CRC worked with the dam owner, Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and local contractors to remove the dam off Kidder Hill Rd. in Grafton, VT. The concrete dam, built in 1960, was heavily damaged by Tropical Storm Irene and identified by the State as a priority river restoration project eligible for State of Vermont Clean Water Block Grant funding. With the dam gone, fish and wildlife can move freely throughout the river system, and natural flows will help transport sediment downstream. CRC contracted with Fitzgerald Environmental of Colchester, VT and Canonica Farm & Forest Services of Chelsea, VT for the design and implementation of this restoration project.

Windham Regional Commission and CRC worked with landowners in Dummerston, VT to remove a dam on private property on Crosby Brook. The work was supported by a grant from the VT Department of Environmental Conservation. This project was possible due to collaborations including Vaughan-Johnson Dam owners, Paula Sagerman Historic Preservation Consultation, United States Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish and Wildlife Service, VT Division for Historic Preservation, Town of Dummerston, Ripple Natural Resources LLC, and Canonica Farm and Forest Services LLC.

The Pine Mill Dam in Haverhill, NH was CRC’s final dam removal in 2019. It was a big and complicated project because the dam was still attached to the original mill building, which is now an apartment complex. Additional work (structural, vibration monitoring, and cutting the concrete dam) were all required. This work was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Upper Connecticut River Mitigation & Enhancement Fund.

CRC worked with the Norwich Fire District to remove the old Norwich Reservoir dam on Charles Brown Brook in Norwich, VT. The concrete dam was built in 1928 as a water source but became obsolete in 1981. The project – which included removing the concrete dam, 758 truckloads of accumulated sediment, and in-stream habitat reconstruction – was funded by the Vermont Ecosystem Restoration Grant, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Vermont Fish & Wildlife, Patagonia, Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, and the Norwich Conservation Commission. With the dam gone, native Brook trout and other aquatic wildlife can freely move throughout the entire river system from the Connecticut River to the headwaters (a total of 43 miles).

CRC partnered with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Connecticut River Coordinator’s Office to remove a small, privately owned dam on Cold Brook in Wilmington, VT. This river restoration project was funded by USFWS’s National Fish Passage Program and their Partner’s For Fish and Wildlife Program, a Watershed grant from Vermont Fish & Wildlife, as well as grants from the Conservation Alliance and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

CRC also helped the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission remove a dam on Mill Brook in West Windsor, VT. Removing the dam opened 26 miles of habitat to fish, improved water quality, and reduced water temperatures. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and a Vermont Ecosystem Restoration Grant helped fund this removal, and CRC hired the Intervale Conservation Nursery of Burlington, VT to help restore the site with native tree and shrub plantings post-removal.

CRC’s dam removal and river restoration work wrapped up with a dam on Clark Brook in Haverhill, NH. Crews worked through the snowy, cold fall to remove this privately owned dam.

The Connecticut River Conservancy partnered with the Passumpsic Valley Land Trust to remove the East Burke dam on the East Branch of the Passumpsic River in East Burke, VT. The concrete dam was built in 1931 at the same location as previous timber crib dams (the first was built in 1825). A total of 623 truckloads (or nearly 9,500 cubic yards) of sediment were removed from upstream of the dam, which lowered the flood elevation level in town by four feet. With the dam gone, native brook trout and other aquatic organisms can freely move throughout the entire river system (99 miles). CRC and our project partners returned to East Burke in spring 2018 to plant 2,500 trees and shrubs along the newly shaped riverbank to add additional wildlife habitat and reduce erosion.

CRC worked with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to remove a small, privately owned dam located on an unnamed tributary to the West River in Dummerston, VT. The dam, built in 1939 to create a swimming hole as part of the estate, blocked fish passage and sediment transport in this small Brook trout stream. Funding for this project was provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, a Watershed grant from Vermont Fish & Wildlife, and a grant from Patagonia.

CRC worked with another private landowner to remove a former small hydro dam on the Ompompanoosuc River in West Fairlee, VT. This dam was originally built in 1983 to generate hydro-electric power for the farm, but only produced electricity for 10 years. Since then, the dam functioned as a blockage to both upstream aquatic organism passage and downstream movement of sediment. By removing the dam we opened 17 miles of habitat, improved water quality, and reduced water temperatures. Funding for this project came from the Upper Connecticut Mitigation and Enhancement Fund, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and a grant from the Conservation Alliance.

CRC worked with the Town of Haverhill and other partners in 2016 to replace two aging, undersized and perched culverts that were blocking fish passage. The projects on Page Rd. and Stonecrest Dr. open more than twenty miles of stream habitat, benefiting brook trout and other aquatic species. Replacing these culverts has also reduced the risk of flooding and infrastructure damage. Both projects were coordinated by CRC River Steward Ron Rhodes, including project oversight and contracting with Trout Unlimited and Horizons Inc. for engineering design as well as Chief Bogie Excavating for construction. CRC received grants from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the State of New Hampshire Moose Plate program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Additional funding was provided by Town of Haverhill and the Greater Upper Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited via an Embrace-A-Stream grant.

CRC and our partners removed this deadbeat dam in summer 2015. This dam was built in the early 1900’s for hydro power, but was wiped out by the 1927 flood and never used again. So, for nearly 90 years, this old dam was blocking fish passage and sediment transfer, as well as being a safety hazard for river users (fishers, paddlers and swimmers). CRC secured grant funding and private donations (including from the dam owner – Green Mountain Power), worked with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on engineering, and hired a local contractor to remove nearly 600 tons of concrete, metal and debris. Fish passage was achieved immediately when one small fish found the flowing water during deconstruction, and a nice sized trout was spooked upstream during post-construction monitoring. This project opened up 34 miles of river habitat for fish.

The replacement of this culvert on Abbott Brook in Strafford, VT will improve flood resiliency and allow for fish passage into the Podunk State Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The project, completed in 2015, opens five miles of stream habitat to the WMA, benefiting brook trout and other aquatic species.

The project was coordinated by CRC, working in partnership with the Town of Strafford, Vermont Fish & Wildlife, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to the federal and state funding support, CRC received a grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund program.

Removing the partially breached Franconia Paper Mill dam restored the natural river habitat to free-flowing conditions, improved water quality and sediment transport, restored the river channel, increased and improved fish and wildlife access to spawning habitat and cold water refuge for resident Eastern brook trout. Removal of this dam in 2014 has opened roughly 8 miles of stream.

Our partners included the State of Vermont, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Town of Groton. Funding was provided by grants from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the State of Vermont, USFWS, Patagonia, Trout Unlimited, and American Rivers/Keurig Green Mountain Coffee.