Maine recently marked the first year anniversary of the removal of Edwards Dam in Augusta, which is fast becoming a national symbol for river restoration. It can be more than that, though, in provoking further discussion about how Maine will look in the coming decades.

For 162 years, the Edwards Dam had radically altered the ecology of the Kennebec River. It brought forth wide celebration when it was breached a year ago. Getting to that point had been a long, involved process. It required getting past the desire of the dam’s owner to not only keep the 4-megawatt facility running; the city of Augusta’s decision to protest the removal, as well; and the very question of whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees dam license renewals, has the right to order dams removed.

In the end, economics won out: The dam owner’s lucrative contract with Central Maine Power Co., which earned those owners five times the going rate for power they generated, expired at the end of 1999, and CMP made it clear it wouldn’t be renewing that deal. The state offered to take ownership of the dam, absolving the owners of any potential liabilities from removal. Upstream dam owners (mostly in the form of CMP) and Bath Iron Works agreed to pay for dam removal, in exchange for help with their own river-based development projects. The city of Augusta acquiesced, and last spring, the dam was breached.

Last fall, the last of the dam was removed from the Kennebec River. Proponents of dam removal hailed it as a chance for freshwater-spawning fish such as striped bass, sturgeon, herring, alewives, smelt and more, as well as the chance for 17 miles of river, up to Waterville, to return to its tidal state.

Naysayers worried that the dam’s removal would leave precariously little water through the Waterville-to-Augusta stretch, and allow nuisance species, such as lampreys and carp, to infest those waters. They also questioned whether the power the dam generated would be missed.

The initial results favor the protagonists. Studies show that the faster-moving, cooler water of the newly free river host many more microorganisms than before. Anadromous fishes have swarmed northward in huge numbers, providing feed for fish and fowl alike. Exposed mudflats are starting to sprout vegetation.

The Kennebec, it seems, is returning to the way it was, as though it never were bottled up.

Not all dams are a bad thing; few would question whether the Harris, Wyman or other main-branch dams on the Kennebec River are of benefit to the state. But it’s heartening to see that the damages of old industry are not nearly as permanent as once thought. As Maine moves away from the old industrial bases that supported it for nearly two centuries, we can make new investments in the quality of life that will help Maine thrive in the new economy.