Dam Gone, Leopold and Steelhead Celebrate

Aldo Leopold and the steelhead are happy today. Leopold's Land Ethic artfully made the case that dams do more damage than good and while the damage done by the dams of the Midwest pale to those in the Northwest, nonetheless all those who believe in the Round River have to be cheering today.

Heavy rains and melting snow took out the small dam in Gates Mills on the Chagrin River this morning. NewsNetFive.com has some good pictures of the scene. While I regret the flooding downstream (and all across Northeast Ohio), the dam needed to be removed and Mother Nature did us all a favor.

Our children used to capture crayfish and catch smallmouth at the base of the dam. While it brought us hours of enjoyment, the dam totally disrupted the natural flow of the river, warmed the water upstream and destroyed miles of potential native brook trout habitat. It is hard to say how the river will respond to running free again in the years ahead, but for the short term it means steelhead will be able spawn upstream to the barrier falls in Chagrin Falls. More than likely the cool headwaters of the Chagrin and small tributaries will result in more successful spawning of steelhead. Steelheaders are already celebrating on Steelheadsite.com.

And it is possible that some of the native brook trout in the Chagrin watershed will be able to expand their territory. To protect and enhance the brook trout fishery, I'd be willing to halt stocking of steelies in the Chagrin. But that will be a long way off, I'd guess.

For now, I'm just glad the dam is gone.

Blown Out

White water tumbled down the shale cliffs. The flow from the hidden feeder creeks above the river added to an already swollen river. Tall pines stood sentry over the run that had turned sandy brown overnight thanks to the steady rain. The green needles of the pines were almost transluscent in the mist.

Gray and brown were the color of the day, except for the pines and pachasandra, which had gotten a jump on spring. The light green pachasandra covered the near bank and looked as if it was ready to take over the entire forest.

We were trying to fish some private water on the East Branch of the Chagrin River. But the overnight rains had disrupted those plans. We checked out a few runs and riffles and half-heartedly through wolly buggers against the bank. We expected nothing and got it.

Visibility was less than a few inches, but the sand and gravel under my wading boots told me that this would be an ideal location to find spawning steelhead in a few weeks. Perhaps we'll have a chance to return when the river will be green like the pachasandra and pines, rather than brown like the dead leaves covering the forest floor.