposed deal won't bring back Atlantic salmon to Sebago Lake or lower the water level, as his group has been seeking for 18 years.

"We even helped Friends of the Presumpscot," said Wheeler, from sharing advice to donating money. "And we got this in returns. Gee thanks."

And now the two groups aren't speaking to one another.

"They offered to come talk to our board of directors, but our board of directors didn't want to talk to them," said Wheeler

"We offered to sit down and discuss what we did and why we agreed to it," said Dusti Faucher, president of the Friends of the Presumpscot River.

The meeting will be from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Wyndham Hotel on Maine Mall Road in South Portland. It will allow people from the public to come and make comments about the deal. Wheeler said he intends to come and doesn't feel enough effort has been made to inform the public of the meeting.

In June 2007, the preliminary agreement was released to the public. Pat Keliher, director of the Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat, which is part of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, said next week's public meeting is a legal requirement before the preliminary agreement between Sappi and Friends of the Presumpscot River can be finalized.

The Presumpscot River flows out of Sebago Lake in Windham to the ocean and had been used historically by Atlantic salmon to reach Sebago Lake where they were caught by fisherman. That changed around 1907 when a dams were built that blocked fish migration.

Wheeler said salmon once flourished in Sebago Lake, but a number of factors contributed to their demise.

"You've got the greed of dam owners, greed of the fishermen, you've got the politicians who are too scared to do anything, and the fish suffered," he said.

"I don't think you'll ever get it back to the way it was in nature, but you can go a long way," said Wheeler.

"It has been 100 and some years since we have had Atlantic salmon in the Presumpscot," said Faucher. She said the plan will bring a lot of other fish back to the river for people to fish.

After the 2002 removal of the Smelt Hill Dam in Falmouth, there are eight dams on the Presumpscot River. The dams are owned by Sappi and all except the Cumberland Mills dam generate hydroelectricity.

Brooke Carey, who handles public relations for Sappi, declined to answer any questions regarding the agreement and meeting unless they were submitted in advance.

Wheeler said that Sappi has used its dams to raise the water level of Sebago Lake since 1987 and taken away its sandy beaches.

Some Standish residents, however, said the water level was too low this past summer.

"We're really disturbed about the water level last year," said Becky Lamb. She and her husband have lived on Whites Point Road for 16 years. She said this summer they weren't able to operate their boat lift because of the water level.

"I can't say it's been drastically life-altering," said Lori Kerschbaum. Her house overlooks the lake and she said she and her husband weren't able to take their jet ski on land because of the low level.

Faucher said the water level is a separate issue and is unrelated to her organization's deal with Sappi and the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

SOURCE: KeepMECurrent.com

DATE: 02-21-2008


Lakes: Sebago Lake
Regions: Sebago


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