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Warren County, New Jersey
Funded in FY2023 and 2024 through the National Fish Habitat Partnership Program
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has partnered with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), two private landowners, and the Statewide Dam Removal Partnership to advance the removal of two dams, the Lower and Upper E.R. Collins Dams, on the Pequest River in New Jersey. These removals will restore and reconnect habitat for diadromous fish species including American shad (Alosa sapidissima), blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), American eel (Anguilla rostrata) and native sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and restore access to 3 miles of potential spawning ground and habitat. The Pequest River is listed as “high priority” in the NOAA Restoration Center’s Northeast Region for fish passage due to co-occurrences of multiple priority species. TNC expects all aspects of the removal and river restoration to be self-sustaining once natural river processes are restored.
In addition to the ecological benefits, FEMA flood profiles indicate that removal of the E.R. Collins dams will mitigate flooding for the 10-, 50- and 100-year floods by up to three feet.
Removing Dams and Reconnecting Rivers | TNC (nature.org)
Text and images provided by The Nature Conservancy