Major river restoration work returns Fife’s Back Burn to natural flow
A 700 m section of the Back Burn (also known locally as the Conland, Coul and Balbirnie Burn) has been restored to follow its original course at Coul Den Reservoir, Glenrothes.
The work on this part of the burn is part of the wider Leven programme, which has already seen several artificial weirs removed from the River Leven and replaced with nature-based solutions.
Helicopters dump 6,000 logs into rivers in the Pactific Northwest, fixing a decades-old mistake
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/river-restoration-with-logs
Thanks for the reminder, @MaQuest !@PhoenixSerenity
#WaterIsLife #SolarPunkSunday #RiverRestoration #WorldRiversDay
Sông Tô Lịch (Hà Nội) đã "lột xác" rõ rệt sau gần một năm triển khai các dự án cải tạo đồng bộ. Nguồn bổ cập nước thứ hai phía hạ lưu chính thức hoạt động, mang lại diện mạo mới cho dòng sông ô nhiễm nổi tiếng. #SongToLich #HaNoi #CaiTaoSong #TôLịchRiver #Hanoi #RiverRestoration #Environment
https://vietnamnet.vn/can-canh-song-to-lich-lot-xac-sau-khi-bo-cap-nguon-nuoc-thu-hai-2445862.html
One of the folks I had the opportunity to talk to at a #MaineRivers conference some years ago was #PenobscotNation member #JohnBanks. So glad to see him being honored... He has been a tireless advocate for the #PenobscotRiver!
"Banks was the Penobscot Nation’s representative on the Maine-Indian State Tribal Commission from 1987 to 2021, making him its longest-serving member. He also served on many local, regional and national organization boards, including the National Tribal Environmental Council, Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, National Indian Policy Center, and the Tribal Operations Committee with the federal EPA.
"But arguably Banks’ most noteworthy accomplishment involves bringing a Wabanaki voice and leadership to the historic #PenobscotRiverRestorationProject (1999-2016) in which two dams nearest to the sea were removed and a stream-like bypass channel was completed around a third dam at Howland.
"Completed in 2016, the $63 million restoration project opened almost 2,000 miles of habitat for 11 species of sea-run fish that had been choked off from their spawning grounds for almost two centuries by dams across the river.
"Since then, the river has come back alive with millions of river herring joined by Atlantic salmon, shad, sturgeon and other species in numbers that hadn’t been seen on the Penobscot River for nearly two centuries. Laura Rose Day credits Banks with a key intervention in 2002, when it looked like negotiations that had been going on for three years between #EnvironmentalGroups and the #hydro company owner were about to collapse.
" '[John] asked for a few minutes,' she wrote in a 2014 Christian Science Monitor commentary recalling the moment. 'Removing an eagle feather from a cloth wrap, he circled the table, laying the feather on each shoulder. He reminded us that, no matter whom we served, we were also responsible for being the voice for all the creatures of the river – the birds, the fish, and all of the people as well. The common goal had to be the health of the river.' "
Read more:
https://www.wabanakialliance.com/nihkaniyane2025-johnbanks/
#WaterIsLife #WabanakiAlliance #Wabanaki #Nihkaniyane #MaineRivers #DamRemoval #RiverRestoration
#Wabanaki Sustenance and Self-Determination
by Jillian Kerr
7 November 2024
"Before colonization, the Wabanaki region was rich in food; Wabanaki Tribes had excellent knowledge of their environment and knew where to find each resource, when it was abundant, and in what quantities. They utilized natural resources and foods respectfully, creating little or no waste. This sustainable approach to food and natural resources made the Wabanaki among the healthiest people in the world. However, the arrival of Europeans disrupted this harmony, forcing the Wabanaki out of their homelands. Europeans imposed a different understanding of nature and harvesting, which led to unhealthy and unsustainable practices. The Wabanaki continue to strive for the restoration of their traditional foodways as a way to practice #FoodSovereignty.
"To develop food sovereignty and economic stability, the #Mikmaq Nation in Aroostook County constructed an indoor #FishHatchery on the site of Micmac Farms in #CaribouME. This farm, which previously only grew and sold fresh or preserved fruits and vegetables, now receives #Nesowadnehunk #BrookTrout eggs from the Maine State Hatchery in Enfield, Maine. The grown fish are then sold back to Maine’s Soil and Water Conservation District for public consumption throughout the state. In addition, they generously donate food to the local #FoodBank and provide discounts for Tribal members, demonstrating a #sustainable model for food sovereignty for the Mi’kmaq Nation.
"The #HoultonBandOfMaliseet Indians launched a food sovereignty initiative to increase access to nutritious food, improve food sovereignty, and strengthen connections to Wabanaki culture by sharing traditional food production, storage, and preparation approaches. The lessons learned add to current knowledge about developing, implementing, and evaluating a model rooted in the principles of food sovereignty.
"Opportunities to learn and share knowledge about traditional storage and recipes are provided to community members, and existing partnerships have been leveraged to develop a sustainable model. Additional #CommunityGardens were also created to increase food production capacity, increasing food sovereignty for the Maliseet.
"One way the #Passamaquoddy Tribe fights for food sovereignty is by restoring the watershed of the #SkutikRiver, which was renamed the St. Croix River by colonists. The Skutik River is at the heart of the ancestral home of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.. This crucial watershed is the natural spawning ground and ancient homeland for many species of sea-run fish, including Atlantic #salmon and sea-run #alewife (river herring), a vital food source. Historically, the number of fish swimming up the Skutik River was massive and sustained the Passamaquoddy for thousands of years. Yet now, the alewife population is too small to feed or sustain the Tribe.
"The large amount of pollution produced by #colonization upset the productivity and natural balance of the Skutik River and the life cycles of the native fishery, straining the river’s #ecosystem. For many years, Maine law blocked sea-run alewives from accessing their natural and ancient spawning ground in the Skutik watershed, which diminished this important traditional sustenance food source and disturbed the cultural practices of Passamaquoddy Tribal members. The Passamaquoddy established the Skutik Watershed Strategic Sea-run Fish and #RiverRestoration Plan to mitigate the damage and find a better way forward. They developed a collaborative of Skutik stewards, also known as the Skutik River Keepers, who work with various agencies to give the river the best chance at restoring the watershed, thereby giving the Passamaquoddy more access to traditional foods and strengthening their food sovereignty.
"The #PenobscotNation fights for food sovereignty in various ways, including rebuilding outlets on Tribal trust lands. The Penobscot ancestral homeland is located within the drainage area of the Penobscot River and its many tributaries, lakes, and ponds. The area was the fishing place for spearing and netting fish, like salmon and alewives. It was a primary nourishing source of food, medicine, connection, joy, and spirituality for the Penobscot during spring and early summer. The mills and mill dams built by colonizers upset the river's natural ecosystem, cutting off fish from places required to complete their life cycle. As a result, the river no longer contained the fish that had historically fed the Penobscot Tribe. The Penobscot successfully rebuilt outlets on Tribal trust lands in #MattamiscontisStream, and they have completed many stream connectivity projects. This resulted in growing populations of alewives and blueback herring in the newly restored system, making more fish available as a food source for the Tribe.
"The land is a cornerstone of Native life. Before colonization, Wabanaki Tribes had developed an environmentally friendly and communal food system to protect the land and environment, using natural resources without harming the environment that provided bountiful food sources. However, centuries of colonization have separated the Wabanaki and other Native communities from their homelands and traditional foods. Natives were physically, culturally, and spiritually tied to their homelands, and forced relocation into unknown lands made it impossible to access traditional foods and harvest adequate nutrition from the land for survival. The lack of knowledge of unknown lands led to a dependence on government-issued rations and commodities. These rations and commodities consisted of dairy, processed wheat, sugars, etc., all foreign to the Native diet. The government's aim in providing these rations and commodities to Natives was not to provide nutrition but to prevent starvation.
"Forced relocation and other federal policies devastated many Tribes’ food systems, disrupting their hunting, fishing, farming, and harvesting traditions. The disruption continues today as the federal government still decides what foods they will distribute to Native communities. The government also makes agreements with the producers, a system that favors large-scale vendors, leading to missed opportunities for Native farmers. Problems with food quality also still exist; many traditional foods are still unavailable, and it is not uncommon for produce to travel long distances and arrive spoiled. Despite this upheaval, the Wabanaki have shown remarkable resilience and are determined to restore their traditional food practices and reclaim their food sovereignty."
Source:
https://www.wabanakireach.org/wabanaki_sustenance_and_self_determination_by_jillian_kerr
Article Sources:
https://thefishsite.com/articles/tales-from-a-tribal-trout-farm
https://www.fws.gov/story/2022-06/saving-st-croix
https://www.fws.gov/story/working-tribes-restore-fish-passage
https://www.penobscotnation.org/departments/department-of-natural-resources/fisheries
#SolarPunkSunday #TraditionalFoods
#Sovereignty #IndigenousSovereignty #IndigenousFoodSovereignty #IndigeousAgriculture #BuildingCommunity #CulturalPreservation #LandConservation #WaterIsLife #FoodIsLife #IndigenousPeoplesDay
China has blown up 300 dams and decommissioned more than 300 hydropower stations to try to save upper Yangtse River ecology. It is the largest river restoration ever attempted.
#China
#riverrestoration
#yangtze
#environment
Record number of river-blocking barriers removed in Europe, report says
Hundreds of dams, weirs, culverts and sluices dismantled in 2024 to help #waterways resume natural course
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/15/record-number-river-blocking-dams-removed-europe
See also my feature on #RiverRestoration from last May, which is now in the open archives:
https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2024/05/rivers-restored.html #science #ecology #environment #freshwater
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