By David Sellers
The Warren Dam Preservation Trust submitted a petition last week for a warning at this year’s Town Meeting. The text is: “Shall the town of Warren maintain the historic dam on the Mad River in Warren and, shall the town raise $3,000 a year for such maintenance?”
The purpose of this warning is to bring the discussion that has been ongoing for well over 10 years. The dam is on the historic register and is a landmark in Warren along with the covered bridge. The village of Warren was based on hydropower in the river. With well over 10 hydro systems within the village, it was the source of jobs and community for over 100 years. This is the last dam and the largest.
The dam is made of wood timbers and is called a timber crib dam. It requires maintenance from time to time. That maintenance is in the range of 30 to 50 years. I remember when there was a call for volunteers to help the fire department and the road crew to maintain the dam in the 1970s. It was a lesson in community participation and neighborly help. And loads of fun.
The dam is made of native logs, mostly hemlocks from The Valley, and has been a monument that is recognized in photographs, postcards, Vermont Life and more. Some think it should be torn down; others want the tradition of maintaining it preserved.
If maintained there are opportunities for preservation of our history, heritage and a modest hydroelectric facility that could be included.
Others want the river to return to the natural state before the settlement in Warren. Some think the dam separates the rainbow trout from the brook trout – brook trout being native upstream, rainbows stocked downstream.
Others think there should be a fish ladder; some want to kayak or canoe through the Warren gorge and want to start at the covered bridge. Others think the boating should start at the dam with a portage area and then enter the gorge. Some think the dam is a good barrier to discourage boaters from entering the gorge.
These and more thoughts will be brought up for public discourse at Town Meeting. It promises not to be a boring meeting.
Sellers lives in Warren and is the director of the Warren Dam Preservation Trust.
