WESTMINSTER – The old Blake-Higgins Dam, which may have origins as far back as 1838, is now officially a thing of the past, and fish access to the Saxtons River for spawning, blocked for nearly two centuries, has been restored.

The $450,000 project, initiated by the Connecticut River Conservancy, is nearing completion. Demolition of the old wood and concrete dam began earlier this month after years of planning, grant applications and fundraising, said Ron Rhodes, the conservancy’s program director.

“It’s a clean water project,” Rhodes said, noting that in addition to fish migration, it will also prevent sediment from being deposited behind the dam and in the Saxtons River. In addition, the potential flood level will be lowered by seven feet, giving the river more room to expand.

The biggest beneficiaries of the removal of the Saxtons River dam appear to be sea lamprey, American eel and perhaps even American herring, as well as local anglers and swimmers, he said. “It’s one of the best sea lamprey spawning rivers in Vermont,” he said.

While the sea lamprey in Lake Champlain is considered a problem species and is frowned upon for its parasitic behavior, and the state is actively trying to reduce its population with a lampricide, that is not the case in the Connecticut River, says William Eldridge, an aquatic habitat biologist with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Saxtons River habitat, from the Connecticut River to Twin Falls in North Westminster, is considered a preferred spawning ground for lampreys, Eldridge said Wednesday.

The gravel in the riverbed is ideal for spawning sea lampreys, which, like other diadromous fish such as Atlantic salmon, are born in freshwater, eventually migrate to the sea and then return to freshwater to spawn and die.

Unlike the sea lampreys in Lake Champlain, which are parasitic due to overcrowding and can be fatal to the trout population, the sea lampreys in Connecticut waters are relatively harmless, Eldridge said.

Sea lampreys are expected to make it via the fish ladder at Bellows Falls Dam to the upper Connecticut River, including the White River, he said.

The 90-foot-long Blake-Higgins Dam was originally built to generate electricity for one of the nearby factories, likely a paper mill, Rhodes said. The dam has been rebuilt several times, he said, first it was a wooden dam and may date back to 1838 or 1868. Rhodes said it was first built of wood before concrete was invented, and later the dam was rebuilt in 1896 with what is known as “river rock concrete” on top, he said.

In fact, several long old beams from the original dam have been pulled out of the river, Rhodes said. The dam was built on a ledge, he said, and construction crews still need to remove some concrete to move it to the ledge of the riverbed.

By 1927, the dam was rebuilt again after a major flood, this time with modern concrete and reinforcing steel, he said.

The dam has been falling apart over the past 20 to 30 years and no one has claimed ownership, he said, which led to the Vermont Attorney General’s office’s opinion on the ownership determination.

The original power station, a small square red brick building, is located on the site of James Plumbing and Heating.

Rhodes said the Nature Conservancy has been working on the Blake-Higgins project since 2020, when the state of Vermont asked the Nature Conservancy for help with the demolition. He said it typically takes between three and five years to plan the demolition of a dam for environmental reasons, and a total of seven grants were needed to fund the dam’s demolition.

The dam had already broken before construction crews began a few weeks ago. Many of the chunks of concrete have since been moved to the banks of the river, and on Tuesday the noise and force of the water rushing into the Connecticut drowned out any normal conversation.

The dam was located just 900 feet from the Connecticut River and just across the border between Bellows Falls and Westminster.

The dam was owned by the State of Vermont, although it took a ruling by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office to settle that issue. The dam was located just below the Route 5 bridge over the Saxtons River and within sight of James Plumbing and Heating.

During a public tour of the site Tuesday afternoon before a downpour, Rhodes and other conservation staff explained the project, why it was important, who would benefit and what the site would ultimately look like.

And no, the project will not eliminate the ubiquitous Japanese knotweed that overgrows the river banks at this location.

Rhodes said ownership of the dam was transferred to the Vermont Agency of Transportation primarily because it lies directly below the Saxtons River Bridge on Route 5.

Rhodes said construction crews will be on site by the end of August, and much of the stone path that was recently built to support the heavy equipment needed to access and remove the dam will be permanently demolished.

The site is now owned by the nonprofit Vermont River Conservancy and will have parking, steps and a walking trail so people can easily access the river, he said.

There is currently no public access to the Connecticut River on the Vermont side, he said, noting that the dam has been a popular swimming and fishing spot in the past.