Dam Removal in Virginia Supports Endangered Mussels and Other Aquatic Species

The dam, built in 1827, has blocked upstream habitat for nearly two centuries. (Photo courtesy of Virginia DWR.)

Nearly 200 years ago in northern Virginia, a six-foot-tall dam was erected on Rock Island Creek, a tributary of the James River. The dam, made of stone and concrete, spanned 55 feet and was built to power a sawmill and grist mill.

Though only ruins are left of the mills, Baber Mill Dam remained relatively unchanged from its construction in 1827. Since then, this artificial barrier has divided what was once a connected aquatic system for a number of native species, including sea lamprey, American eel and the James spinymussel. The spinymussel, in fact, has been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1988 but has lost more than 90 percent of its range due to habitat loss and pollution - and hadn't been naturally found in the James River for more than 60 years.

For more than a decade, though, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources has been working with landowners to remove dams and improve natural habitat, and DWR actually stocked the James River with hatchery-raised James spinymussels in 2022. And now, thanks to the proactive work of our own Andrew Brown and Daniel Hanks this spring, Baber Mill Dam was identified for removal as part of this project - opening 45 miles of upstream waterways key to the spinymussel and many other species.

"There was no operational benefit to removing the dam, but everyone was happy to do it because it was the right thing to do for conservation," says Daniel, aquatic ecologist for our Southern Timberlands Environmental Research Team. "Weyerhaeuser owns a lot of land, and we own the land as a trust. Future generations will look back at us and see what we did for that land. We did a good thing here."

The team that was on hand to watch the dam removal in April. Standing from left to right are: Daniel Hanks, aquatic ecologist; Ben Kobek, area manager; Katie Hanway, Planning & Inventory manger; and Andie Kolarova, development professional. Kneeling is Andrew Brown, EMS manager. (Photo courtesy of Virginia DWR.)

DISCOVERING POTENTIAL HABITAT

Weyerhaeuser has owned the property around Baber Mill Dam since 2016. In March 2022 Andrew Brown, environmental manager for our Carolina-Virginia Timberlands, invited Daniel to visit the area.

"I remember the visit well, thinking 'Wow, this dam could be a good candidate for removal,'" Daniel says. "It fell in line with our larger initiative to improve stream connectivity for aquatic organism passage, which includes surveying all our stream crossings for barriers with the goal of working to ensure all crossings are passable. I knew we had an opportunity here to make a big difference for conservation."

Recognizing the stream could be potential habitat for the James spinymussel, Daniel reached out to the Virginia DWR.

The excavator begins removing the old dam. (Photo courtesy of the Virginia DWR.)

COLLABORATION IS KEY TO SUCCESS

"It turned out to be serendipitous timing," Daniel says. "They had just surveyed survival rates for mussels they'd released as part of their propagation program and stumbled upon the dam. They couldn't find it on any registries, so they were excited to find out we owned it."

Because of the dam's history, Weyerhaeuser had to hire an architectural historian to ensure the planned removal was in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act. Our teams also had to secure permits from the Army Corps of Engineers for removal. And because the work impacted an endangered species, it had to meet requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The cost of removing the dam was close to $60,000, but a state wildlife grant and a donation from a private foundation helped fund the effort, bringing our share to about $10,000. Both Andrew and Daniel agree it was a worthwhile expense.

"It turns out one of the people who reviewed the grant proposal for the foundation was a colleague of mine 20 years ago," Andrew says. "This project is filled with similar funny little stories. I knew this former colleague's family did philanthropic work; it was a nice surprise to run into him and talk about the good work Weyerhaeuser is doing."

Now that the dam is removed, 45 miles of upstream waterway is open to aquatic species. (Photo courtesy of Virginia DWR.)

HABITAT IMPROVEMENT

It was just about 18 months from the time Daniel first contacted DWR, in November 2022, to removal in April 2024 - relatively fast for a dam removal project of this size.

"We were able to get it done quickly because we had the DWR, state and federal agencies all working together with us," Daniel says. "It's a great example of public-private partnership."

On demolition day, an excavator started at 9 a.m. and was done by 3 p.m.

"The only delay came when the excavator operator realized he was missing the tool he needed to change from the jackhammer head to the shovel head," Andrew says. "I called a couple contract loggers we had working nearby to see if they could help, and they had a big crescent wrench we were able to borrow. It's another example of how our contractors are really part of our team. They helped save the day - there aren't any hardware stores nearby that carry industrial-sized crescent wrenches."

During one of their stream surveys, DWR employees also found beavers in Rock Island Creek. (Photo courtesy of Virginia DWR.)

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Teams from the DWR are now conducting surveys to track aquatic species above and below the former dam site. They hope to find species that had previously been blocked by the dam in the waterways above the site, showing they're profiting from the additional habitat.

This is especially important for freshwater mussel species, such as the spinymussel. Most freshwater mussel species rely on host fish species for dispersal - their parasitic larvae, called glochidia, attach to the fish gills or fins. Once the larvae develop shells, they drop off the host fish to the stream bed, often spending the rest of their lives where they land.

"I learned you can determine the age of a James spinymussel by counting its rings, like a tree," Andrew says. "They can live for more than 50 years, which floored me. And they're not very mobile, so while we only removed one small dam, it will make a big difference for this species."

Other species in Rock Island Creek are already benefitting from the dam removal. Surveys have found sea lamprey and American eel, which are migratory species similar to salmon. Sea lampreys are born in freshwater, then swim out to the ocean and mature before returning to the same general area where they were born to reproduce. The life of an American eel is just the opposite; they're born in the Sargasso Sea, and the babies swim upstream to mature in freshwater streams before returning to the Sargasso Sea to reproduce.

Having a clear path through Rock Island Creek will benefit both, as well as the freshwater mussels.

"The support this project received, spanning several levels of the company, shows just how committed we are to conservation and being good stewards of the land," Daniel says. "I've told multiple people both in and outside the company how proud I am to work for Weyerhaeuser because of things like this."

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