Just a decade ago, you’d have been hard-pressed to find an alewife in much of the Penobscot River. Nowadays, thanks to river restoration, fish passage work and a stocking effort, there are hundreds of thousands of the fish making their way to their natal ponds, where they’ll spawn the next generation. Last week I met up with Department of Marine Resources biologist Richard Dill to update a story I wrote a year ago. Watching hundreds of fish work their way up Blackman Stream is pretty impressive, and the vitality those fish are returning to the entire watershed is awe-inspiring.
— John Holyoke
Bradley Alewife Festival on tap May 30
Ten miles downriver in Bangor, the Penobscot River meanders, wide and proud, showing little evidence of the epic change that’s taking place below the surface.
But up on Blackman Stream, on the grounds of the Maine Forest and Logging Museum, the river’s resurgence is much more obvious. Just look at the delicate staircase of low waterfalls that traces its way upstream. Watch for the splashes. Listen for the slapping of tails.
Then watch as a steady stream of sea-run alewives slither up over that man-made fish ladder on their way to spawning grounds that had been inaccessible for more than 150 years, until 2010.
Maine Winter Sports Center trains community leaders to promote outdoor sports
Educators from the small towns of Greenville, East Millinocket and Danforth traveled to Orono this week to attend Maine Winter Sports Center’s new community instructor workshop, a two-day, hands-on lesson on leading successful outdoor sports programs.
Blog log
George’s Outdoor News: Tick talking is a daily conversation today
“Yesterday Linda came in from gardening with three deer ticks attached. I easily extracted all three using our Tick Off plastic spoon. I had picked four deer ticks off my body that day, all as they moved up my arms and legs. Yes, tick checks are now done routinely every day at our house. These days, when the tick is a wood tick, I am almost relieved.” — George Smith
Act Out with Aislinn: 1-minute hike: B-52 crash site near Moosehead Lake
In observance of Memorial Day, we thought it appropriate to share this hike that Aislinn took two years ago. Thousands of BDN readers have visited this blog post since then, making it one of her most popular hikes.
Maine Matters: No bad time for a campfire breakfast
“Normally our fires are reserved for the evenings but there is something really special about the morning fires. I mean, one can ward off the morning chill as easily as the evening chill, is it not so? And could it not also be that the smell of bacon sizzling over an open flame would provide for me a sense of comfort and an overall feeling of well (baconish) being?” — Mike Webber
On the horizon
BDN Outdoors editor John Holyoke and BDN photo editor Brian Feulner are taking one last stab at bagging a wild turkey this season. Perhaps together, they can come up with something tasty for the table. Meanwhile, BDN Outdoors reporter Aislinn Sarnacki plans to frolic among the flowers at the Land and Garden Preserve on Mount Desert Island. The preserve recently received 1,000-plus acres of land, a donation from the Rockefellers. She wants to see what the place is all about, and maybe she’ll learn a bit about their plans for the donated land.
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