WRP receives funding to remove Randolph dam

The White River Partnership has received four grants to remove a dam on the Third Branch of the White River in Randolph.

The Randolph Dam is located on the east side (downstream) of the Main Street Bridge in Randolph village.  The current structure, located at the approximate site of the original foundry dam, is a 5-foot-high log crib dam faced with sheet pile and a partial concrete cap along the left bank.  The dam is not in use and is a complete barrier for spawning trout; removal would open up 98 miles of cold-water habitat to fish passage.

Removal would also open the Third Branch main stem to paddling, and improve flood resilience for the businesses located at the old foundry on Prince Street.  Ripple Natural Resources, a local engineering firm, is designing the removal.  In fall 2015 the Randolph Selectboard voted to unanimously support the project.

VWG-logoFunding from the Davis Community Foundation, National Fish Passage Program, Vermont Watershed Grant, and Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund will allow the White River Partnership, American Rivers/The Nature Conservancy, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and Greater Upper Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited (GUVTU) to remove the dam in summer 2016, restore in-stream and riverside habitat, and monitor long-term impacts to fish passage.

In addition GUVTU has received an Embrace-A-Stream grant to help fund the project, and is contributing proceeds from the 2015 and 2016 White River Open fly fishing tournament.  GUVTU and WRP volunteers will plant trees along the Third Branch in spring 2017 to restore riverside habitat, and will help the US Fish & Wildlife Service monitor long-term impacts to fish passage.

Follow this link for more information: Randolph Dam removal project.