Camden is experiencing one of the most charged public debates about a community decision that any of us have ever experienced. This fact has sadly produced a campaign that, recognizing it is failing on facts, is resorting to distortion, distraction, and disinformation.

It is impossible to miss the yard signs all around Camden advocating for “Yes” and “No” votes on the removal of Montgomery Dam that we will decide on the June 10 ballot.

The topic has tapped the passions of voters both for and against dam removal. But what are the facts supporting these positions? 

The “Yes! On 7” campaign grounds its positions in science, common sense, and respect.

The “No on 7” / “Save the Dam Falls” campaign tells voters that removing Montgomery Dam will destroy the waterfall at the harbor. This is false. Dam removal will literally open the floodgates to a beautiful waterfall that will cascade over ledges from the Megunticook River into Camden Harbor.

The “No on 7” / Save the Dam Falls people distract you from this image.  They instead allege a conspiracy orchestrated by Town Manager and Select Board members to deprive our neighbors of an invented historical right. They tilt their lances at the hard work, dedication, and ultimately, the integrity of good people. But it’s not about an outmoded windmill. It’s about an outmoded dam.

When town government commissioned the Megunticook River Citizens Advisory Committee (MRCAC) and appointed members representing all corners of our community, the Save the Dam people were on board. Until MRCAC reached conclusions they disagreed with. 

When the nine MRCAC members voted 8-1 in favor of dam removal, Save the Dam Falls cried foul, cast personal attacks on MRCAC members, invented history and science to support their wished-for outcomes, and appealed to the basest of our neighbors’ instincts.

I am a MRCAC member. I’m also one of the eight who came to support dam removal, after 2 ½ years of data collection, personal story collection, and deep thinking. MRCAC is probably the most thoughtful and respectful group of people with whom I’ve had the privilege to work. We did not agree on everything. But we spoke, we listened, and we compromised. That includes the Save the Dam Falls-designate on MRCAC, who might not have compromised, but he engaged with respect. His backers sadly demonstrate no use for the respect he showed. Their angle seems to be, “If you can’t win on the message, attack the messengers.”

This isn’t only about MRCAC. 

The Save the Dam Falls folks have also bitterly denounced the Camden Public Library Trustees, who unanimously voted in favor of dam removal (one member abstained). 

The Library Board of Trustees reasoned that dam removal is the most responsible course forward. Their Harbor Park has annually flooded and they’ve watched the seawall and other critical elements of the shoreline succumb to the destructive power of sea level rise and river flooding. They’re right to protect the legacy left by Mary Louise Curtis Bok and shaped by the Olmsted brothers. And they’re right to ignore that Save the Dam Falls people’s claims that the concrete dam at the top of the falls has anything to do with that legacy.

The “No on 7” people now want you to believe that Montgomery Dam removal will result in Camden taxpayers footing the bill for what they allege are tens of millions of dollars in costs needed to restore Megunticook River’s other town-owned and private dams. This claim is utterly baseless and the most blatant attempt to warp public thinking with scare tactics.

A “Yes! on 7” vote only commits the town to roll forward toward the removal of the broken concrete slab that is the Montgomery Dam.  How much of your property taxes will fund this project?  Zero. Zilch. Nada. 

If you vote “Yes! on 7,” the Town expressly cannot spend a single dollar of Camden taxpayer funds. Any money needed to pay for the removal and follow-up site work must come from private and federal sources. That’s why the “Yes! on 7” yard signs proudly boast that a Yes vote will “Save Our Taxes”!

No fish ladder or other new structure will be built at the head of the harbor to allow fish to pass up the falls.  Nor will it need to be.  The water and the rocks will take care of that, if you vote “Yes! on 7.”  

No riverfront property owners’ property rights will be taken when the Montgomery Dam is removed, as the Save the Dam Falls people would have you believe. 

The waterfall will not be lost. Megunticook Lake will not be lost. And the return of migratory fish will not hurt the health of the lower river, the middle river section between Shirttail Point and Molyneaux Road, or our treasured lake.

These facts and the rationale behind MRCAC’s conclusions are published on our committee’s website, Megunticook River Community Advisory Committee.  Find the “Montgomery Dam Findings and Recommendation” report as you scroll down the mainpage.

Please (please!) read our report.  You’ll discover that we considered all of the “No” people’s assertions.  You’ll see that, after considerable review, we disagreed with them, 8-1.  

Were we all born here?  No.  Do we all own businesses on Main Street?  Nope. Does this mean our work was a waste and not worthy of your respect?  That’s for every voter to decide. 

Is it going to look the same after the Montgomery Dam is removed?  No.  Will the resulting waterfall be pretty?  Yes, it will.  And it will be pretty great in a couple dozen other ways, too.

Vote “Yes! on 7.”  Free the River!  Save the Dam Taxes!  And do what’s right for Camden!

Respectfully,

Rick Thackeray, MRCAC Member, lives in Camden