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Client/Sponsor
| Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) |
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Collaborating Organizations
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Project Location
| Franklin County, Virginia |
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Period of Performance
| April 2008 - ongoing |
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Capabilities
| Field Ecology |
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CMI Personnel
| Associated Personnel
Jeff Jones
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Franklin County, Virginia, in partnership with the Virginia Rural Area Conservation and Economic Restoration (VA RACER) initiative, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Virginia Department of Game and Island Fisheries (VDGIF), is working to remove the Rocky Mount Power Dam (RMPD) on the Pigg River. The Conservation Management Institute and Dr. Than Hitt of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Tech have been awarded a grant to conduct ecological monitoring to assess the baseline conditions of the Pigg River ecosystem prior to dam removal.
The dam, measuring 240 feet wide and 25 feet high, was constructed in the early 1900’s on the Pigg River to provide electrical power to industry. The dam is now non-functional and provides few tangible benefits to Franklin County. Rather, concerns over the structural integrity of the dam and its negative ecological impacts have made its continued existence a liability.
Dam removal will provide several important economic and ecological benefits to Franklin County and the Pigg River, respectively. First, dam removal may serve to increase canoe and kayak recreational opportunities and tourism in Franklin County. Second, dam removal will alleviate residents’ concerns about the dams’ safety. Finally, the Pigg River contains important habitat for Roanoke logperch (Percina rex), a federally endangered species, and other fish species of conservation concern, including bigeye jumprock (Moxostoma ariommum), Roanoke bass (Ambloplites cavifrons), Roanoke darter (Percina roanoka), riverweed darter (Etheostoma podostemone), and orangefin madtom (Noturus gilberti). Long-term persistence of these populations will depend on habitat quality and connectivity among populations, and removal of the Rocky Mount Power Dam provides an important opportunity to improve habitat quantity, quality and connectivity for these species.
While dam removal may be an important ecological and economic restoration vehicle, it also presents potential short-term risks to downstream aquatic populations and habitat.
Short-term ecological impacts of dam removal may include increased sediment load that may cause suffocation and physical damage to biota and habitats, and increased mobilization of contaminated material (if present). Ecological monitoring, therefore, is necessary to quantify the effects of dam removal on aquatic habitat and populations. Specifically, the
potential effects of sedimentation on downstream populations of Roanoke logperch, because of its endangered status, must be evaluated. In addition to assessing the potential risks of dam removal, it is also necessary to assess the potential benefits by studying fish movements before and after the dam is breached. This information will contribute to understanding the ecological effects of dam removal, will assist civic leaders and regulators make more informed decisions, and will help the affected human community to better understand the benefits of the project. Monitoring will be conducted for at least one year prior to dam removal, which is anticipated to occur in 2009 or 2010.
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