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One of my first assignments as a beat reporter for The Ellsworth American was to cover a hearing on the future of two dams on the Union River in Ellsworth. The meeting was held on a Wednesday night in early April in the high school auditorium, and I was expecting a fairly run-of-the-mill evening.

It was anything but. More than 200 residents turned out to hear representatives from the dams' owner, Brookfield Renewable, and representatives from state agencies.

The discussion was heated: one resident, upset over Brookfield's management of fish passage at the dams, jumped up and yelled “You lie!" while pointing at the stage. Property owners on the lake created by the dams who once had waterfront told stories about dragging their canoes and kayaks over a quarter mile of mudflats to reach the water, blaming Brookfield for dramatic fluctuations in water levels. The representative from Brookfield blamed the fluctuations on periods of drought.

There are hundreds of regulated dams in Maine. Many are still actively generating electricity: around half of Maine’s renewable energy was produced by hydropower last year. 

For months now, The Monitor’s Environmental Reporter Emmett Gartner has been examining these issues, digging through dense federal filings, spending hours on the phone with experts and officials and speaking with people from Bucksport to Dover-Foxcroft to understand how they’re thinking about the future of the dams in their communities.

In a series of stories over the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring these questions and more.

One last note: like all Monitor journalism, these stories will be free to read and free for other outlets to republish. As a nonprofit newsroom without a paywall, that is only possible because of the generous support of our readers.

We need to raise $150,000 by December 31st to make sure we can keep this work going. If you are able, I would ask that you consider making a donation in support of the work that Emmett and all of our journalists do every day. You are the reason we can do what we do.

Thank you, as always.

— Kate

Maine dams face an uncertain future

Hydropower accounts for roughly half of the renewable energy generated in Maine. In the first in a series of stories on dams in Maine, we explore the history of these imposing structures, how they've shaped the communities around them and what might happen as they are retired or removed.

Read this story by Emmett Gartner

Sanford looks to restrict needle exchange with emergency ordinance: Restricting syringe service programs to a 1:1 exchange would be “detrimental” to public health, Maine CDC director says. Read this story by Emily Bader

Who donated to Jared Golden and Austin Theriault?: A Maine Monitor analysis of FEC data finds the majority of Golden’s individual contributions came from out of state, while Theriault’s were more evenly split. Read this story by Emily Bader

The carbon footprint of your pantry: It isn’t transportation or processing of most foods that makes a difference, but production and associated land use. Read this story by Kate Cough

A conversation about what will happen to Scarborough Marsh: Monitor Editor Kate Cough and Steve Pinette, a leader in efforts to protect Scarborough Marsh, talk to host Kristina Egan about marsh restoration in Maine. Listen to this podcast from WMPG

Maine has no testing requirement for medical cannabis. Public health advocates want that to change.

As new legislation regulating marijuana takes effect, the debate about whether and how to mandate testing and potency limits for medical cannabis continues.

Read this story by Rose Lundy 

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.