Penobscot County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine, named for the Penobscot people in Wabanakik. As of the 2020 census, the population was 152,199, making it the third-most-populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Bangor. The county was established on February 15, 1816, from part of Hancock County when the area was still part of Massachusetts. Penobscot County is home to the University of Maine.
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's third-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Bangor is known as the “Queen City.”
Veazie is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,814 at the 2020 census. The town is named after General Samuel Veazie, an early lumber baron and railroad operator. Veazie was originally part of Bangor, using Penobscot River water power to operate sawmills. It became a separate town in 1853 because Gen. Veazie, its wealthiest citizen, thought Bangor's property taxes were too high.
The Penobscot River is a 109-mile-long (175 km) river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to 264 miles (425 km), making it the second-longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains 8,610 square miles (22,300 km2).
The Waldo–Hancock Bridge was the first long-span suspension bridge erected in Maine, as well as the first permanent bridge across the Penobscot River downstream from Bangor. The name comes from connecting Waldo and Hancock counties. The bridge was built in 1931 and retired in 2006, when the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge was opened just a few yards away, and it was demolished in 2013.
Condit Hydroelectric Project was a development on the White Salmon River in the U.S. state of Washington. It was completed in 1913 to provide electrical power for local industry, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an engineering and architecture landmark.
The Penobscot Narrows Bridge is a 2,120-foot-long (650 m) cable-stayed bridge that carries US 1/SR 3 over the Penobscot River. It connects Verona Island to Prospect, in the U.S. state of Maine. It opened in December 2006, replacing the Waldo–Hancock Bridge, built in 1931.
Dam removal is the process of demolishing a dam, returning water flow to the river. Arguments for dam removal consider whether their negative effects outweigh their benefits. The benefits of dams include hydropower production, flood control, irrigation, and navigation. Negative effects of dams include environmental degradation, such as reduced primary productivity, loss of biodiversity, and declines in native species; some negative effects worsen as dams age, like structural weakness, reduced safety, sediment accumulation, and high maintenance expense. The rate of dam removals in the United States has increased over time, in part driven by dam age. As of 1996, 5,000 large dams around the world were more than 50 years old. In 2020, 85% percent of dams in the United States are more than 50 years old. In the United States roughly 900 dams were removed between 1990 and 2015, and by 2015, the rate was 50 to 60 per year. France and Canada have also completed significant removal projects. Japan's first removal, of the Arase Dam on the Kuma River, began in 2012 and was completed in 2017. A number of major dam removal projects have been motivated by environmental goals, particularly restoration of river habitat, native fish, and unique geomorphological features. For example, fish restoration motivated the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration and the dam removal on the river Allier, while recovery of both native fish and of travertine deposition motivated the restoration of Fossil Creek.
The Great Works Dam was a dam on the Penobscot River between Old Town and Bradley in Penobscot County, Maine, USA. The original Great Works Dam was constructed in the 1830s and replaced between 1887 and 1900. The dam was originally owned by the Penobscot Chemical Fibre Company and was acquired by Diamond International Corporation in 1968 along with the adjacent mill. The dam and powerhouse were sold several more times, and in 2010 the Penobscot River Restoration Trust bought the dam from PPL Corporation based on an agreement that was signed in 2004. On June 11, 2012, deconstruction of the dam began as a part of an extensive project involving four dams to restore eleven species of sea-run fish to the Penobscot River.
The Milford Dam is a dam on the Penobscot River between Old Town and Milford in Penobscot County, Maine. The dam will receive a new fish lift as a part of an extensive project involving four dams to restore eleven species of sea-run fish to the Penobscot River. The Great Works Dam was removed in 2012 and was just downstream of the Milford Dam. The dam's power plant has an 8 MW installed capacity.
The Howland Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Piscataquis River at its confluence with the Penobscot River in Howland, Penobscot County, Maine, USA. The Howland Dam was purchased by the Penobscot River Restoration Trust in 2010 from PPL Corporation, formerly Pennsylvania Power and Light, under an agreement reached several years earlier. A fish bypass was constructed around the dam in 2015.
The Stillwater Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Stillwater River in Old Town north of downtown Orono in Penobscot County, Maine. As a part of the Penobscot River restoration and the removal of the Great Works and Veazie dams, the Stillwater Dam and the Orono Dam will be upgraded to maintain previous levels of power generation.
The Orono Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Stillwater River at its confluence with the Penobscot River in Orono, Penobscot County, Maine. As a part of the Penobscot River restoration and the removal of the Great Works and Veazie dams, the Orono Dam and Stillwater Dam will be upgraded to maintain previous levels of power generation.
The West Enfield Dam, also known as the Stanford Dam, is a hydroelectric dam on the Penobscot River just above its confluence with the Piscataquis River between the towns of Enfield and Howland in Penobscot County, Maine, USA.The dam actually traverses a thin strip of the territory of the Penobscot Indian Island Reservation. The dam has a fish passage. Its power plant has an 13 MW installed capacity.
Ripogenus Gorge is a rock-walled canyon formed where the West Branch Penobscot River crosses the Caribou Lake anticline. Ripogenus Falls controlled discharge from Ripogenus Lake until Ripogenus Dam was completed at the upstream end of the gorge in 1916. The dam forms a hydroelectric reservoir raising the level of Ripogenus Lake to include the upstream Chesuncook Lake, Caribou Lake, and Moose Pond. The resulting reservoir is often identified by the name of the largest included lake: Chesuncook. The gorge provides an unusual exposure of Maine North Woods bedrock typically covered by saturated glacial till. The Silurian Ripogenus Formation of weakly metamorphosed shallow marine siliciclastics and fossiliferous limestone has been described from investigation of the gorge.
The Ellsworth Power House and Dam is a hydroelectric power generation facility on the Union River in Ellsworth, Maine. The dam, located just north of downtown Ellsworth, is also known as the Union River Dam, and impounds the river to create Leonard Lake, named for project's engineer, James Leonard. The powerhouse is a Renaissance Revival building located at the western end of the dam. The power plant, built in 1907, was one of the first peaking power plants built in the state, and the hollow concrete dam is one of the highest hollow buttress dams ever built, having been described as "the highest power dam in New England" in 1928. The facility was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, where it is currently listed.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) is a Maine-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with offices in Augusta, Maine. Founded in 1959 as a small, volunteer-based environmental advocacy group, NRCM has grown to be Maine's largest environmental advocacy organization, with more than 25,000 supporters and activists and a staff of 28, including science and policy experts.
The Eddington Bend Site, designated Site 74-8 by the Maine Archaeological Survey, is a prehistoric archaeological site in Eddington, Maine. Located near the banks of the Penobscot River, the site includes both evidence of habitation, and of funerary remains. The stratified site has dated elements as old as 3,000 BCE, and undated finds that are probably older. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Klamath River Hydroelectric Project is a series of hydroelectric dams and other facilities on the mainstem of the Klamath River, in a watershed on both sides of the California/Oregon border.
