Northeast Region, partners remove Merrimack Village, N.H., dam and open river to fish migrations

Merrimack Village Dam, with removal underway and before. Credit: NOAA

The Northeast Region's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is working with state, federal and nongovernmental partners to remove the Merrimack Village Dam on the Souhegan River, a tributary of the Merrimack River, in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Removal of this dam will restore fish passage to over 14 miles of the mainstem Souhegan River and provide access to five miles of tributary habitat. Additionally, the dam removal will restore 2,100 feet of free-flowing river conditions to the portion of the river impounded by the dam. The work will also restore 4,200 feet of river floodplain along the impounded area.

The lower Souhegan River is a priority watershed for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners to restore spawning populations of Atlantic salmon, American shad, and river herring and to provide rearing habitat for maturing American eels. The Souhegan River and tributaries provide the appropriate habitat (gravelly, sloping bottoms, water temperatures, oxygen levels and food sources) for excellent growth and survival of Atlantic salmon fry. On average, about 100,000 salmon fry are stocked in the Souhegan River watershed annually. Interagency efforts to restore populations of American shad have also been supported through intermittent stockings in the lower Souhegan River.

The Service's partners include the Merrimack Village Dam owner, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the American Rivers, Conservation Law Foundation, FishAmerica Foundation and others in the dam removal project.