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Benefits of a Dam at Scribner's Mill Not Sufficient

September 24, 2008 - It is the laudable goal of any historic preservation effort to present an example from the past that is as authentic as possible. No doubt, that is what Scribner's Mills Preservation wants with its application to build a dam on the Crooked River in Harrison.

But those good intentions have come against very real and modern concerns about the health of the river and its role preserving landlocked salmon in Sebago Lake.

The historic group, operating a sawmill museum along the river, would like to rebuild the dam that once stood on the site and use it just as the old mill did. The river would be harnessed mechanically – not for electricity generation – to demonstrate how logs were cut before the Industrial Revolution. That would be fascinating to see, and it would give Scribner's Mill a degree of authenticity that most historians would applaud.

But the competing arguments for not building the dam are compelling, and the Department of Environmental Protection should deny the application now before it to rebuild the dam at Scribner's Mill.

Most of the Crooked River is classified as AA, meaning it is among the cleanest streams in the state. Dams are simply not allowed on any section of a river classified that way, but in this case a portion of the river is at a lower standard. It happens that the mill is on this portion.

The Board of Environmental Protection is now considering upgrading the whole Crooked River to AA, an action that wouldn't stop the pending dam application because it would be grandfathered.

But the DEP has plenty of reason to turn down this application. Damming the river anew will harm salmon spawning and be detrimental to Sebago Lake's largest tributary. That, in turn, could have an impact on the Portland Water District, which draws from the lake.

Historic preservation is important, but keeping the Crooked free of this dam is the greater public good.

Sunday September 21st, 2008

Maine Sunday Telegram editorial


Lakes: Sebago Lake
Regions: Sebago


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