Work begins at Long Pond, beaver dam destroyed

SALISBURY — Work has begun on the Long Pond dam replacement project, which has been in the works for several years, but delayed by uncertainty over finances.The dam at Long Pond was the subject of considerable study and planning going back at least to July 2000, when then-First Selectman Val Bernadoni brought the dam’s condition to the attention of the state Department of Environmental Protection.Current First Selectman Curtis Rand said a formula was set up to pay for the rebuilding, with the state picking up 66 percent of the cost up to $500,000, and the adjacent property owners and the town picking up the remainder.After an initial design was completed, the project bogged down as the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considered the environmental impact.The bog turtle, an endangered species legendary for both its reclusiveness and — in the Northwest Corner, anyway — its ability to stop projects in their tracks, came into play.Rand said the federal agencies decided that in order to rebuild the original dam and ensure that there was sufficient water  in the lake for the bog turtles to have an adequate supply of wet mud for their hibernation season (mid-September through October), the window for drawing the lake down 3 feet and completing construction was very short, with the work to be done by Sept. 1 of any given year.But engineers hired by the state came up with a new dam design that only requires drawing the lake down a foot, and will not have a negative impact on the turtles’ activities. Rand said this extends the construction season into the fall.The other major snag was that the state bonding commission took no action on the project until recently.One unintended casualty of the repair work: a beaver dam at Long Pond.