Cold Brook Dam Removal
Following the development of 30% design plans by Gabe Bolin while at Trout
Unlimited in 2017, Stone Environmental was hired by the Connecticut River
Conservancy to complete dam removal design and provide permitting support for the
removal of a small dam located on Cold Brook in the Town of Wilmington, Vermont.
Cold Brook is a roughly 5-mile long tributary to the North Branch of the Deerfield
River. The 4-foot-high by 50-foot-long concrete gravity dam was constructed in the
1980s by a private landowner to generate power. Although in fair condition, the owner
permitted the removal of the dam to improve fish passage for native brook trout and
other aquatic organisms, as well as reestablish natural stream flows and sediment
transport.