The Chewonki Foundation has successfully completed Phase Two of the Montsweag Brook Restoration Project. Primary goals of the project are to restore riparian habitat and re-establish fish passage in lower Montsweag Brook in Wiscasset and Woolwich. The project is designed to benefit target fish species including alewives, sea-run brook trout, and American eel.
Shaw Brothers Construction, of Gorham, used heavy equipment to demolish and remove Lower Montsweag Brook Dam, which was built in 1968 by Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company and which flooded approximately 20 acres of riparian habitat. No blasting was necessary and the demolition proceeded smoothly from early September through early November.
Erosion control measures including seeding and woody plantings were implemented in areas disturbed by the demolition activities to minimize transport of soils and sediments into the brook.
“We’re pleased with the level of vegetation already established in the former impoundment, and expect that by spring 2011 the entire site will be greened up,” Project Manager Dan Creek said. “Chewonki will continue to monitor potential erosion of disturbed areas for at least three years and will install further control measures as necessary, and as required by permit with the Corps of Engineers.”
Time-lapse videos of the demolition work and revegetation of the impoundment are available at http://www.chewonki.org/about/montsweag_youtube.asp.
Chewonki has also initiated long-term monitoring of lower Montsweag Brook, tracking progress of the restoration via parameters such as water quality, geomorphology, macro-invertebrate populations, riparian vegetation, and fish passage. Students from Chewonki Semester School and Wiscasset Middle School have been involved with collection of field data, and Chewonki plans to expand hands-on learning opportunities to other local schools.
Further project work includes an interactive website that allows visitors to view project photos and videos, and to analyze restoration data. Further information about the project can be found at www.chewonki.org/about/montsweag.
The project has been funded by The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, American Rivers, the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program, the Davis Conservation Foundation, and Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company.
