Cranberry Creek Dam Being Removed to Restore Brook Trout Habitat and Improve the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
Contact:
Hawk Hammer, National Communications and Media Director, Hhammer@americanrivers.org
Rusty Painter, Land Protection Director, Rusty@ctnc.org
Andy Hill, High County Regional Director, Andy@mountaintrue.org
GLENDALE SPRINGS, NC — Conservation partners are removing an aging earthen dam from Cranberry Creek Preserve, reconnecting a key tributary and clearing the way for habitat restoration, improved safety, and upgrades to North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
“Free-flowing rivers support the health of entire ecosystems and communities around them. The Cranberry Creek restoration project removes a decades-old chokepoint on the river and will kickstart the recovery process for the entire watershed,” said Anabel Winitsky, Southeast conservation associate director for American Rivers. “Aging and unsafe dams are an epidemic across the country and removing them is often the most effective way to restore rivers and remove risk.”
The coalition of partners — including American Rivers, Conservation Trust for North Carolina, MountainTrue, Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, and the National Park Service — will remove the dam as the first step in a broader conservation effort. The ultimate goal: transfer the 200-acre preserve to the National Park Service and enhance the Mountains-to-Sea Trail for generations to come.
Eliminating the Cranberry Creek dam is a requirement of transferring the land of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina’s 200-acre Cranberry Creek Preserve to the National Park Service for permanent protection as part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The federal agency cannot accept properties with existing dam structures, due to concerns for environmental and public safety. With the dam gone, a section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail will be re-routed through the preserve, creating a safer hiking experience further from the Parkway road.
“Conservation projects like this deliver huge returns, with expanding opportunities for outdoor recreation being one of the most tangible and rewarding,” said Rusty Painter, CTNC’s Land Protection Director. “The Cranberry Creek project checks all the boxes – protection of habitat, water quality, scenic views, and improvement of a state trail.”
“This is what successful watershed restoration looks like: strong partnerships, smart investments, and lasting benefits,” said Andy Hill, Project Manager and High Country Regional Director at MountainTrue. The Cranberry Creek Dam removal project was made possible with a grant from the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission dedicated to removing dams from watersheds across Western North Carolina in order to open miles of safe recreation and aquatic ecosystem connectivity. “The return on investment for safe recreation, aquatic habitat, and flood resilience is a wise use of tax dollars that benefit all North Carolinians”
Dams are all-too common across our landscape, with over 1,500 across western North Carolina alone, and a movement is growing across the country to remove them for the sake of people and nature. Projects like Cranberry Creek show how strategic dam removals can boost recreation, reduce flood risks, and help fish and wildlife thrive — while making treasured places like the Mountains-to-Sea Trail even better.
American Rivers is a national conservation organization working to make every river clean and healthy for people and wildlife. We combine evidence-based solutions with enduring partnerships to safeguard the 3.5 million miles of rivers and streams that are essential to our nation’s clean drinking water, extraordinary wildlife, and strength of our communities. For more than 50 years, our staff, supporters, and partners have been driven by a common belief: Life Depends on Rivers. AmericanRivers.org