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A brook runs free again

Dam's removal on Cox Brook will help Dog River's fishery

Heavy equipment from Hebert Excavating in Williamstown removes an old dam on the Cox Brook in Northfield Falls last week. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Times Argus

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NORTHFIELD FALLS — State officials say a dam removal project on the Cox Brook in Northfield Falls will boost native trout populations in the already legendary Dog River fishery.

Last Thursday morning, construction crews demolished a concrete impoundment on a slow-moving stretch of the Cox Brook, about one-quarter mile above the small tributary's confluence with the Dog River.

Nearby residents will lose a beloved swimming hole created about 80 years ago, when Norwich alumnus Frank Glazier Smith constructed the dam for use in student experiments and demonstrations. But Rich Kirn, fisheries biologist for the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, says the project makes way for spawning trout populations seeking passage upstream.

"We'll see fairly immediate results," Kirn said as he surveyed two backhoes dredging tons of gravel that had collected above the dam. "Conceivably, this fall, brown and brook trout will be moving upstream to spawn."

Clark Amadon, head of the Mad-Dog Chapter of Trout Unlimited, sought the blessing of Northfield selectmen for the project on behalf of the state. His own 140-member organization has donated $1,000 to the project, the lion's share of which was financed by a federal habitat-restoration grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"The Dog River is unique in that it is one of three natural trout rivers in Vermont," Amadon said. "In this particular region, to have a fishery that hasn't seen stocked fish since the 1960s is pretty special and unique."

Native browns, brooks and rainbows are sought-after prizes by serious anglers, and the Dog River has long been a destination for trophy catches.

"It's a really tough place to catch fish," Amadon said. "The fish very wary, and the browns and rainbows that grew up in that ecosystem are smart … If you're successful on the Dog, then you're really good at what you do."

Kirn said regular fish monitoring on the Cox Brook raised some concern about the impact of the dam on the wild trout. A 2004 survey revealed a loss of rainbow trout above the impoundment, indicating the dam was a barrier to spawning fish.

"Since this is a wild trout fishery, natural reproduction is extremely important," Kirn said. "Just like we need to move through the road network to get where we need to be, aquatic critters need to move through the stream network to get where they need to be."

Brian Fitzgerald, with the Department of Environmental Conservation, said the state has about 1,200 dams scattered on its rivers in streams. The state removes one or two impoundments a year as part of a longer-term plan to restore aquatic habitats.

"We're looking at dams that don't serve a useful purpose and are not likely to serve a useful purpose," Fitzgerald said. "It's a good opportunity to restore rivers and streams, improve fisheries and get other ecological benefits as well."

The dam was built in the 1930s, according to the state, by a Norwich graduate who learned how to construct a dam in a hydraulic engineering course at the Northfield university.

Smith built the dam with the help of two friends, Ted Doney and Jim McGlaflin, and intended to donate the facility to Norwich for use by professors and students. The university declined his offer, however, and its only useful purpose in recent decades has been as a swimming hole for local children. Smith died in 2006 at the age of 98.