MILFORD, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — On Thursday, people in Milford and Old Town celebrated the discovery of Sturgeon after it’s disappearance from the northern part of the Penobscot River following the installation of the Great Works and Veazie Dams.
The removal of the dams has allowed the river to return to its natural state and Sturgeon are now able to swim upstream.
Two of the endangered species was found in the Milford Dam fish lift within the last month.
The discovery led researchers to look downstream where they found thousands more.
Sturgeon are only found in 20 rivers in the world according to conservationists and the Penobscot River houses one of the largest populations.
The homecoming of these fish has the community hopeful for the future.
“With those two dams gone and this dam having fish passing added, millions of fish have made it past this dam now. This is a really big deal for this river,” said Josh Royte, a conservation scientist.
The return of Sturgeon also had a big impact on the Penobscot Indian Nation.
“Our members are very excited to see our relatives coming back to this reservation,” said John Banks, the director of natural resources.