WENDELL —The Dam and Seawall Repair or Removal Program provided more than $10.9 million to 25 projects that will make repairs to or demolish outdated structures.
A Franklin County project included in the funding round was $462,552 to Mass Audubon for removal of the Bowen’s Pond Dam in Wendell.
“We are excited to support the dam owner’s efforts and applaud their work over more than a decade pursuing an ecologically responsible plan that brings environmental and risk reduction benefits to Wendell and the Millers River watershed,” Mass Audubon Senior Conservation Ecologist Tom Lautzenheiser wrote in an email. “This dam is in poor condition and removing it will reconnect the extensive, permanently conserved headwater wetlands of Osgood Swamp back to the downstream reaches and reintroduce a natural dynamism to the area that will enhance biodiversity.”
Lautzenheiser added that the project is an opportunity to improve the “ecological integrity” of a body of water that he said already contains a “substantial amount of conservation land.”
Given that the dam is situated on private property, state Rep. Aaron Saunders, who said he has received feedback from numerous constituents in Wendell who are against the demolition project, voiced his opposition to the funding in a phone interview.
Saunders added that since he first took office as a state representative, Wendell constituents have reached out to him to voice their concerns that the dam removal would adversely affect its environment.
“My most serious concern is that this is $470,000 of taxpayer money that is desperately needed for Wendell in a variety of ways, that is now being used to improve the land of a private resident,” he said Thursday. “We need to really think about where we’re placing our taxpayer-funded resources when it comes to environmental protection, because there is not enough funding available to do all the good work we need to do.”
Electric Light and Power Dam
The state has also pawarded the Connecticut River Conservancy $180,000 to begin planning and designing the partial demolition of the Electric Light and Power Dam on the Green River in Greenfield.
This marks the first step in a project that Connecticut River Conservancy Restoration Program Manager Rebecca Budd said will take roughly nine years to complete.
The environmental advocacy organization signed an agreement with Mayor Ginny Desorgher last November, in which both parties agreed to the full demolition of the Wiley-Russell Dam and partial demolition of the Electric Light and Power Dam, also known as the Mill Street Dam. The two dams are about a quarter mile apart on the Green River.
“We just love our home river,” Budd said. “We consider the Green River our home river for our headquarters and we’re excited to be working to advance it.”
She noted that the Connecticut River Conservancy will, at the very earliest, be able to start the physical project in 2029. She said that by the spring of 2027, she hopes to have 50% to 60% of the design completed.
The funding, distributed through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Dam and Seawall Repair or Removal Program, pertains only to the design of the Electric Light and Power Dam’s demolition. However, Budd said the two projects are intertwined, as demolition of the Wiley-Russell Dam will be necessary to ensure the safe passage of fish and other aquatic wildlife.
“In terms of fish passage, it’s pretty critical to advance Wiley-Russell as well, and I’m feeling pretty confident that we will be able to do that as well. I don’t think it would impact it if only one went,” Budd said. “They’re only 0.3 miles apart, so we need fish passage at both sites for it to have the full ecological benefits.”
The planned demolition of the Wiley-Russell Dam initially brought about significant pushback from Historical Commission members who believe that its ties to Greenfield’s tool-making history made it a historically important landmark. However, Greenfield’s Chief of Staff Erin Anhalt said she does not expect the Electric Light and Power Dam project will spark similar contention.
“We are anticipating, based on preliminary conversations, that this design won’t necessarily change this particular dam in the same way, and it also isn’t as visible of a dam as the other dam that has been more contentious,” Anhalt said. “We’ll still check with the Historical Commission and work with them, but this design isn’t anticipated to be as contentious in terms of just visibility of the actual structure.”
While Budd said it is unclear exactly how much the dam project’s design will cost the Connecticut River Conservancy, she said engineering design costs for similar structures generally range from $200,000 to $500,000, depending on project complexity.
Anhalt explained that the project will support “infrastructure that is already in place” and the city is grateful for its partnership with the Connecticut River Conservancy.
“We’re so thankful to have the partners at the CRC, who are also very conscious of how important this particular dam is to city infrastructure, and have made it clear from the beginning that they are dedicated to making sure that this strongly supports the infrastructure that is in place,” she said. “This will continue to make Greenfield stronger across the board.”