Sunday River Remnant Dam Removal

SHARE spent a few days last week helping to remove a(nother) remnant dam on the Sunday River.

Steve and I met up with Bobby van Riper’s crew from MEIF&W, Jeff Sterns from the Androscoggin Watershed Council, Sue Gammon from the Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, Jed Wright, and Alex Abbott. Aside from wanting to remove what’s been a passage barrier for at least 100 years, they wanted to check out how the griphoist worked, and we wanted to show it off.

Usually, when we remove a remnant dam, we’re removing a few crib logs that are the foundation of the dam structure. This was not the case here. This was the closest I’ve seen to a ‘pristine’ dam.

Took us a day-and-a-half to remove the structure. Now the river has the opportunity to move and sort the substrate that had been stacking up above the dam as it naturally can. Fish of all species and sizes can move up and down what once was an impassible barrier.

This was a great project to do, and I want to thank everyone that helped to make it happen.

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