Western Mountains Fishing Report: June 19, 2007

Spencer Lake in western Somerset County was the site of a major habitat restoration project, completed last October. Like many Maine lakes, Spencer’s original water levels were altered some 100 years ago by the construction of a large dam on the lake’s outlet to accommodate spring log drives. In Spencer’s case, the effects were very dramatic because the channel above the dam was deepened to facilitate a higher structure. So as the old dam deteriorated, water levels in the lake dropped well below that which occurred prior to about 1906. This resulted in the loss of about 600 acres of wetlands, dewatering of excellent brook trout habitat in the lake’s shallows, the disconnection of small tributaries from the lake, and most recently, the loss of boat access to Spencer Lake from the Fish Pond Thoroughfare. In addition, smallmouth bass recently colonized the lake’s outlet, Little Spencer Stream. Their migration to Spencer Lake was only blocked by the remnants of the old dam, which was near to being completely washed out by 2005.

Around this same time, FPL Energy, owners of Harris Dam on the upper Kennebec River, was required to restore or create wetlands to compensate for those lost in Indian Pond as a result of their operation of this large hydroelectric project. After consultations with Department wildlife biologists and other key personnel, Spencer Lake was selected as the site for FPL’s Indian Pond wetlands mitigation project. The Spencer restoration project centered on constructing a new concrete dam at the site of the old driving dam. The new dam would be designed to reestablish water levels to the lake’s natural elevation. This would restore about 600 acres of the lake’s contiguous wetlands, including those associated with Fish Pond located just upstream, and provide significant benefits to a variety wetland-dependent wildlife species. Additional benefits included re-watering great brook trout habitat, re-connecting the lake to its tributaries for brook trout and smelt spawning, and preventing the upstream migration of bass from Little Spencer Stream. The project would also benefit anglers because boat access from Fish Pond could reestablished with the higher, more stable water levels.

The project was overseen by FPL biologists Bill Hanson and Kyle Murphy, and Bud Brown of Eco-Analysts. Dan Spaulding from Spaulding Engineering designed the dam, while Joe Haley from M&H Logging in Rangeley carefully removed the old dam and very ably coordinated other contractors. We were present during most of the construction period to assure that bass could not pass into the lake during different phases of construction. This was an excellent crew and they deserve lots of credit for getting this project completed in about six days, just prior to the fall rains.