DEC won't rebuild Marcy Dam

[Explorer Editor]

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[Tom_Murphy]

Will Flat Mountain Pond disappear in the dam at the south gives way?

 

[Mike P.]

Lowered 15 feet? I'd think over time, you'll end up with some type of cascades as the brook carves through the old pond to get to the elevation on the other side.

As far as more natural setting, as the old pond area dries out, won't more people camp there? One of the scouts we brought there this November used a picture from the dam as part of their Christmas card. Just finished telling someone that one of the things the ADK High Peaks have that the Whites higher peaks don't really have are iconic lakes. NH has Star Lake, Eagle Lake and LOC, then it's either Ethan Pond or Unknown Pond. (not counting the bigger tourist lakes but many more of those too) ADK has AuSable, Avy, Colden, Ampersand and many more near the lower peaks, Blue Mountain, Rich, Crane, etc....

For the younger crew that don't remember the old views, here are some from the 90's I've recently scanned.

 

[BlackSpruce]

Here another article with more comments and explications from DEC:

http://adirondackdailyenterprise.co...27/Marcy-Dam-will-be-dismantled.html?nav=5008

DEC also considered allowing the "dam to fail on its own; however, a catastrophic failure would result in ecological damage from the release of the silt behind the dam and possibly result in injury or death of people."

The DEC plans to remove the dam in stages over a five-year period in order to allow vegetation to grow on the sediment behind the dam, therefore anchoring it and minimizing the amount of sediment carried down Marcy Brook.[/I]

 

[DSettahr]

As far as more natural setting, as the old pond area dries out, won't more people camp there?

The streams still flow through the pond bottom. Any camping within 150 feet of these streams would be illegal, unless the DEC designated tent sites there.

Interestingly enough, when the pond was still there, the DEC had plans to eventually relocate all of the lean-tos at Marcy Dam to bring the area into compliance with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (which stipulates that all lean-tos within 100 feet of water must eventually be relocated). Now that the dam has failed and the pond has drained, the lean-tos are in compliance and don't need to be moved (although I believe that the total number still does need to eventually be reduced to 2).

 

[psmart]

Will Flat Mountain Pond disappear in the dam at the south gives way?

An interesting topic (worthy of a separate thread!)

Without the dam, the single pond would presumably return to it's original configuration as a chain of smaller ponds. You can see this on older maps where it is labeled "Flat Mountain Ponds" Note that the railroad grade ran beside the ponds before it was submerged by the dam. If you look carefully you can now see remains of the grade under water at both ends of the pond.

 

[Mike P.]

The streams still flow through the pond bottom. Any camping within 150 feet of these streams would be illegal, unless the DEC designated tent sites there.

Interestingly enough, when the pond was still there, the DEC had plans to eventually relocate all of the lean-tos at Marcy Dam to bring the area into compliance with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (which stipulates that all lean-tos within 100 feet of water must eventually be relocated). Now that the dam has failed and the pond has drained, the lean-tos are in compliance and don't need to be moved (although I believe that the total number still does need to eventually be reduced to 2).

Is two the number they want to lower it too. Now I'm not into crowds but I always looked at Marcy Dam as being an ideal place for a first backpacking trip. Virtually no climbing, probably someone would have the thing you forgot, if you overpacked, you wouldn't collapse carrying all, heck, you could even make two trips from the car.

Is there a stream coming over Wrights there too or just the one that currently meanders through the silt. Eventually it will stabilze and settle into a bed.

Anyone know when the the first dam was built? Was it built for floating logs? Maybe I should try the www or Forest & Crag.

 

[MichaelJ]

Feel free to spot this off to a new thread, but in terms of Flat Mountain Pond doesn't that support fish and an entire biosystem that has grown up in the decades that the dam has been there? The article about Marcy Dam says the impoundment didn't support any fish or other aqueous life due to the shallowness of the water. I would like to think that for Flat Mountain Pond there's a valid case for preserving the existing ecology.

 

[psmart]

.. in terms of Flat Mountain Pond doesn't that support fish and an entire biosystem that has grown up in the decades that the dam has been there? The article about Marcy Dam says the impoundment didn't support any fish or other aqueous life due to the shallowness of the water. I would like to think that for Flat Mountain Pond there's a valid case for preserving the existing ecology.

I'm not sure how much effect the failure or removal of the FMP dam would have on the ecology. Certainly, the pond(s) would get smaller, and there would be new growth around the new shoreline. But the ponds would still exist, as you can see in the 1931 topo before the dam was built. They would just be smaller than present. As for depth, the dam is only raising the water level a couple of feet, so there wouldn't be a dramatic reduction of depth in the middle.

Of course, NH F&G stocks the pond with (non-native) trout, and they would be one of the interested parties as far as dam removal or replacement. Frankly, I'm surprised the dam hasn't been repaired already, given it's poor condition. However, there is also growing interest in fishing for native species, so perhaps stocking will be discontinued, allowing native populations to become re-established.

Foot-note: Although most of the pond is within the Sandwich Range Wilderness, the boundary deliberately excludes the dam, so that maintenance can be done without any limitations due to Wilderness rules. Of course, that creates the interesting situation where a man-made structure just outside the Wilderness has a profound effect on a sizable water body inside the Wilderness. Not saying that's good or bad - just interesting.