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Waterlines is a publication of the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research at the University of Maine Contents:
PEARL was adopted in 1999 by CEMA, the Council on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment as their future database and information resource. The Mitchell Center is continuing this evolution and expanding PEARL to become the GIS-searchable on-line resource for environmental information in Maine. It currently offers scientists, educators, community organizations, and students the vehicle to find environmental information in one location. The website includes a broad range of features such as information on drinking water, fauna, education, and recreation.
Recently added information includes the loon count from Maine Audubon, boat launch locations, fishing regulations, and distributions of invasive aquatic plants. Upcoming additions include stream hydrography and data from the massive Maine Aquatic Biodiversity Project led by Peter Vaux. We also plan to add more direct connectivity with Molly Schaufler’s MEMAP (Maine Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program), which provides an inventory of the organizations collecting data to be served by PEARL.
PEARL's Partners
PEARL’s Future The ultimate goal is for PEARL to become 'the' environmental information resource for Maine, complementing other outreach and educational functions of the Mitchell Center, such as the annual Maine Water Conference that is already 'the' environmental conference in Maine. New Opportunities for the Mitchell Center and Water Resources Research in Maine Human beings usually resist change, but in reality change is usually healthy and productive. In the example of the opportunistic staff of the Mitchell Center, change has provided the model for our success. We have sought out unfilled niches, and these niches have evolved and expanded though time. From our beginnings as a one staff, three graduate student operation in the Dept. of Geology in 1979, we have evolved from research in sediment chemistry to a wide range of water resources topics ranging from acid rain to zinc; arsenic to buffer zones. Today, we have 8 staff and an astonishing 21 enrolled graduate students. Our former laboratory, in which we funded 86% of the $2M in equipment and facilities, has been spun off into a contract laboratory focusing on organic environmental chemistry. The Mitchell Center will re-focus on our research specialities of lake, stream, and groundwater chemistry, and trace element research, as well as graduate education, and information transfer. Our new lab offers a full range of inorganic and trace metal research capabilities, and while we do not compete with the private sector, we look forward to offering analytical services when we can provide a unique technology not otherwise available. Today, we have the opportunity to build new research laboratories in Norman Smith Hall. Beginning immediately, we are fund-raising for the renovation of this building (we currently occupy half, and will gain the remainder in late 2004), and for stipends for graduate students who will conduct research here. We are seeking corporate partners for naming opportunities. Please contact me if you have a suggestion for partners for the Mitchell Center in this effort (kahl@maine.edu). Steve Kahl THE PENOBSCOT RIVER
RESTORATION PROJECT: Article by Catherine Schmitt In what is being called an unprecedented vision, a coalition of state, federal, tribal, nonprofit, and industry entities plans to restore the Penobscot River ecosystem. The project would open up more than 500 miles of river to native species, enabling fish to reach their natural spawning habitat. The Penobscot River Restoration Project offers an unparalleled opportunity for environmental research and education.
Currently, there are no educational or research institutions involved in the project. The Penobscot River Restoration represents a unique and valuable opportunity for the University of Maine. This project is happening literally in the backyard of the University. Who better to serve as stewards and monitors of the river? Collaboration among scientists in biology, fisheries, ecology, and water resources on this project could place the University at the forefront of ecological restoration research. Background The Penobscot River drains a watershed of 8570 square-miles, almost one-third of the state of Maine. These features make the Penobscot the largest river system in Maine and the second largest in New England. The name Penobscot derives from the Native American word for “waters of descending ledge,” in reference to the tumbling falls of the river along its 1500 foot-descent from its headwaters in the North Woods. The river is tidal to the Veazie dam and carries saltwater as far upstream as Bucksport. The Penobscot is home to the largest remaining Atlantic salmon run in the United States, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The 240 miles of the Penobscot carry a mighty history. The lifeblood of the Penobscot Nation, the river has been a source of food, transportation, and spirituality for Native Americans for thousands of years (Hansen, 1995). After colonization, the river was the primary means of transporting logs out of the North Woods in the 19th century. By 1837, there were 250 sawmills on the Penobscot and its tributaries (Netboy, 1968). The lumber industry reached its peak in the 1870s, when 250 million feet of board timber were shipped out from the Bangor region (Boardman, 1960). Declining numbers of tall white pines and new technology led a transition to pulp and paper manufacturing. Atlantic salmon populations have reflected the boom and bust of the forest products industry. The Penobscot salmon run has decreased from an estimated 50,000 fish to less than 4,000 today. One of the major causes of salmon population declines is the hundreds of dams along the river, which reduce habitat for migration and spawning. Sawdust and woodchips from the logs settled to the river bottom, smothering habitat. Decomposing wood waste consumed oxygen in the water. The mills and other waterfront industries such as tanneries also discharged chemicals to the river. At the same time as the lumber economy was damming and polluting the river, commercial and recreational fishing was further pressuring salmon populations. Fishing was conducted with weirs, drift nets, and pound nets. The fish harvest declined from a peak of 15,000 fish in 1873 to 40 fish in 1947, when commercial fishing for salmon was prohibited. Catch-and-release fishing was suspended in 1999. Though the Penobscot Nation has tribal rights to fish, they have not harvested salmon since 1988 (Butler and Taylor, 1992). The Penobscot River has been the site of salmon restoration for much of the past century. The Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery originated in the late 1800s; the Atlantic Salmon Commission was formed in 1948; the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service named the Penobscot a model restoration river in the late 1960s (Butler and Taylor, 1992). Hatcheries continue to maintain the population, and the University of Maine is a leader in regional fisheries research.  Opportunity for Intensive
Research on the Penobscot
Little is known about the ecological effects of dam removal on riverine ecosystems (Kanehl and Lyons, 1997; Poff, 2002; Stanley et al., 2002; Shafroth et al, 2002). Scientific studies of actual dam removals are scarce (Bednarek, 2001). Although more than 450 dams have been removed in the United States during the last century (AR/FE/TU, 1999), less than 5% of these removals were accompanied by published ecological studies (Hart et al., 2002). The removal of Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in 1999 offered Maine an opportunity to comprehensively study dam removal. The Department of Environmental Protection conducted macroinvertebrate sampling as part of regular statewide sampling that documented an improvement in water quality from Class C to Class B. The USGS classified and mapped riverbed sediments in the Edwards Dam impoundment in 1997. Stone & Webster Environmental Technology & Services also characterized sediments in the impoundment for FERC in 1994. Striped bass, alewives, shad, and even salmon have been reported in the river above the former dam; fisheries are monitored by the Department of Marine Resources. Sampling efforts, however, were not part of any coordinated research or education plan. It would be a great loss for the State of Maine and the University to allow another “unprecedented” and “visionary” restoration — this time on the Penobscot — to happen without appropriate research and study. The growing pressure for dam removal represents a real opportunity for scientists (Poff, 2002). Dam removal is a major, but partially controllable, perturbation that can help scientists test and refine models of complex ecosystems (Hart et al., 2002). After removal of the Edwards Dam, Maine was nationally recognized for our commitment to ecologically restoration. As states around the country consider dam removal, the Nation will once again be looking to Maine as the Penobscot Project begins. It is important that the Penobscot River Restoration Project generate the data and information that will contribute to other restoration efforts world wide. The Penobscot River that once rushed and rose as the snow melted in the spring, then gradually dropped and formed quiet pools in summer, became a series of ponds and lakes controlled by dams to maintain the river’s steady flow (Butler and Taylor, 1992). Removing dams can cause dramatic changes in fluvial processes and channel morphology. The most dramatic effects of dams on fish have been caused by conversion of free-flowing habitats to static flows, blockage of fish movements, and modification of downstream flows, water quality, and habitat (Kanehl and Lyons, 1997). As part of Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Conservation Plan, the Department of Environmental Protection has initially gathered existing water quality data for the Atlantic salmon rivers. Sources of data include the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlantic Salmon Commission, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Maine, consultants for special projects, as well as the Department of Environmental Protection. A research project focusing on dam removal and ecosystem recovery will contribute to current efforts to understand physical and chemical water quality parameters affecting the health of Atlantic salmon. A comprehensive long-term research project on the Penobscot River should encompass both pre- and post-dam removal periods. Research could involve numerous departments, agencies, and organizations and would build on existing salmon research. A long-term research project could potentially evaluate:
AR/FE/TU American Rivers, Friends of the Earth, and Trout Unlimited. 1999. Dam removal success stories: Restoring rivers through selective removal of dams that don’t make sense. Washington, DC. Bednarek, A.T. 2001. Undamming rivers: A review of the ecological impacts of dam removal. Environmental Management 27:803-814. Boardman, S.H. 1960. The lumber industry in the state of Maine. pp. 1224-1243 in The New England States, their Constitutional, Commercial, Professional, and Industrial History. Boston: D.H. Hurd and Co. Butler, J.E., and A. Taylor. 1992. Penobscot River Renaissance. Camden: Silver Quill Press. Hansen, G. 1995. Penobscot: The People and their River. Penobscot Indian Nationa and Acadia Film Video. Hart, D.D., T.E. Johnson, K.L. Bushaw-Newton, R.J. Horwitz, A.T. Bednarek, D.F. Charles, D.A. Kreeger, and D.J. Velinsky. 2002. Dam Removal: Challenges and opportunities for ecological research and river restoration. Bioscience 52:669-681. Kanehl, P.D., and J. Lyons. 1997. Changes in the habitat and fish community of the Milwaukee River, Wisconsin, following removal of the Woolen Mills dam. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 17:387-400. Netboy, A. 1968. The Atlantic Salmon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Penobscot River Restoration Project. 2003. www.penobscotriver.org Pizzuto, J. 2002. Effects of dam removal on river form and process. Bioscience 52:683-691. Poff, N.L., and D.D. Hart. 2002.How dams vary and why it matters for the emerging science of dam removal. Bioscience 52:659-668. Shafroth, P.B., J.M. Friedman, G.T. Auble, M.L. Scott, and J.H. Braatne. 2002. Potential responses of riparian vegetation to dam removal. Bioscience 52:703-712. Stanley, E.H., M.A. Luebke, M.W. Doyle, and D.W. Marshall. 2002. Short-term changes in channel form and macroinvertebrate communities following low-head dam removal. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 21:172-187.
Kirsten’s advisor is Dr. Katherine Webster who is the principal investigator on the study along with Roy Bouchard of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The Need to Define Reference Conditions Lakes in Maine are valuable ecologically, economically, and recreationally. Shoreland zoning regulations were instituted in 1971 by the State of Maine to control development and alterations of lake riparian zones. These regulations control activities within 250 feet of the high water marks of lakes and ponds larger than 10 acres and must be observed by towns. However, the amount of protection provided by these zoning regulations has never been evaluated. This is largely due to a lack of defined reference conditions for lake littoral zones on which to base such evaluations. The focus of Kirsten’s study is to define reference conditions by describing and evaluating factors at the watershed, lake, and site scales that influence the structural complexity of the littoral zone. Such factors include lake position in the watershed, land use patterns, shoreline development, hydrology, morphometry, water chemistry parameters, riparian slope and vegetative cover, and lake fetch. Based on these factors, Kirsten will work to develop expectations for habitat complexity using measurements of coarse woody habitat, macrophyte functional type, and sediment composition. The initial study focus will be small- to moderate-size headwater drainage lakes with little or no shoreline development in an area of uniform geology.
The focus of the field work was to describe the natural littoral zone reference conditions of small lakes. The team chose metrics during the winter/spring of 2003 to be tested during July and August, at the height of maturity for macrophyte communities. Characterization of both the riparian and littoral zones along transects at eight separate sites around each lake were undertaken (see fig. 1). In the littoral zone, the team collected data on macrophyte cover and substrate type along both shoreline and perpendicular transects. They also collected data for course woody debris along or crossing the shoreline transect. Activity traps for capturing invertebrates were set at some sites along the 0.5m depth contour. In the riparian zone, their observations included the percentage cover of various categories of vegetation, percentage cover of overhanging trees/shrubs along the shoreline, and notation of human influences and development. Slope data were collected at each site and an estimate of water level was collected at each lake. Future Project
Direction Kirsten’s final results will be used to develop habitat and biotic metrics to apply to lakes representing a gradient of development intensity. About Kirsten Ness
MAINE WATER CONFERENCE 2004: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Wednesday, April 21, 8am-4pm A general theme for the conference is 'Environmental legacies as a context for emerging issues'. Call for Abstracts
Lake Management Tools and Strategies:
Depending on who you ask and how you count, Maine has between 2000
and 4000 lakes. Each has unique natural and cultural features and
this diversity of settings is reflected also in the many strategies
employed to protect them. In this session, speakers will share tools
and techniques that are being used successfully to monitor, control
and educate residents about the protection of Maine lakes.
Sludge, Groundwater and Toxics: What research is being conducted on sludge application? How often
does it affect groundwater and drinking water? Can it contribute to
high levels of metals in drinking water?
Abstract Information
Oral Abstracts &
Presentations
Poster Abstracts &
Presentations
Submission Alternately, mail 2 printed copies and disk
(IBM compatible) to: Submission Deadlines THE BUZZ AT THE MITCHELL CENTER Vaux to join Mitchell Center
Kahl elected President of NIWR Home Depot donates generator
Board welcomes new members
New students already immersed in
research! Drinking water publications under
revision Waterlines moves to the web If you would like to submit an article for
publication in Waterlines, please contact us at 207/581-3244 or
UMGMC@maine.edu. |
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Work
on PEARL has forged ahead over the summer. Much of this work has
been "behind the scenes" but is visible to PEARL users in data
display, new data download features, a 'browse data sets' function,
updated glossary, and faster loading times. A new server, provided
with funds from
The Penobscot River
Restoration Project
Current Project Status
Riverfronts: a Legacy of Pollution, a
Trend Toward Renewal: Maine’s rivers have served as
industrial conduits and transportation corridors for decades, but we
now tend to view them as tremendous environmental resources that are
directly linked to the quality of life in our state. Odors, water
color, clarity, and overall appearance of the rivers has changed for
the better in recent years, but other environmental concerns, beyond
the obvious, such as historic contamination and now real estate
development, continue to pose challenges to our river systems. Urban
centers naturally developed along the major rivers, so we now face
the challenge of establishing the means by which these two seemingly
contradictory settings can co-exist. In this session a discussion of
these challenges and opportunities will serve to provide a base of
understanding of the unique situation surrounding Maine’s river
fronts.
Doubt About Drought: Are we still
in it? Where does reduced water supply pinch the hardest in Maine?
How are communities coping? What progress has been made on emergency
planning for drought? Is Maine ready for a dry future? What does
drought mean in a humid-temperate zone? 
Maine's Salmon Rivers: The goal
of salmon research is to determine what factors are contributing to
the decline of Atlantic Salmon populations in rivers in Maine.
Current efforts focus on baseline research, large-scale surveys, and
chemical and biological quantification. Major efforts include
extensive analysis of early life stage survival through post smolt
and water chemistry analysis. Future work will continue to focus on
smolt survival and chemical variation in Maine's Salmon rivers. 
Roundtable: What's in the Legislature?:
A facilitated discussion of current issues in the
legislature; who's testifying for what this session; what are our
state legislators hearing and from whom; on what issues do they need
more information; how can science address policy needs; how can
policy makers address science and public needs?
Nelson
receives Canon award
Faster, more efficient PEARL
Temporary lab space completed in Holmes
Hall
