Northeast Region Highlights
A glimpse into day 21 of Power Dam removal, as workers on Pigg River remove the base of the dam. David Byrd/USFWS |
Demolition of Pigg River dam completed in Franklin County, VirginiaDams and other structures choked Southwest Virginia’s Pigg River for over 100 years. Now, with the breach of the river’s oldest and last remaining dam, its waters rise freely from Fivemile Mountain and flow a winding 75 miles east to Leesville Reservoir near its confluence with the Roanoke River. As Friends of the Rivers of Virginia and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today highlight the completion of Power Dam demolition, local officials and conservationists look forward to reduced flooding risks, the opportunity to extend the Pigg River blueway for canoeing, kayaking and fishing, and improved river habitat for wildlife including the federally endangered Roanoke logperch and declining Roanoke bass, orangefin madtom and bigeye jumprock populations. |
A Sea Turtle Recovery staff member examines a Kemp's ridley. Adult Kemp's ridleys are considered the smallest marine turtle in the world. Sea Turtle Recovery |
New Jersey’s newest rehabilitation center welcomes first sea turtlesThe first injured sea turtles arrived December 21 at New Jersey’s new and only long-term sea turtle rehabilitation center, the Sea Turtle Recovery at Essex County Turtle Back Zoo. The 10 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were transported from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts, where the season has already brought nearly 450 cold stunned sea turtles ashore in the state. "Rescue, rehabilitation and release of sea turtles are not only opportunities to help populations, but also opportunities to better understand the challenges to recovering healthy population numbers," says regional recovery permit coordinator Deb Carter of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. |
Mercury released at the DuPont facility affected at least 75 species of songbirds (such as the wood thrush), many of which breed in the summer in Virginia and spend the rest of the year in places like Central America. Flickr Creative Commons, Kelly Colgan Azar |
Public, environment to benefit from $50 million proposed settlement for natural resources harmed by Virginia Dupont facilityThe Departments of Justice and the Interior and the Commonwealth of Virginia today announced a proposed settlement with DuPont valued at about $50 million resolving claims stemming from the release of mercury from the former E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company facility in Waynesboro. Over 100 miles of river and associated floodplain have been contaminated by mercury in the South River and South Fork Shenandoah River watershed. |
Quickly rising flood waters carried by the White River damaged roads, facilities and equipment on White River National Fish Hatchery. Ann Froschauer/USFWS |
White River National Fish Hatchery re-opensDecember 6, 2016 - The White River National Fish Hatchery is back in business after being closed for five years due to extensive storm damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene. And it has a new mission - to restore native salmon and trout populations to Lake Champlain, as well as lakes Erie and Ontario.The hatchery is open to the public on a limited basis. An event to celebrate the opening is being planned for spring 2017. |
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