Project Overview
Harbor Park Revitalization and Dam Removal Public Engagement Session featuring Natalie Travia, Library Board President, and Eamonn Hutton with Tandem Landscape Architects held at the Camden Public Library on Tuesday, August 11th, 2026.
Re-recorded (due to technical difficulties).
News Coverage on the Public Engagement Session
$5.9M National Coastal Resilience Grant Recipient
• 1,391 to 995 Town Election Approval
Midcoast Villager coverage: Plans Unveiled for Montgomery Dam Removal and River Restoration
Pen Bay Pilot coverage: Preliminary work begins to rebuild head of Camden Harbor shoreline, Megunticook River outlet
The Camden Harbor Park Revitalization Project will remove the aging dam at the mouth of the Megunticook River, restoring a free-flowing waterway that supports native wildlife and enhances the resilience of our historic landscape. This nature-based approach was selected by the majority of voters as the most cost-effective and ecologically sound solution, ensuring the long-term health of the river and Harbor Park.
Managed by the Camden Public Library Board of Trustees, the Working Group for design review consists of a technical team including InterFluve, Tandem Landscape Architects, LLC., and Richardson and Associates, a representative From the Megunticook River Citizens Advisory Committee and Downeast Salmon Federation each. Members of the library staff serve in an advisory role.
Harbor Park was originally designed by Olmsted Brothers and gifted to the Town by Mary Louise Curtis Bok in the 1930s. As stipulated in the deed, the Camden Public Library Trustees oversee Harbor Park. As charged by the voters, they will ensure that the final design remains faithful to the original Olmsted vision and the park's National Register of Historic Places listing.
Detailed Project Schedule
2026
Landscape design and engineering studies are being finalized by the technical team to ensure a resilient and historically faithful restoration.
Required environmental and zoning permits are being secured.
2027
Work to remove the Megunticook River dam and restore the river to its original channel will tentatively begin end of summer to the beginning of fall 2027. Work is not expected to interfere with any downtown business activities and most work will take place outside of the Memorial Day to Labor Day window.
2028
The restoration of the park's shoreline and intertidal zone will be completed.
Continuing the Work
This committee's efforts build on the work of the Megunticook River Citizens Advisory Committee to bring their 8-1 recommendation and the majority of the voters' will to fruition.
Removal Benefits
Removal will lower the base flood elevation under the Main Street Bridge, decrease active management, and relieve
flooding for property owners.
Wide Support
The grant proposal was supported by the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the Department of Marine Resources, Coastal Mountain Land Trust, the Downeast Salmon Federation, and numerous downtown property owners, among others.