North Country Angling: Those damn dams: A cautionary tale

I submit that Steve Angers is unaware of the unique facts and circumstances surrounding the vital need for a small dam at Big Pea Porridge Pond. In addition, he does not appear to understand the interrelationship between the three bodies of water that make up Pea Porridge Pond (Big Pea, Middle Pea and Little Pea). Furthermore, he does not seem to realize that Big Pea's water levels are susceptible to the vagaries of the Village District of Eidelweiss Board of Commissioners, who control a spillway located on Little Pea. There are numerous homeowners on Big Pea but who are not residents of the Village District of Eidelweiss. These homeowners have no voice on when, how and why boards are removed from the Little Pea spillway, and yet it has a substantial impact on their waterfronts. As a longtime recreational scuba diver and a former U.S. Navy Deep Sea Diver, I have tested out my gear in Big Pea for decades. This is what I have observed on the bottom of Big Pea in the last few years, when water levels have dropped far lower than I have ever seen in my near 40 years of diving in Big Pea (due to the removal of boards at the Little Pea spillway): the bass fish nests are much harder to find, probably because their numbers are decreasing, I almost never see catfish anymore, when once they were abundant. Water temperatures are also higher than in past years, resulting in runaway algae blooms, which I'm told deplete the oxygen levels in the pond. Fishermen have told me that the fishing on Big Pea is not as good it was just seven or eight years ago. Like others, I too have noticed the dearth of frogs and their nighttime chorus during these past few years, thanks to the lower water levels that have decimate their numbers and threaten their existence on Big Pea. The need for a small dam is vital to the future health of Big Pea Porridge Pond and its native wildlife. If you care about the long-term viability of Big Pea, get the real facts from people and organizations in the know (such as Pea Porridge Pond Association). And then contact State Representative Mark McConkey (who does know the facts) and voice your support for this small dam.

Mr. Angers doesn’t know and did not list one fact behind the proposed dam at Big Pea Porridge Pond, the facts about the significant fluctuations in water levels that have adversely impacted frogs, fish, and other wildlife. He didn’t talk to anyone or even one angler that knows the pond. Instead, Mr. Angers jumped to conclusions and compared the proposed HB-1532, a tiny non-menacing dam on Big Pea Porridge Pond that will be 18 INCHES high to the hydro Goodrich Fall dam which is 25 FEET high, and the hydro Santuit dam which is 8 FEET high. In fact, the proposed dam HB-1532 is actually lower than the current water level right now. The proposed HB-1532 is all the fishing.