Take a helicopter ride down the Susquehanna River to see the United States' largest shad restoration fish lift construction projects in progress.

Almost half completed, the fish lift construction projects at the Safe Harbor and Holtwood hydroelectric dams will be the focus of a news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 11 a.m. at Safe Harbor in Lancaster County, Pa.

To restore American shad to the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay, fish lifts are being built on hydroelectric dams along the Susquehanna River. The fish lifts will work like elevators to allow migrating shad to continue their upriver journey. The lifts at Holtwood and Safe Harbor will start operation during the Spring 1997 shad migration.

The construction projects are part of the Susquehanna River Shad Restoration Program, a cooperative effort among utility companies and government agencies to provide passageways for American shad over the river's four hydroelectric dams.

The Safe Harbor dam is co-owned by Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. (BGE) and Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. (PP&L), which is the sole owner of the Holtwood dam. The two dams are located about eight miles apart on the river between the city of Lancaster and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border.

The news conference will begin with a 20-minute explanation of the Susquehanna River Shad Restoration Program and the two fish lift construction projects. Tours of the Safe Harbor project and a 15-minute helicopter ride over both the projects will follow. The helicopter ride will provide the opportunity for aerial video and still photographs of the river and the fish lift construction projects.