Congress Approves Nearly $7.8 Million for Woodland Dam Fish Passage on St. Croix River Secured by Senator Collins

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured $7,785,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending to replace a failing fishway at Woodland Dam on the St. Croix River in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.  The bill, which was included in legislation that passed the Senate today, now heads to the President to be signed into law.

“Restoring the failing fishway at Woodland Dam on the St. Croix River will allow for greater passage of important species like river herring and American eels, which are critical to the families and communities who rely on the health of Maine’s lobster and elver fisheries,” said Senator Collins.  “As Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to secure this funding, which will promote both environmental sustainability and economic activity in the region.”

“This project is an excellent example of balancing restoration efforts with protection of a major regional employer,” said Director of DMR Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat Sean Ledwin.  “Building this state-of-the-art fish passage at Woodland Dam on the St. Croix River will restore native sea-run fish passage to over 600 miles of historic fish habitat and improve the mill infrastructure at Woodland Pulp, the largest employer in Washington County.”

This funding will support the Maine Department of Marine Resources' (DMR) efforts to restore six anadromous species — fish that migrate up rivers from the sea to spawn — to currently restricted habitats on the St. Croix River.  Specifically, this project will replace a failing fishway and improve downstream fish passage at Woodland Dam, helping to free up more than 600 miles of historic habitat for all species and more than 60,000 acres of habitat for alewives, which are a keystone species in the Gulf of Maine.

This funding builds on the $2 million awarded to DMR for this effort through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Passage Program, which received funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

In 2021, Congress reinstituted Congressionally Directed Spending.  Following this decision, Senator Collins has secured more than $500 million for hundreds of Maine projects for FY2022 and FY2023.  As the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins is committed to championing targeted investments that will benefit Maine communities.  

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