Milburnie Dam Removal

The first dam removal as a restoration method for a mitigation bank, nationwide
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Unprecedented project, unprecedented results

in 2017 Restoration Systems restored seven miles of the Neuse River in Raleigh by removing the Milburnie Dam. The dam was built in 1901 and was preceded by other dams at the location since 1760. The ecology of the river began repairing itself immediately after the dam was removed, and migratory fish were able to travel to historic spawning grounds not visited in centuries. The public has repopulated the site as well, with hundreds of Raleigh citizens visiting site very day from the nearby Raleigh Greenway. The project was the first Mitigation Bank approved nationwide using dam removal as an accredited method of compensatory mitigation, and inspired two national regulatory documents from the EPA and USACE encouraging similar projects.

 

You spotted my trail cam near the beaver dam and left your card. I live near the dam removal site and I’m thrilled your team is still monitoring the changes happening. I’ve been exploring the area and fascinated by how it is slowly and sometimes not so slowly changing. I’ve put up a couple of the wildlife cameras off and on just for my own curiosity and I’ve got video of beaver, river otters, muskrat, coyotes, red and gray fox, wood ducks, hawks, barred owls and of course all the usual mallards, geese, rabbits, deer, raccoons, opossums, and squirrels. Thank you for the important work you do.

- River neighbor, in an email to RS

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