By Katy Savage
Farm and Wilderness Camp has removed a 60-year-old dam that posed environmental risks to the surrounding area.
The dam, measuring 292 feet long and 31 feet tall, was capable of impounding 500,000 cubic feet of water but had become ineffective due to rotting. Concerns over warming water, sediment release, and potential flooding of nearby properties prompted the decision to dismantle it.
“The dam was no longer working the way it was designed,” said Jay Kullman, the sustainable resources director at Farm and Wilderness. Discussions regarding the dam’s removal began eight years ago, culminating in its drainage in 2019.
“We brought scientists in to assess the site, see what we had,” Kullman said. “And they wanted us to do a symmetry, which is, figure out the depths of the water.”
To gather data, Farm and Wilderness staff laid out a grid on the ice, drilling holes every 10 feet and measuring water levels with a pole.
Ron Rhodes, the director of programs at the Connecticut River Conservancy, who has been involved in dam removals across the state, said many dams being removed were originally constructed for mills that powered the textile and paper industries, but have since been deemed a threat to flood management and water quality—shallow water makes the water warm and uninhabitable for fish.
“Part of the process of getting permits to do a dam removal is you have to go through historic preservation and cultural resources,” Rhodes said. “We often have areas that we have to cordon off and we can’t touch them. The contractor has to stay out. It’s a big deal.”
While it’s unclear why the dam at Farm and Wilderness was constructed around the 1970s, there are remnants of an historic lime kiln on the Farm and Wilderness site that was used in the 1800s to produce lime, a key ingredient in toothpaste, plastic and soap.
“One of our goals was to make sure that the historic structure was not damaged by the dam failing, and we took great care in ensuring that in the construction process,” Kullman said.
Farm and Wilderness received $170,000 in federal funding from the Clean Water Initiative Program to remove the dam. Kullman said the organization saved money on the total $230,000 project by undertaking the dam removal themselves.
The project has successfully restored 31/2 miles of floodplain and established a quarter mile of aquatic organism passage. Farm and Wilderness plans to plant 1,200 trees in the area to stabilize the site and enhance conditions for cold-water species, like trout.
“The strong root networks will prevent erosion and help keep the water cool for fish,” Kullman said. “We’re really excited about how it looks. It’s great to feel like we did the right thing. We’re seeing all this wildlife return to the area. Beavers are coming back and enjoying themselves.”
The organization also aims to use the restored area as an educational resource, demonstrating the benefits of site restoration with its conservation mission.
