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AUBURN – The Lower Barker Mill Dam has been licensed after a six-year effort by the city, Androscoggin Land Trust, National Park Service, Bates College, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, American Whitewater, Trout Unlimited, Atlantic Salmon Federation and many federal and state fisheries related agencies and others.
The biggest benefit of this is increased recreation opportunities for the public, those involved said.
“The recreation potential this brings to Auburn is the ‘big win,'” said Eric Cousens, Auburn deputy director of economic and community development. “Auburn’s Comprehensive Plan and Strategic Plan place high priority on river access and recreation as a way to attract new residents and visitors and improve the overall quality of life for those who call Auburn their home.”
The license allows the potential for up to five annual recreation flow releases, each up to five hours long. This will enhance whitewater boating opportunities and open the door for new creative, adventure-based city events.
Other potential recreation enhancements include improvements to the informal hand-carry boat launch and foot trail leading to the bypassed reach, signs for the boat launch and trail, designated parking, maintenance of the portion of the Barker Mill Trail that serves as a portage route around the project dam, and automated calculation of stream flows using real-time flow data, which will be published to a public website to help inform recreation users of current conditions for boating and fishing.
Minimum flows will increase, which will enhance fishing and recreational opportunities during the summer and provide suitable flows for resident and migrating fish that are present at certain times of the year.
Downstream fish passage improvements and upstream eel passage are expected by the summer of 2021, as well as an upstream salmon and alewife passage by 2024.
“This is a great improvement, especially for migrating alewives from Taylor Pond,” said Cousens. “Although it goes unnoticed by most, there are a few rainy nights in June that eels, sometimes in large numbers, make their way over and around the urban dam from the Sargasso Sea to return to their parents’ home rivers and lakes until they are ready to spawn and make the trip back to their birthplace.”
“The city’s ability to secure these recreational enhancements through the licensing process is a testament to the exceptional competency of Auburn’s city staff and the dedication of many community partners,” said Dana Little, board president for the Androscoggin Land Trust. “Through ALT’s 30 years of conservation work, we have learned that connecting people to the natural spaces around us is a critical component of developing a healthy community and sustainable environment for tomorrow.”
The land trust’s work in downtown Auburn and Lewiston has focused on connecting people to the River, Little said. “And the Little Androscoggin, together with the Barker Mill Trail, has proven to be a valuable asset for local paddlers, walkers and fishermen alike. The recreational opportunities realized through this work will help to ensure that future generations can explore and play in the great outdoors, without regard to their economic status or ability to travel.”
The license requires KEI Power Management, Inc. (lessee of the dam) to develop a recreation plan that includes conceptual drawings and descriptions of the proposed improvements; a schedule for maintaining the Barker Mill Trail where it parallels the project impoundment to below the dam; a schedule for providing flow data; and a provision to monitor and report recreational use in the project area. Plan details will be developed in collaboration with the city, ALT, and dam owner. In the months to come, city staff will also start building and promoting new events around the water releases. For more information on the Barker Mill Dam license renewal, visit www.auburnmaine.gov/pages/government/rivers-hydropower.
