Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID NH_2025_Burdick

Colonization of emergent wetland plants in expanding buffers following dam removal

Institute: New Hampshire
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $17,461 Total Non-Federal Funds: $26,646

Principal Investigators: David Burdick

Project Summary: The removal of small dams in New Hampshire, which are ubiquitous on the landscape, has accelerated over the past two decades as they reach the end of their lifespan and public safety is threatened. Outright removal has become a cheaper option than continued maintenance. The upstream impoundments following small dam removals have been largely understudied across the country despite shifting from open water to a floodplain wetland and potential sediment export downstream. We propose to characterize changes in the vegetation community, stream water levels, and channel formation in two dam removal projects in the Seacoast region after 5 ? 9 years. We also plan to monitor the vegetation community and hydrology of a head-of-tide dam scheduled to be removed to inform restoration outcomes after dam removal. The proposed project will provide officials and the public with information regarding possible outcomes for future dam removal projects in New Hampshire.