by Kristen Leahy
HARDWICK – As conversations about Jackson Dam continue, a few questions tend to come up repeatedly. That is not surprising. When a piece of infrastructure has been part of a landscape for generations, people naturally think about what might change and what might be lost.
One of the most common questions involves Hardwick Lake itself.
For many residents, the impoundment behind Jackson Dam is simply part of what Hardwick looks like. People fish there, paddle there or pass it on their way through town. Even for those who rarely visit the water, it is a familiar piece of the landscape.
Whenever communities discuss changes to older dams, the future of the impoundment is often the first thing people think about. That question is not unique to Hardwick. It comes up in almost every town that begins examining aging dams and changing river systems.
Another question involves history. Jackson Dam was constructed more than a century ago. Structures like it are part of the industrial story of many Vermont communities. Mills, hydropower and small dams shaped the development of towns throughout the region.
Preserving that history is important to many people, whether through documentation, interpretation or other ways of recognizing how earlier generations lived and worked along the river.
Energy is another topic that sometimes enters the conversation. Although Jackson Dam was not itself a hydroelectric facility, the impoundment helped regulate water levels for hydroelectric generation farther downstream. As communities think about energy independence and local power sources today, it is natural to wonder whether older dams might play a role again.
Wildlife is also part of the picture. Bald eagles nest along this stretch of the Lamoille River, and many residents have become accustomed to seeing them each year. When landscapes change, people often wonder how those changes will affect the animals that live there.
These questions reflect something important: people care deeply about the places where they live.
Projects involving rivers and dams rarely move forward based on engineering alone. They involve conversations about history, recreation, wildlife, energy and community identity.
The Jackson Dam study is still helping Hardwick better understand how the river system around the dam has evolved over time. As that understanding grows, community members will continue asking these questions.
That process takes time. It also benefits from clear information and thoughtful discussion about the landscape people share.
Rivers have always shaped Vermont communities. The conversations happening now are simply another chapter in that long relationship between towns and the water that runs through them.
Kristen Leahy serves as the zoning and floodplain administrator and the resilience and adaptation coordinator for the Town of Hardwick.
