Re: Headgates dam removal official announcement:
It will be great for allowing more fish to move upstream. There's no saying how many but the kind of fish that will move upstream is predictable. How far upstream they will go is also debatable depending on water flow and oxygen levels, but it is not inconceivable to hear of striper catches up, pretty far on the South Branch. I think the next, big upstream dam would be in Clinton.
The ecosystem will be changed, no doubt. I know that stripers enjoy eating trout in the Delaware River. Can the same thing happen in the branches of the Raritan and its tributaries? The results of removing the barriers will certainly be worth watching although significant changes will take time. Even with the removal of the Columbia Dam on the Paulinskill, the feared mass migration of shad into Blairstown and Marksboro hasn't been a factor .........yet!
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