Unfortunately the cancellation of funding isn't the only issue facing New Hampshire's natural resource's. The House budget as just sent forward includes a
doubling of the fee carried by dam owners from $1,500 annually to $3,000. I am one of those dam owners and this is causing me to re-think the value of the pristine 53 acre pond my dam retains. Owning a dam is already a huge investment in both financial cost and the burdenship of responsibility.
The easy solution for me and many other dam owners would be to remove the spillway elevations and drain the retained waters. Jackson Pond would likely shrink from its current 53 acres of pristine fresh water to something around 15 acres surrounded by a muddy marsh. Many affected small lakes and ponds like this will disappear from the NH landscape forever, so this is no small issue.
Jackson Pond was dammed up in the 1890s and served for one hundred years as the Ashland Town water supply. My neighbor across the pond and myself bought the dam in 2018 to preserve it just as it is both for ourselves and the public to enjoy. The DES has inspected the dam twice since and so far there are no issues, But now, do to a legislative money grab the future of this dam must be reconsidered. As mentioned before we already singularly carry the burden to maintain this pristine waterway, but now find ourselves a target for budgetary reasons. Do you think this is fair? If not be sure to let your State Senator and the Govenor's office know ...before it is too late.
For some photos of Jackson Pond please check out the Lakes and Ponds gallery in this
fantastic website.