CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — Over thirty miles of the West Fork River from Clarksburg to Weston will soon flow freely for the first time in nearly a century, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today begins the third stage of the river restoration project, the removal of Two Lick dam.
West Milford and Highland dams were removed earlier this year as part of the state’s most significant river restoration effort ultimately reconnecting 491 miles of the West Fork River and its tributary streams for fish and other wildlife. This project will eliminate the safety hazards created by the deceptive low-head dams while also improving water quality, river habitat, and opportunities to kayak and fish on the river.
The Clarksburg Water Board will continue to draw water from the pool above Hartland Dam, which will remain in place to provide clean, safe drinking water to local residents. Next year, a structure at Hartland Dam providing fish and kayak passage will boost the total reconnected river and stream length another 32 miles, from 491 to 523 miles.
The removal of Two Lick dam using heavy equipment is expected to take about 3 weeks. As work begins, water levels in the upstream pool will drop a few inches each day for several days. During this time, residents should use caution when on the river and avoid the construction area around the dam.
As the water levels in the pools behind the dams drop, biologists will recover stranded freshwater mussels along the river banks. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan program and volunteers will help remove trash and large debris that becomes exposed. Additionally, the Service has worked with the Department of Highways to ensure potential bank failures would be immediately addressed.
The restoration work will enhance the safety, cleanliness, and beauty of the West Fork River in Harrison County. The effort joins a national trend to remove obsolete dams and restore rivers, with the Service and partners removing more than 1,600 barriers to fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage over the past two decades.
Landowners interested in assistance with streambank seeding, native vegetation plantings, fencing installations for livestock or those interested in volunteering for cleanup efforts should call the USFWS at 304-636-6586 x 17.
Project partners include the Clarksburg Water Board, Canaan Valley Institute, Southwestern Energy, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, American Rivers, and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
