Whiting celebrates dam project funding award

An enthusiastic crowd greeted U.S. Senator Susan Collins to the Whiting Community Center on January 19; she had come to help celebrate the award of $2.9 million towards the renovation of the Mill Pond dam and the installation of a fish ladder. The Mill Pond dam project will establish a fish passage at the first dam on the Orange River while maintaining critical water levels for regional firefighting efforts. The federal funding was included in the omnibus funding bill recently passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.
Getting to this point was a long journey, beginning with a citizens' petition in 2016 asking the select board to take steps to preserve the dam, which was owned by the Downeast Salmon Federation. According to federation representatives, who spoke during a contentious public hearing held November 22, 2021, the dam, described as "in unsafe condition," blocked salmon migration to spawning grounds, thus jeopardizing the species. They offered to sell the dam to the town for $1 if the town took over repairs and installed a proper fish ladder; if the town rejected the offer the dam would be removed and the Mill Pond turned into a free-flowing stream. Whiting voters approved the deal a week later, which was contingent on arranging the needed funding.
Although aesthetic issues were foremost, a common thread in the discussion was the value of the Mill Pond for firefighting efforts, as the town's fire department would be forced to travel a long distance to obtain water if the dam were to be removed.
Senator Collins noted, "For generations, Mill Pond has served as a focal point for the Town of Whiting. In addition to its scenic beauty, Mill Pond is a crucial water source for firefighters, which proved instrumental in saving the town from the destructive Bell Mountain forest fire in 1985."
Since the sale of the dam to the town in 2021, the town has approved local funding of $1 million, including a bond, towards the repairs, according to committee member David Burns. Engineer Alfred Nash pointed out that the current estimate of the cost of the work is $3.5 million, but, as the town has not yet solicited bids, whether current funding will actually be sufficient remains to be seen.
"This town really touched me," said Collins during her brief speech. "I never had a more compelling set of letters from any community in Maine."
During the January 19 visit, several other speakers rose to add to the conversation. Dwayne Shaw, executive director of the Downeast Salmon Federation, described how the repairs will help with the organization's goal of improving fish stocks, saying that he was "celebrating our partnership." The Orange River has been designated as critical habitat for Atlantic salmon, and records confirm the system historically supported alewives and other diadromous fish species. Representatives from Maine Coast Heritage Trust, whose office is located adjacent to the dam, termed it "an amazing partnership." Burns described the community as "a town with a heart."
Following her comments at the community center, Collins visited the nearby Whiting Village School, where a number of letters had been written by students. After identifying the authors, she read several to a crowd of about 20 students. One young student had written, "Without the Mill Pond, my house would have had a lot more damage done to it when we had our fire, since they would've had to go to the nearest water supply other than the pond."
Another resident wrote, "My Dad was in a battle for his life in the Battle of the Bulge. When boxes of ammunition appeared on the battlefield stamped Crane's Mill - Whiting, Maine, he proudly said to his men, 'This is my hometown. This is what we are fighting for!' How do you put a value on that? I think of the history of that mill pond and dam each time I drive down Route 1."
Senator Collins used the letters to show "how you can be the one to make change happen," pointing out that each of the letters had been valuable in the process of arranging funding. Collins closed her comments in the school by encouraging students to "follow your dream," stating that "you can be whatever you want to be."