© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

Adirondack Dam Plan To Improve Salmon And Trout Habitat

NYS DEC

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is taking public comments on plans to modify a dam on the Saranac River a few miles upstream from Lake Champlain.

The proposal for the Imperial Dam in Plattsburgh calls for decreasing the height of the spillway by 8 ½ feet and building a concrete fish ladder to let salmon and trout swim nine miles upstream to spawn.

Anglers and conservationists have asked for the dam to be removed or modified for years, saying it serves no purpose and is a barrier to spawning fish. Derrick Miller, President of the Lake Champlain Chapter of Trout Unlimited, says the dam proposal is great news.

The Saranac River is also part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

A public information meeting is planned Wednesday evening in Plattsburgh.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.