Dry Brook Culvert Replaced

TU completes the Dry Brook Culvert Replacement Project, replacing an antiquated culvert with a new single span bridge. The culvert, located on private property, was undersized, perched and a barrier to fish passage. Dry Brook is a tributary to the Beaverkill near “Trout Town USA” - Roscoe, New York. The replacement of the culvert with the new bridge will reconnect 1.8 miles of high quality head water habitat.  Inadequately sized culverts can be a seasonal or year round barrier to fish, fragmenting habitat and disconnecting the natural flow of organisms, material, nutrients and energy along the river system.  This loss of stream connectivity is a critical threat to valuable and already vulnerable species such as the native brook trout.  Reconnecting spawning habitat in the Beaverkill watershed is a TU priority. The Beaverkill is located in the Catskill Mountains and represents one of the most economically important trout fishing destinations in New York.

Over the last few years, TU and the landowner worked closely with engineers from Woidt Engineering and Consulting and Delta Engineers, Architects, & Land Surveyors to design the project. Then, TU hired local contractor, Delaware Bulldozing, to complete the on-the-ground work. The Dry Brook Project is part of the handful of projects being funded as part of the Millennium Stream Improvement Program.

The Millennium Stream Improvement Program was developed as part of the initial permitting and construction of the Millennium Pipeline that runs through the southern tier of New York. The fund was established by Millennium Pipeline, LLC for the purpose of improving stream conditions in the areas near to the pipeline route. TU was selected as the organization to administer these projects and is working in cooperation with local organizations to develop and implement projects.The goal of the fund is to increase and improve spawning and rearing habitat for brook trout and other coldwater species. The Orvis/TU 1,000 Miles Campaign also contributed to the project.

Click here if  you are interested in learning more about TU's work in the Catskill Region of New York.  (Photo D. Plummer)