INDIAN ISLAND – Residents shared slightly different visions for the future of the Penobscot River, but all those who spoke at Wednesday night’s workshop on the Penobscot River Restoration said they were pleased with the project.

“It just gives me such a great sense of hope,” Penobscot Nation Natural Resources Director John Banks said after the workshop at the community center.

Four panelists spoke on the history and culture of the river and then the approximately 50 residents who attended had a chance to voice their opinions and ideas for the future.

“It’s wonderful that we have an opportunity to push the clock back where it should be,” said John Supranovich of the Penobscot Salmon Club.

Gov. John Baldacci unveiled the river restoration project in October 2003 as the first step in a multimillion-dollar program to bring economic development opportunities to area communities and businesses.

PPL Corp. of Allentown, Pa., has agreed to sell its Great Works Dam in Old Town and the Veazie and Howland dams for $25 million to a nonprofit group established by the project signatories. In return, the group must promise that it will not fight the company’s efforts to relicense its other dams.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $50 million.

Wednesday night’s workshop was the first in a series sponsored by Eastern Maine Development Corp. and other partners in the project to educate residents and gain their input.

Some agreed that the project is an excellent opportunity to restore the river and explore economic development opportunities in towns along its shores, while others argued that the river should be restored as a “natural treasure” and left alone.

“The river literally flows around and through our reservation,” panelist and Penobscot Indian Nation tribal elder Butch Phillips said. “Growing up here on Indian Island, the river was our playground.”

Phillips, who is hopeful that Atlantic salmon and other wildlife and plants will continue to be returned to the river, shared with residents what the river means to the tribe.

“The river is our lifeblood,” he said before sharing a story he wrote called “A River Runs Through Us.”

The story tells of how the once bountiful river was ruined by fisheries and mills created by American settlers.

But in the end, Phillips said he is pleased to see such a large partnership of people working on a project in an attempt to return it to the way things were when his ancestors were alive.

“The Penobscot has become a model of river restoration,” he said.

Some ideas mentioned by residents included creating a cultural and historic learning trail along the riverbank, or making a white-water rafting course for recreation and Olympic training purposes. Others said the resource should simply be restored and left alone.

Supranovich said he was afraid that the public may see the project as an opportunity only for fishermen.

“It can’t be minimalized and trivialized in that way,” the member of the salmon club’s board of directors said.

In the end, however, there was one sentiment that covered all the bases.

“This is a river that belongs to all of us,” panelist and University of Maine history professor Richard Judd said. He noted that to him, the project is not necessarily about economic development, but about seeing people take ownership of and enjoy the river.

Two more workshops, featuring four panelists each, will allow residents a chance to learn about additional aspects of the river while offering suggestions about the restoration.

Those workshops will be held at the following times and locations:

. The Natural Setting of the River, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, Eddington Salmon Club.

. The Built Environment and Business Opportunities on the River, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, Old Town High School cafetorium.

Summaries of each workshop will be posted at the Eastern Maine Development Corp. Web site at www.emdc.org.

An economic visioning session will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Veazie Community School. The purpose of the session will be to brainstorm ideas for the future of the river.

The project’s steering committee, which is composed of officials from towns along the river and various state officials, will then present the ideas to a market research firm. The firm will then determine the feasibility of implementing some of those plans.

Public input is an important part of the restoration project and there will be more opportunity for community input as the project advances, according to organizers.

For more information, call Laura Mitchell or Michael Bush at EMDC at 942-6389.