“Dam Cam” to Capture Removal of New Hampshire’s Merrimack Village Dam
August 11, 2008
For more than 270 years, the Merrimack Village Dam helped power saw mills, gristmills, a shoe factory and provided water for a chemical factory. No longer powering industry and scheduled for demolition, the dam has one last role to play — that of movie star. Beginning this week, NOAA, in partnership with the Conservation Law Foundation, will capture live on camera the removal of the dam, opening up 14 miles of the Souhegan River from Milford to Merrimack, N.H., providing extensive habitat for river herring, Atlantic salmon, American shad and American eel.
“Merrimack residents and people around the world can go online and watch
the river as it transforms back to its natural free-flowing state,” said Eric Hutchins of the NOAA Restoration Center. “From your laptop at home, you’ll see years of planning and preparations come to life, and watch the river repair itself.”
With NOAA’s first-ever “dam cam,” viewers will see backhoes and bulldozers take down the dam’s concrete wall and restore the flow of the Souhegan River, a major tributary to the Merrimack River. Photos of the removal will be captured every 10 minutes, with a time-lapse film starting this week through August 30. After the dam removal is complete, the camera will continue to capture footage for five months as the river continues to restore itself. The feed can be found at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/.
NOAA has contributed more than $260,000 to the dam removal project over several years. The removal of Merrimack Village Dam is one of NOAA’s largest projects under its Open Rivers Initiative, a national effort to restore the historic river habitat of migratory fish and other species that travel between ocean-coastal and upstream freshwater areas. Projects include removing derelict dams, culverts and other river barriers. Through the Open Rivers Initiative, NOAA outlines specific consensus steps developed by expert scientists, engineers, biologists and members of the local public, working together.
The Merrimack Village Dam was one of a series of dams built on the Souhegan River in the 1730s to power industry. It now presents a public safety hazard and a liability for its owner.
The dam’s removal will also open an excellent stretch of class II whitewater for canoeing and kayaking enthusiasts.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov.
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DNREC to Host July 7 Public Hearing on Proposed Revisions to Shad and River Herring Management Plan
June 17, 2008
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish and Wildlife, will host a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 7 in the DNREC auditorium, Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, regarding proposed revisions to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has developed a public information document (PID) as the first step to drafting an amendment in response to the findings of the 2007 benchmark stock assessment for American shad, which indicates that American shad stocks are currently at all-time lows and do not appear to be recovering.
Specific issues addressed are: (1) incorporating the biological reference points and stock restoration goals identified in the 2007 benchmark stock assessment; (2) not increasing directed fisheries for American shad; and (3) restricting fisheries operating on stocks where total mortality is increasing and relative abundance is decreasing. The PID has been developed to address these issues by seeking public comment on the restoration of American shad fisheries and American shad fisheries management.
The PID presents a broad overview of the factors affecting American shad, and provides the public with the opportunity to tell the Commission about changes observed in the fishery; things that should or should not be done in terms of management, regulation, enforcement, research, development, and enhancement; and any other concerns about the resource or the fishery. Other coastal states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia will also be holding public hearings on the proposed changes.
Following the initial phase of information-gathering and public comment, the Commission will evaluate potential management alternatives and develop a draft amendment for public review. Following that review and public comment, the Commission will specify the management measures to be included in the final amendment. A tentative schedule for the completion of the amendment is included in PID.
Copies of the PID may be obtained by contacting the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission at 202-289-6400 or by visiting its website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News.
Citizens may address comments in writing to Erika Robbins, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, fax to 202-289-6051, or email to comments [at] asmfc [dot] org, subject line American shad. Public comment will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, July 25.
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Public Hearing June 17, 2008, on Marine Rule Changes Affecting Lobster Size Limit; Shad and River Herring Management
May 28, 2008
DURHAM, N.H. — The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold public hearings on proposed marine rule changes to the maximum size limit of lobsters and on Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Public Information Document (PID) for Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring. Both hearings will take place on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at the Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth, N.H., on the second floor in the Hilton Garden Meeting Room.
The proposed rule changes under consideration would involve modifying the maximum legal length of lobsters in Management Areas 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 to bring New Hampshire into compliance with ASMFC’s Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster.
The Public Information Document and subsequent amendment to the ASMFC’s Shad and River Herring Fisheries Management Plan are being developed in response to the findings of the 2007 benchmark stock assessment for American shad, which indicates that American shad stocks are currently at all-time lows and do not appear to be recovering.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for fishermen and other interested groups to provide input on the PID either through attending a public hearing or by providing written comments by 5 p.m. on July 25, 2008, to Erika Robbins, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, ASMFC, 1444 Eye St, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005. Copies of the document can be obtained by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400 or via the Commission’s web site at www.asmfc.org under “Breaking News.”
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