Adirondacks Marcy Dam To Be Removed - What do you think?

 Marcy Dam in 2011 (Wikipedia)

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has included the removal of Marcy Dam in the Adirondacks' High Peaks region in its budget.

So now that the dam will start to be removed this season, what are your thoughts?

The Adirondack Almanack has a story on the planned removal if you are looking for some background information.


Having had a chance to be one of the members of the advisory group (for another organization) that first discussed saving or removing the dam, we think there are several considerations that ended up making us decide that a phased removal was for the best.

1. The dam was significantly damaged during the flooding from Tropical Storm/Hurricane Irene.  Following the storm, the lake began to drain.  In order for the lake to reach its full capacity again, the bridge would need significant repairs and due to changes in dam regulations, the new dam would most likely be significantly larger than the existing dam.
2. Marcy Dam is located in a Wilderness Area (and is as such a nonconforming structure).  In our mind that wilderness classification should be the overriding factor and because of that, the dam should not be replaced and should be removed incrementally to allow nature to take back over in this area.

What do you think?