"The Yarmouth town council voted unanimously this month to remove two town-owned dams on the Royal River and consider fish passage improvements at a stretch of rapids in between them, a historic vote more than two decades in the making.

The decision follows a federal proposal released last spring and is the most authoritative step to removing the Bridge Street Dam and East Elm Street Dam since 2009, when the town first began studying how their removal could improve the Royal River’s health and fisheries.

In addition to removing the two dams and their corresponding fishways, the town resolution also provides for monitoring and managing fish passage beyond and between the dams, revegetating and stabilizing sections of the Royal’s riverbanks and protecting against invasive species."

Emmett Gartner reports for the Maine Monitor January 12, 2025. [2]