After four years of project planning and permitting, Jack’s Brook dam was removed this summer by the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) and Trout Unlimited (TU), allowing the river to run freely for the first time since 1913. Jack’s Brook dam was located in a tributary of the North Branch of the Deerfield River in Dover, VT. The dam was 25 feet wide, and 6 feet high and no longer had any functional use. The removal was finished in summer 2025, and Jack’s Brook is now a free-flowing stream.

The dam had accumulated a significant amount of sediment over time, which limited critical brook trout spawning habitat. Returning Jack’s Brook to a natural sediment transportation regime will create the appropriate gravel substrate for trout to build their nests. The removal of the dam also helps improve flood resiliency, by reducing flood elevation levels as well as reducing flood hazards downstream if the dam were to fail.

This project was made possible by the following organizations: the Connecticut River Conservancy and Trout Unlimited with financial support from The Nature Conservancy and Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. We would also like to thank the private dam owner for making this project possible.

Several more dams are expected to be removed in the summer of 2025, so to stay up to date on our dam removal work head to FreeVermontRivers.org.

Photo Courtesy of the Connecticut River Conservancy