The Blairstown Township Committee got a dam progress report about the restoration of the Paulins Kill River two years after the demolition of the Paulins Kill Dam.
Beth Styler Barry of the Nature Conservancy’s freshwater team said the return of the river’s natural flow has allowed wildlife to thrive, adding that shad have been reported north of the dam site, where they have not been seen in more than a century.
Barry said shad have been caught by people fishing the Paulins Kill beyond the site of the former dam. Surveys of the vegetation and other animals revealed the DNA of shad in the new areas, she added.
Shad are hatched in the upper reaches of freshwater rivers such as the Paulins Kill. They then swim to the Atlantic Ocean, where they live several years, returning to the rivers to mate and spawn. The adult fish return to the Atlantic, with many making the yearly journey several times during their lifetimes.
Along with the shad, eels have been become more numerous along the river as well. And they are bigger than in the past because they don’t have as many man-made obstacles in their way.
“We’ve seen those eel numbers increasing in numbers,” Barry said. “We see bigger eels because they could actually get over the dam.”
Mayor Rob Moorhead said he’s been very pleased with the results of the dam removal. He said to Barry, “You have been our friend and our guide through the demolition and removal of the Paulina dam, and things are looking pretty good over there right now.”
Moorhead added that he’s seen more people using the river, too.
A lot of folks have been using the area there for just some recreation, just cooling off,” Moorhead said.
I drove across the bridge on one of those very hot days last week, and there was a guy sitting in the middle of the river on a beach chair And I just envied him at that point. It’s like, why am I not doing that? That should be me down there.”
Work to remove the dam began in 2014. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection determined during the past few years that the dam needed millions of dollars in repairs if it were to remain in place.
The work commenced with a notch being cut in the top of the dam, which was cut deeper several times to allow the lake to empty in increments.
Built in 1895, the dam and its generator have powered mills and even a laundry for Blair Academy. Electricity from the dam brought the first electric lights to the school and the village of Blairstown.
The Nature Conservancy oversaw the removal of the dam further downstream on the Paulins Kill at Columbia in 2019. Since the demolition, the conservancy said, shad and other fish long absent from the river started returning.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
