1 00:00:01,100 --> 00:00:04,333 (tribe chanting in foreign language) 2 00:00:13,833 --> 00:00:16,433 - So, yeah, Atlantic salmon have been a huge part 3 00:00:16,433 --> 00:00:18,000 of the Penobscot culture. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:23,000 They've fed our ancestors since the beginning of time, 5 00:00:24,333 --> 00:00:26,566 and culturally, one of the most important species 6 00:00:26,566 --> 00:00:27,733 to the tribe. 7 00:00:27,733 --> 00:00:29,766 - You know, it's hundreds of generations 8 00:00:29,766 --> 00:00:33,266 of that connection to the fish and to the river, 9 00:00:33,266 --> 00:00:35,666 and I felt that presence. 10 00:00:37,133 --> 00:00:39,666 - Atlantic salmon made up around a third of our diet, 11 00:00:39,666 --> 00:00:42,733 traditionally, very important to the tribe. 12 00:00:42,733 --> 00:00:45,566 That's kind of why we have a fishing village here, 13 00:00:45,566 --> 00:00:48,266 and that's why we're located where we are at Indian Island. 14 00:00:48,266 --> 00:00:50,500 - Here at Indian Island, just below Indian Island, 15 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:52,800 is where the Milford Dam is now. 16 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,600 Historically, that was a big set of falls there, 17 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,266 Ledge falls, a perfect place to harvest salmon 18 00:00:58,266 --> 00:01:01,000 during the spring runs. 19 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,166 - Building of the dams 200 years ago or so, 20 00:01:05,166 --> 00:01:06,833 when those dams went up 21 00:01:06,833 --> 00:01:10,233 and all these animals had to change, 22 00:01:10,233 --> 00:01:12,166 they couldn't get up the river, the farm, 23 00:01:12,166 --> 00:01:13,466 the water warmed up, 24 00:01:13,466 --> 00:01:14,966 there was pollution in the river, 25 00:01:14,966 --> 00:01:16,833 there was Bach in the river. 26 00:01:16,833 --> 00:01:20,366 They had to change their lifestyle in order to survive, 27 00:01:21,233 --> 00:01:23,166 and we did, too. 28 00:01:23,166 --> 00:01:27,200 I was on the river as a teenager in the '50s. 29 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:28,866 There was no salmon in the river. 30 00:01:28,866 --> 00:01:33,233 I never saw a salmon until I was fully grown. 31 00:01:33,233 --> 00:01:36,800 I saw the river at its very worst, 32 00:01:38,133 --> 00:01:42,966 but I also can remember the changes that came about. 33 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:48,466 - So I started working with salmon in 1994 34 00:01:48,466 --> 00:01:50,666 When I first started working here, 35 00:01:50,666 --> 00:01:53,333 water resources for Penobscot Nation, 36 00:01:53,333 --> 00:01:55,466 you know, instantly fell in love with the work, 37 00:01:55,466 --> 00:01:57,500 instantly became my favorite fish. 38 00:01:57,500 --> 00:02:00,733 So here we are 29 years later, 39 00:02:00,733 --> 00:02:03,966 So it's been really a highlight of my career 40 00:02:03,966 --> 00:02:08,133 to be able to work with restoration Salmon. 41 00:02:08,133 --> 00:02:10,133 - Well, salmon is probably 42 00:02:10,133 --> 00:02:12,966 the most challenging fish to recover. 43 00:02:12,966 --> 00:02:15,400 Our juvenile salmon require the cleanest, 44 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,233 coldest water you could imagine, 45 00:02:17,233 --> 00:02:19,733 So they had to get to the furthest reaches of the headwaters 46 00:02:19,733 --> 00:02:21,200 where they would live for two years. 47 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:22,566 The adults would eventually make their way 48 00:02:22,566 --> 00:02:24,200 back out to the ocean 49 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,300 And so salmon needing this massive wide range of habitats 50 00:02:28,300 --> 00:02:31,900 and way upstream, they were the first ones to be impacted 51 00:02:31,900 --> 00:02:33,233 by the building of dams 52 00:02:33,233 --> 00:02:35,866 and the deforestation of the woods 53 00:02:35,866 --> 00:02:37,433 here in the Penobscot drainage. 54 00:02:37,433 --> 00:02:40,200 The east branches had every bit of log and rock 55 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:41,400 and everything dredged out of it, 56 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,866 so we could flush logs down to bangore 57 00:02:43,866 --> 00:02:45,800 The ecosystem is trying to heal itself. 58 00:02:48,633 --> 00:02:51,800 - Our rivers have so few salmon coming back to them 59 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,866 that there's a lot of habitat, a lot of river miles, 60 00:02:54,866 --> 00:02:57,900 that have either no salmon or very few salmon, 61 00:02:57,900 --> 00:03:00,533 And for the last several decades, 62 00:03:00,533 --> 00:03:02,433 we've used hatcheries to raise salmon 63 00:03:02,433 --> 00:03:07,300 to either an egg or a fry or a par or a smolt 64 00:03:07,300 --> 00:03:10,300 and put them in the rivers to grow the rest of, 65 00:03:10,300 --> 00:03:11,633 you know, spend the rest of the time in the rivers 66 00:03:11,633 --> 00:03:13,166 and go to the ocean 67 00:03:13,166 --> 00:03:17,466 and hopefully survive the really high mortality rates at sea 68 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:20,000 and come back to the rivers to spawn. 69 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,166 So the Salmon for Maine's Rivers project 70 00:03:22,166 --> 00:03:25,533 is an effort to get more salmon 71 00:03:25,533 --> 00:03:26,966 spawning directly in the rivers. 72 00:03:26,966 --> 00:03:28,466 The biggest salmon that spend 73 00:03:28,466 --> 00:03:31,000 most of their life in the river do better in the ocean, 74 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,333 so the more salmon we can have growing up in our rivers, 75 00:03:34,333 --> 00:03:36,866 the more salmon we can have coming back home, 76 00:03:36,866 --> 00:03:39,333 even if marine survival stays really low. 77 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:46,800 (people chatter) (water splashing) 78 00:03:55,500 --> 00:03:59,166 - [Fisher 1] 605? - [Fisher 2] Yeah. 79 00:03:59,166 --> 00:04:01,100 - [Fisher 1] 218-3? 80 00:04:01,100 --> 00:04:03,933 (water splashing) 81 00:04:24,166 --> 00:04:29,166 (trailer engine revving) (birds chirping) 82 00:04:30,666 --> 00:04:32,533 - [Fisher 3] You ready down there? 83 00:04:32,533 --> 00:04:33,600 - [Fisher 1] You guys ready? 84 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:34,666 - [Fisher 2] Guys ready? 85 00:04:34,666 --> 00:04:36,033 All right. 86 00:04:36,033 --> 00:04:38,866 (water splashing) 87 00:04:52,033 --> 00:04:54,700 (fishers cheering) 88 00:04:54,700 --> 00:04:56,666 - I think having the Atlantic salmon 89 00:04:56,666 --> 00:05:00,533 come back to our waters in greater numbers, hopefully, 90 00:05:00,533 --> 00:05:01,900 like through this project, 91 00:05:01,900 --> 00:05:04,266 that would be a really amazing experience, 92 00:05:04,266 --> 00:05:06,400 hopefully for us to experience 93 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,000 or even future generations 94 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:10,733 And just to see where these salmon go, 95 00:05:10,733 --> 00:05:12,333 like there's trackers in them 96 00:05:12,333 --> 00:05:14,400 So to see where they're going to breed 97 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,600 and when they're going to sea 98 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,266 and just kind of learning more about their lifestyle 99 00:05:19,266 --> 00:05:22,500 and especially as climate change is happening 100 00:05:22,500 --> 00:05:25,600 and hopefully they come back to 101 00:05:26,633 --> 00:05:28,566 some of the Penobscot headwaters 102 00:05:28,566 --> 00:05:31,433 and hopefully we'll still see them, 103 00:05:31,433 --> 00:05:33,333 see them back at Matagamon stream. 104 00:05:36,266 --> 00:05:38,566 - Not only is this kind of providing a method 105 00:05:38,566 --> 00:05:41,933 for some of us and our coworkers here 106 00:05:41,933 --> 00:05:44,266 to be able to kind of interact with salmon 107 00:05:44,266 --> 00:05:48,433 and get in the water with them 108 00:05:48,433 --> 00:05:49,766 and be in their presence, 109 00:05:49,766 --> 00:05:53,833 but also to just work towards the greater goal 110 00:05:53,833 --> 00:05:55,133 of salmon restoration 111 00:05:55,133 --> 00:05:58,233 is something that's really important to us 112 00:05:58,233 --> 00:06:01,200 and something that holds a lot of meaning to all of us here. 113 00:06:02,666 --> 00:06:05,200 (birds chirping) 114 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:09,666 (tribe chanting in foreign language) 115 00:06:13,166 --> 00:06:16,533 - Seeing the big fish swim away into the river 116 00:06:17,866 --> 00:06:19,833 to see everyone so excited. 117 00:06:19,833 --> 00:06:21,566 There were so many people there 118 00:06:21,566 --> 00:06:23,366 And the thing that I remember are the smiles, 119 00:06:23,366 --> 00:06:26,900 everyone was smiling It was just a really special day 120 00:06:26,900 --> 00:06:28,166 I don't think I've ever experienced 121 00:06:28,166 --> 00:06:30,500 anything quite like that in restoration. 122 00:06:31,566 --> 00:06:33,666 - Putting adult egg bearing salmon, 123 00:06:33,666 --> 00:06:37,033 releasing them into our streams is, 124 00:06:37,033 --> 00:06:40,166 to me that was really something 125 00:06:40,166 --> 00:06:45,166 I was up in Matagamon gathering back last fall 126 00:06:46,633 --> 00:06:49,500 and I came outta the woods and a pickup truck pulled out 127 00:06:50,666 --> 00:06:53,966 and it was our water quality specialist 128 00:06:53,966 --> 00:06:56,300 and another guy works in the woods 129 00:06:56,300 --> 00:06:59,133 and I said, "What are you guys doing here?" 130 00:06:59,133 --> 00:07:00,966 He said, "They're gonna release salmon. 131 00:07:00,966 --> 00:07:04,866 Man was caught stream adult salmon" I said, "Really?" 132 00:07:04,866 --> 00:07:08,300 He said, "Yeah," I said, "I gotta see this." 133 00:07:09,633 --> 00:07:12,133 So I went up and a whole bunch of people were there. 134 00:07:12,133 --> 00:07:17,066 They had a drum so I joined them singing and drumming 135 00:07:17,066 --> 00:07:19,566 and then they started putting the fish in the stream 136 00:07:19,566 --> 00:07:24,566 and to me that was a very spiritual occasion for me, 137 00:07:25,733 --> 00:07:27,066 standing on the bridge, 138 00:07:27,066 --> 00:07:29,866 watching those salmon laying in that pool 139 00:07:31,066 --> 00:07:34,366 I was thinking about my ancestors again, 140 00:07:35,766 --> 00:07:39,900 that they went through so much 141 00:07:39,900 --> 00:07:43,300 when they had that food source taken away 142 00:07:43,300 --> 00:07:46,033 because of the dams and the salmon. 143 00:07:46,033 --> 00:07:49,066 They couldn't make it up to their spawning grounds 144 00:07:49,066 --> 00:07:52,433 And they had to change their lifestyle as well. 145 00:07:52,433 --> 00:07:55,066 And here was these adult salmon being placed 146 00:07:55,066 --> 00:07:57,633 in one of our streams, 147 00:07:59,933 --> 00:08:02,933 which hopefully they will spawn 148 00:08:02,933 --> 00:08:06,866 and their offspring will go out completing the circle. 149 00:08:08,500 --> 00:08:12,933 (tribe chanting in foreign language) 150 00:08:16,133 --> 00:08:18,133 - And it's just been really moving 151 00:08:18,133 --> 00:08:20,600 to be able to see some of the younger staff 152 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:22,766 actually get to handle the fish 153 00:08:22,766 --> 00:08:27,166 and be reconnected with that, 154 00:08:27,166 --> 00:08:30,266 with that ancestors that we haven't been connected to at all 155 00:08:30,266 --> 00:08:33,633 in some cases for many years. 156 00:08:34,866 --> 00:08:37,466 - My part in the release into Matagamon salmons 157 00:08:37,466 --> 00:08:40,766 was I was actually in the water getting the net 158 00:08:40,766 --> 00:08:43,700 and putting the fish actually into the stream 159 00:08:43,700 --> 00:08:46,033 I had another person there helping me, but, 160 00:08:46,033 --> 00:08:47,600 'cause they were just, 161 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,333 they were so big I couldn't get them out myself really. 162 00:08:50,333 --> 00:08:52,700 And it was really special to be able to be a part of that 163 00:08:52,700 --> 00:08:55,466 and to see them kind of take their first swim 164 00:08:55,466 --> 00:08:57,633 into the stream, into their natural habitat. 165 00:09:00,300 --> 00:09:02,866 - Just to be able to, you know, feel their power 166 00:09:02,866 --> 00:09:05,333 Like as we were carrying them down 167 00:09:05,333 --> 00:09:08,200 in the nets to the stream, 168 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:09,166 you could tell they were ready 169 00:09:09,166 --> 00:09:11,200 to be in their natural habitat 170 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,266 after being in the tanks for so long 171 00:09:13,266 --> 00:09:16,200 And kind of to see them in their future habitat hopefully, 172 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,166 hopefully they come back up to Matagamon stream and. 173 00:09:19,166 --> 00:09:20,666 - You know, what I'd really like to see 174 00:09:20,666 --> 00:09:22,566 with Atlantic Salmon 175 00:09:22,566 --> 00:09:24,866 is that we would be able to bring the populations 176 00:09:24,866 --> 00:09:28,033 back to a point where tribal members 177 00:09:28,033 --> 00:09:30,533 would be able to exercise their treaty rights 178 00:09:30,533 --> 00:09:32,833 to be able to consume Atlantic salmon again 179 00:09:32,833 --> 00:09:36,033 and go out seasonally and harvest salmon. 180 00:09:37,166 --> 00:09:41,533 (tribe chanting in foreign language) 181 00:09:41,533 --> 00:09:43,000 East branch of the Penobscot 182 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,866 has some of the best habitat in the state, 183 00:09:46,866 --> 00:09:48,566 if not all of New England 184 00:09:49,533 --> 00:09:50,766 Beautiful riffle pools 185 00:09:50,766 --> 00:09:55,233 all the way down through some nice sets of falls 186 00:09:55,233 --> 00:09:56,600 down through there. 187 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,233 A lot of cold water in the East branch. 188 00:09:59,233 --> 00:10:01,266 - And salmon really need cold water, 189 00:10:01,266 --> 00:10:03,100 especially as our river's warm 190 00:10:03,100 --> 00:10:06,600 they need to seek out pockets of just the right temperature 191 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:08,100 to be able to thrive. 192 00:10:08,100 --> 00:10:10,766 (water flowing) 193 00:10:15,766 --> 00:10:18,533 - The study area would be from the Matagamon Lake dam 194 00:10:18,533 --> 00:10:22,200 down to a confluence of the Wassataquoik stream. 195 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,533 We're gonna look at Matagamon dam assess fish passage there, 196 00:10:26,533 --> 00:10:29,433 come up with an alternatives analysis on the dam 197 00:10:29,433 --> 00:10:31,900 and figure out what we can do to make that, 198 00:10:31,900 --> 00:10:34,200 to make fish passage better there. 199 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,566 Look at any areas where habitat can be improved. 200 00:10:37,566 --> 00:10:39,033 - So they're looking at the flows there 201 00:10:39,033 --> 00:10:43,500 to find optimal flows at Matagamon Dam, 202 00:10:43,500 --> 00:10:47,233 seeing if we need to adjust that to optimize it for salmon. 203 00:10:47,233 --> 00:10:49,866 (water flowing) 204 00:10:55,233 --> 00:10:58,166 You know, we've collected a lot of data in the East Branch 205 00:10:58,166 --> 00:11:02,266 for as long as I've been working here for 29 years now. 206 00:11:02,266 --> 00:11:03,766 For the most part, 207 00:11:03,766 --> 00:11:06,433 we have fortunately really clean water up there, 208 00:11:06,433 --> 00:11:09,166 the biggest pollutant we have up there now 209 00:11:09,166 --> 00:11:11,066 would be mercury in the fish, 210 00:11:11,066 --> 00:11:13,433 but by burning coal it creates methyl mercury 211 00:11:13,433 --> 00:11:18,266 goes up into the atmosphere and rain, snow event, 212 00:11:19,433 --> 00:11:23,433 that mercury is flushed down into our waterways, 213 00:11:23,433 --> 00:11:25,766 works its way up through the food chain. 214 00:11:25,766 --> 00:11:27,600 We have consumption restrictions 215 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:29,633 based on the mercury levels, 216 00:11:29,633 --> 00:11:32,333 short of that water quality looks really good 217 00:11:32,333 --> 00:11:35,400 in Matagamon and the East branch. 218 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:37,666 - The east branch has really great habitat. 219 00:11:37,666 --> 00:11:42,666 It's one of the highest quality areas of rivers here, 220 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:46,100 but it's still broken, there were still log drives, 221 00:11:46,100 --> 00:11:48,666 the sediments are impacted, 222 00:11:48,666 --> 00:11:50,966 the channels aren't quite right 223 00:11:50,966 --> 00:11:55,100 and that if we're working hard in some of these areas, 224 00:11:55,100 --> 00:11:57,100 we can enrich the river 225 00:11:57,100 --> 00:12:01,800 and kind of heal the river so that it can support the salmon 226 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:03,633 and all the other Sierra fish. 227 00:12:03,633 --> 00:12:06,300 (water flowing) 228 00:12:16,566 --> 00:12:19,833 - They raised the money and took out the dams 229 00:12:19,833 --> 00:12:22,566 and now we have a section of Penobscot 230 00:12:22,566 --> 00:12:27,566 that's free flowing like my ancestors saw it 231 00:12:29,666 --> 00:12:34,500 and the fish and the insects and the animals 232 00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:38,966 all now can enjoy the river like their ancestors did. 233 00:12:40,833 --> 00:12:43,533 - The removal of the downstream dams 234 00:12:43,533 --> 00:12:44,833 brought back species 235 00:12:44,833 --> 00:12:47,166 that we haven't seen in hundreds of years. 236 00:12:47,166 --> 00:12:49,833 - As of yesterday, we broke the threshold 237 00:12:49,833 --> 00:12:51,500 of 3 million river herring, 238 00:12:51,500 --> 00:12:53,533 which is a record for the Penobscot River 239 00:12:54,666 --> 00:12:56,033 It's a drop in the bucket 240 00:12:56,033 --> 00:12:58,000 to what the Penobscot could support, 241 00:12:59,300 --> 00:13:02,366 but it's amazing, amazing story 242 00:13:02,366 --> 00:13:05,433 and I hope people are paying attention. 243 00:13:05,433 --> 00:13:07,233 Now we still have a lot of work to do, 244 00:13:07,233 --> 00:13:10,700 so salmon is the most challenging one to recover 245 00:13:10,700 --> 00:13:12,400 because there are still so many impediments 246 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,400 to upstream passage, 247 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,033 so much danger in downstream passage 248 00:13:17,033 --> 00:13:19,600 because we're not keeping these animals out of the turbines, 249 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:20,900 the majority of the river 250 00:13:20,900 --> 00:13:23,033 is still clogged with these facilities, 251 00:13:23,033 --> 00:13:26,400 but the Penobscot restoration project, it said, 252 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:31,400 "Hey look, look what can be done through compromise." 253 00:13:32,700 --> 00:13:33,966 Big great things can happen through compromise 254 00:13:33,966 --> 00:13:35,966 if you're willing to put in the time and effort 255 00:13:35,966 --> 00:13:37,533 and to sit across the table with people 256 00:13:37,533 --> 00:13:40,733 that you would consider your adversaries almost any day. 257 00:13:40,733 --> 00:13:45,733 This is an internationally renowned famous event 258 00:13:46,566 --> 00:13:48,100 and we did it right here, 259 00:13:48,100 --> 00:13:50,433 we did it on the home waters of the Penobscot Indian nation 260 00:13:50,433 --> 00:13:52,700 and we should be very proud of it, 261 00:13:52,700 --> 00:13:54,266 but it's a stepping stone, 262 00:13:54,266 --> 00:13:59,233 we need six more, seven more, but anyway. 263 00:14:01,366 --> 00:14:05,133 - [Sam] And the two orange, the vest that I had. 264 00:14:08,766 --> 00:14:10,800 - [Danielle] Are you ready? 265 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:11,633 - I am. 266 00:14:14,966 --> 00:14:17,800 - We can go out and look for the redds 267 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,100 and it tells us not only that at least two fish were there, 268 00:14:21,100 --> 00:14:22,666 but it tells us that they did spawn, 269 00:14:22,666 --> 00:14:24,300 that they did reproduce 270 00:14:24,300 --> 00:14:27,466 So it gives us a kind of an, it's not a complete count 271 00:14:27,466 --> 00:14:30,633 because we can't cover all of the ground 272 00:14:31,833 --> 00:14:34,133 and viewing conditions can be pretty hard 273 00:14:34,133 --> 00:14:37,466 so you can even miss a red that that's right there 274 00:14:37,466 --> 00:14:39,033 but it does give us an index 275 00:14:39,033 --> 00:14:43,966 of how many fish are spawning in the river in a given year 276 00:14:45,300 --> 00:14:46,933 Some of the smaller waters like Matagamon stream 277 00:14:46,933 --> 00:14:49,966 or or Sam air's, we can do it by foot, 278 00:14:49,966 --> 00:14:53,300 we hike through the woods and look for the redds 279 00:14:53,300 --> 00:14:54,966 - [Sam] Alright, I have a feeling our first salmon redds 280 00:14:54,966 --> 00:14:56,700 are right around the corner. 281 00:14:56,700 --> 00:14:59,666 - The female salmon does all the work digging the redd, 282 00:14:59,666 --> 00:15:02,566 she'll dig with her tail 283 00:15:02,566 --> 00:15:04,000 and it kind of creates this pressure 284 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,400 that kicks the sediment all up and it creates a pit 285 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:08,366 And once she's got the pit the way she likes it, 286 00:15:08,366 --> 00:15:10,866 she deposits her eggs, the male will be right next to her 287 00:15:10,866 --> 00:15:14,033 and release the sperm at the same time those eggs settle in 288 00:15:14,033 --> 00:15:16,500 and then she uses her tail to cover it over, 289 00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:18,533 and the way that she does it, 290 00:15:18,533 --> 00:15:20,533 it also, it helps with the water flow, 291 00:15:20,533 --> 00:15:23,000 kind of the water comes up through that pot 292 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,333 and kind of moves through the gravel, the redd, 293 00:15:25,333 --> 00:15:27,333 so the eggs get the right amount of oxygen, 294 00:15:27,333 --> 00:15:30,066 they get the flow they need through the winter 295 00:15:30,066 --> 00:15:31,433 - [Danielle] There it is. 296 00:15:31,433 --> 00:15:33,033 - There's the redd right there 297 00:15:33,033 --> 00:15:35,266 and there's this big pile of sand down here. 298 00:15:35,266 --> 00:15:37,433 I'd say it's definitely a full redd. 299 00:15:38,833 --> 00:15:41,166 - [Danielle] Yeah, I think so. That's exciting. 300 00:15:41,166 --> 00:15:44,000 So this A, this is upstream of a release site, 301 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,866 B it's a good size redd. 302 00:15:45,866 --> 00:15:47,666 - [Sam] It's massive. Yeah, it's a beauty. 303 00:15:47,666 --> 00:15:49,066 - It's a good size redd, 304 00:15:49,066 --> 00:15:51,833 which I've had conversations with people 305 00:15:51,833 --> 00:15:54,200 about how big they see the sea car fish redds 306 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:55,666 are likely to be, 307 00:15:57,766 --> 00:15:59,866 and I'm glad to see it's a good size redd. 308 00:16:02,133 --> 00:16:03,466 We put these fish in the river 309 00:16:03,466 --> 00:16:05,566 and even though they grew up in captivity, 310 00:16:05,566 --> 00:16:08,933 they were spawned, their parents were spawned in a hatchery. 311 00:16:08,933 --> 00:16:10,466 They grew up their entire lives in a hatchery. 312 00:16:10,466 --> 00:16:12,733 We put them in the river and they knew what to do, 313 00:16:12,733 --> 00:16:15,266 they knew how to find each other and spawn 314 00:16:15,266 --> 00:16:16,966 and I mean, we could probably think about 315 00:16:16,966 --> 00:16:21,966 there being some complex genetics of innate behaviors 316 00:16:23,266 --> 00:16:25,766 that are really highly conserved genetically 317 00:16:25,766 --> 00:16:29,166 and passed down, or it's just, 318 00:16:29,166 --> 00:16:34,133 it's some very deep way of knowing on the part of the fish. 319 00:16:34,133 --> 00:16:37,133 (water flowing) 320 00:16:37,133 --> 00:16:39,666 - When you sit in your house, 321 00:16:39,666 --> 00:16:41,733 in whatever town in Maine you live in, 322 00:16:41,733 --> 00:16:44,433 there is a stream very close to you 323 00:16:44,433 --> 00:16:46,266 Maybe you don't know the name of that stream, 324 00:16:46,266 --> 00:16:47,666 but that stream connects to another stream, 325 00:16:47,666 --> 00:16:48,600 which connects to another stream, 326 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,266 which connects to the river 327 00:16:50,266 --> 00:16:51,600 and eventually gets to the ocean. 328 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,066 You, no matter where you sit in your homestead 329 00:16:53,066 --> 00:16:54,300 here in the state of Maine, 330 00:16:54,300 --> 00:16:55,900 you are connected to the Atlantic Ocean, 331 00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:57,766 you are connected to the upstream habitat, 332 00:16:57,766 --> 00:16:59,066 and just because you don't care 333 00:16:59,066 --> 00:17:00,900 about that little stream that's in your backyard 334 00:17:00,900 --> 00:17:02,166 doesn't mean that that little stream 335 00:17:02,166 --> 00:17:03,866 isn't incredibly important 336 00:17:03,866 --> 00:17:06,133 to the resilience of that ecosystem. 337 00:17:06,133 --> 00:17:08,833 But if you can cure one little piece of one little tributary 338 00:17:08,833 --> 00:17:10,833 and one little capillary that's in your backyard 339 00:17:10,833 --> 00:17:14,033 and take ownership and love it and feel pride in it 340 00:17:14,033 --> 00:17:16,566 and tell your neighbors and your children about it, 341 00:17:16,566 --> 00:17:19,400 you have done something to set this river up for success. 342 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,333 (water flowing) 343 00:17:22,333 --> 00:17:24,866 - Personally, I'm glad to see studies, 344 00:17:24,866 --> 00:17:27,400 intensive studies done on the east branch, 345 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:29,300 looking at the flows, 346 00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:31,366 kind of putting everything under the microscope 347 00:17:31,366 --> 00:17:33,466 and hopefully coming up with a solution 348 00:17:33,466 --> 00:17:35,133 that everybody can be happy with 349 00:17:35,133 --> 00:17:38,633 and that will help the salmon in the long run, 350 00:17:40,166 --> 00:17:43,500 in the future, continuing to work with salmon, 351 00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:45,733 continuing to get tribal youth involved, 352 00:17:45,733 --> 00:17:47,166 very important for the tribe. 353 00:17:48,500 --> 00:17:51,300 - Being like a young person from our community, 354 00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:56,300 it's an honor to learn alongside some of the elders 355 00:17:57,500 --> 00:17:59,400 in our community and hear about their stories 356 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:02,700 and the knowledge that they know about the salmon 357 00:18:02,700 --> 00:18:07,700 and the history of salmon to Penobscots and Wabanaki people. 358 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,300 And honestly, for this to be our job 359 00:18:11,300 --> 00:18:15,400 to release salmon is quite special 360 00:18:16,733 --> 00:18:18,433 It's kind of like we're bringing our ancestors back 361 00:18:18,433 --> 00:18:19,800 in a way. 362 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,566 - Thinking about the ancestors, what they saw, 363 00:18:22,566 --> 00:18:26,033 the changes to their lifestyle 364 00:18:26,033 --> 00:18:29,966 and what we were doing to bring a portion of that back 365 00:18:29,966 --> 00:18:34,966 and then looking to the future that our grandchildren, 366 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:38,266 what they would benefit from what we were doing today. 367 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:40,733 - I hope that our future generations 368 00:18:40,733 --> 00:18:42,466 are able to experience salmon 369 00:18:42,466 --> 00:18:44,233 in a way that I think I haven't, 370 00:18:44,233 --> 00:18:46,466 like I've never seen wild salmon in our rivers 371 00:18:46,466 --> 00:18:48,633 And so I hope that our future generations 372 00:18:48,633 --> 00:18:49,933 are able to see that 373 00:18:49,933 --> 00:18:53,366 and to live like how our ancestors used to. 374 00:18:53,366 --> 00:18:56,366 Yeah, and I hope our ecosystems just keep getting healthier. 375 00:18:57,900 --> 00:19:01,133 - My hope is that we can bring the salmon home, 376 00:19:01,133 --> 00:19:05,966 that the ecosystem will be functioning, 377 00:19:05,966 --> 00:19:07,966 that we'll see not just salmon, 378 00:19:07,966 --> 00:19:11,666 but all of the other sea run fish coming home, 379 00:19:11,666 --> 00:19:14,266 bringing nutrients with them from the ocean 380 00:19:14,266 --> 00:19:18,300 to enrich the river and reconnect the river and the ocean. 381 00:19:18,300 --> 00:19:20,500 - When we think about the Penobscot River, 382 00:19:20,500 --> 00:19:22,366 when you think ecosystem health, 383 00:19:22,366 --> 00:19:23,966 you have to think Gulf of Maine 384 00:19:23,966 --> 00:19:25,633 and the forest and it's all connected, 385 00:19:25,633 --> 00:19:28,800 because a healthy forest means a healthy stream, 386 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:30,366 means a healthy salmon, 387 00:19:30,366 --> 00:19:33,000 if they can get there and get back, you know. 388 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,633 - The connection between the Penobscots and the river 389 00:19:35,633 --> 00:19:38,533 and what it meant about our culture, 390 00:19:38,533 --> 00:19:40,633 not about just the salmon, 391 00:19:40,633 --> 00:19:44,433 all these other animals, insects, 392 00:19:44,433 --> 00:19:48,466 and everything that lived in on around the river 393 00:19:48,466 --> 00:19:49,466 would benefit. 394 00:19:51,300 --> 00:19:55,000 I hope our children and grandchildren 395 00:19:55,000 --> 00:20:00,000 can thank us as their ancestors for looking forward for them 396 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:04,766 and restoring that resource 397 00:20:04,766 --> 00:20:06,966 that had been taken away from our ancestors, 398 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:09,866 if we accomplish nothing else 399 00:20:09,866 --> 00:20:12,833 I think that's one of their very important things is 400 00:20:12,833 --> 00:20:17,333 as native people restoring a damaged resource 401 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,966 and it's only through caring for mother Earth 402 00:20:21,966 --> 00:20:25,633 that we can accomplish that. 403 00:20:25,633 --> 00:20:27,466 (water flowing) 404 00:20:27,466 --> 00:20:31,800 - So historically salmon was a major part of our diet 405 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:36,800 and our culture and so to lose that part over time has been, 406 00:20:38,166 --> 00:20:40,266 we're just losing like a piece of us, I guess in a way 407 00:20:40,266 --> 00:20:42,600 and so I think it's really important 408 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,866 to try to restore that population again 409 00:20:44,866 --> 00:20:48,300 so that we can fully be who we are meant to be. 410 00:20:53,933 --> 00:20:58,300 (tribe chanting in foreign language)