Dam Silt Creates Catastrophe for New York's Chateaugay River

Oftentimes it is the smaller dams that create the biggest problems for trout streams, because they are either exempt from federal regulations that enforce conservation rules or below the radar of state officials. In this case, a favorite brown trout river near the Canadian border was choked with 4,000 cubic yards of sediment. “The muck, which had accumulated for several years behind a hydroelectric dam, was released on Sept. 5. Flouting state environmental regulations, the dam owner opened a 4-foot drain gate at the bottom of the Chasm Hydro Dam.” Paul Grondahl in the Albany Times-Union.