Maryland’s Patapsco River will soon be healthier for fish and safer for local residents, thanks to a $3.57 million grant awarded by the NOAA Restoration Center to American Rivers. The grant supports the Patapsco River Restoration Project, ensuring the removal of the Bloede Dam and continued long-term monitoring of the Patapsco.
Removing Bloede Dam, the lowermost dam on the river, will open up more than 44 miles of spawning habitat for blueback herring, alewife and American shad, and more than 180 miles of habitat for American eel. Herring and shad are critical to the web of life in the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay, and are a key food source for other recreational and commercial fish species like striped bass.
American Rivers, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Friends of the Patapsco Valley State Park have worked together for more than five years to restore the Patapsco River.
Removal of the Union Dam was completed in September 2010, followed by the removal of the Simkins Dam in March 2011.
The dam removal will also eliminate a public safety hazard—swimmers have died in the hazardous currents below the dam.
source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources