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The New England Sustainability Consortium

The New England SusTainability Consortium (NEST) is a regional research partnership focused on strengthening the scientific basis for decision-making for sustainability challenges where economic and community development goals need to be balanced with environmental protection.

NEST researchers from Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island come together to use sustainability science that focuses on producing knowledge and linking it to actions that improve human well-being and preserve our planet’s life-support systems.

Learn More About Us    View Research Briefs

aerial of dam in the fall

The Future of Dams Project

There are more than 14,000 dams on New England’s rivers, and many are small, aging, or derelict. The number of potential options for aging dams make decisions about their future complex, and the important human and ecological dimensions of dams bring a wide range of stakeholders to the table when considering their fate. The Future of Dams project aims to empower stakeholders with scientific knowledge to make difficult decisions about aging or failing dams.

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Colleagues discussing MCDA tool

Participatory Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA)

Dam decision makers try to balance competing uses and management objectives when making decisions about the future of a dam. MCDA is a structured decision making framework, useful for addressing such complexity.

fish with radio transmitter

Telemetry Data to Evaluate Passage of Migratory Fish in the Pawcatuck River

We monitored fish passage on the Pawcatuck River in Rhode Island after a series of dam removals and construction of technical fishways and nature-like fishways, documenting the extent of diadromous fish migration up the river.

drone image illustrating aerial perspective of vegetation

Unmanned Aerial Systems, Dam Management Decisions, and Ecological Assessment

Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS, a.k.a. “drones”) may provide new effective ways of studying river systems and how they physically change with restoration efforts.

river in fall

Using Remote Sensing to Estimate Impounded Sediment Volume and Dominant Grain Size at Dams in New England

A comparison between surveyed New England dams to examine how the volume and grain size of impounded sediment is related to sediment supply, sediment transport in streams and rivers, and dam trap efficiency.

New England dams database map example

The New England Dams Database

Geospatial data is an essential tool in determining the fate of dams in New England and beyond. Having these resources available in one place can be helpful to land managers, stakeholders, and researchers.

Matthew Mensinger surgically implants an acoustic tag into an eel

The Effects of Dam Passage on American Eels during Seaward Migration

Understanding the consequences of dam passage on migrating eels is critical for managing populations and informing decision making for current and future hydroelectric operations.

dam decision making whiteboard diagram

Media Discourse Analysis Decision Criteria and Alternative Coding Methods and Trends

MDA is a useful tool in understanding how news media characterize dam decisions, which is important because the public record can inform the meanings that can be made about dams and rivers.

Reservoir behind the Potter Hill Dam in Westerly, RI

Adding Nitrogen Flux to Dam Removal Discussions

Because dams often create reservoirs that may retain nitrogen, we explored the implications of dam removals on nitrogen flux from New England watersheds.

 

West Enfield Dam in Maine’s Penobscot River

Investigating the Use of Science in Decision Making

 

Using citation analysis methods and a structured survey of federal and state resource agency stakeholders to investigate the use of best available science in relicensing decisions.

Milford Dam in Maine’s Penobscot River

What’s Happening with Small Hydropower in New England?

 

We reviewed small hydropower costing estimation models, noting the potential application and limits of each.

 

dam distribution in New England

How Will Dam Removals Affect Housing Prices?

This study aims to give a detailed analysis of a dam removal’s impact on housing prices to give policy makers and homeowners more information when faced with dam removal decisions.

removal of the Veazie Dam

Public Preferences for Ecosystem Services from Dam Removals: A Nonmarket Valuation Approach to Improve Decision-Making

Lacking reliable price information, values of ecosystem services are omitted from cost-benefit analyses, but nonmarket valuation allows us to uncover those prices so that decisions about dams can more easily incorporate a wider range of impacts.

Copyright © 2021, NH EPSCoR, University of New Hampshire and ME EPSCoR, UMaine
 

Contact

Center for Research on Sustainable Forests

5755 Nutting Hall, Room 263

Orono, ME 04469
Phone: 207.581.3794 | Email: crsf@maine.edu

Funding for the website provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Awards #1920908 and #11A-1330691 to the University of Maine, NSF EPSCoR Awards #11A-1330641 and #11A-1539071 to the University of New Hampshire. Photo of Kesslen Dam on the Mousam River courtesy of John Burrows, Mousam & Kennebunk Rivers Alliance.