had become a mud flat. The pond was barely big enough to float a canoe.
I went home in despair. Then the mid-June stocking report was released indicating
the pond had still not been stocked.Matthew Dickerson, Addison Independent, July 10, 1997
The Goshen Dam used to be among my favorite places to fish. It's
a beautiful spot to sit on a quiet evening, casting flies and watching beavers
or the occasional osprey. Now I confess I've rarely caught anything there,
but the anticipation is at least as important as the catching. The few fish
I'd caught there in the past was always enough hope to produce the necessary
adrenaline. Until last year. Several visits over the 1996 season produced
not one fish. What I did see were lots of fishermen: far more than I'd ever
seen before. I discovered one reason for this in September while talking
with an out-of-stater: a big national fishing magazines listed Goshen Dam
as a hot fishing spot in the northeast. It was a Vermont fisherman's nightmare!
Still, I had some hope when I returned there this spring. Yet what I found
was even more discouraging: water levels were horribly low for late May.
The island was no longer an island; it was a peninsula. The south bay had become a mud flat. The pond was barely big enough to float a canoe.
I went home in despair. Then the mid-June stocking report was released indicating
the pond had still not been stocked.
Calls to Fish and Wildlife, CVPS, and the Agency of Natural Resources uncovered an interesting story. First some background. Goshen Dam, a.k.a. Sugar Hill Reservoir, is not a hydroelectric site. It is used by CVPS only for storage. Water is released out Sucker Brook and then diverted to Silver Lake. From there, it is pipelined to the generating station at Lake Dunmore. I knew CVPS managed the operation, but my first three inquiries were to Fish and Wildlife agents. They knew nothing about the situation but steered me to Grant Adams at CVPS. Grant explained the situation from the CVPS perspective. The water level was indeed much lower than usual. There had been little snow runoff or precipitation that spring, and from April 1 to June 15 they drew water continuously. But he went on to explain that this was no temporary aberration. Rather, the pond had come under federal guidelines, and CVPS was now undergoing the 401 water quality application. It was the state that had issued the new guidelines. This led to the ANR. A conversation with Jeff Cueto clarified what Grant had explained. Pending Act 401 approval, there is to be a permanent policy change at Goshen Dam. Previous CVPS management had caused dramatic fluctuations in levels throughout the year. In particular, winter levels had been so low that ice severely damaged several forms of aquatic life including plant and hibernating animals. The new policy will require operating levels at 1750' (18' below the spillway). This level should remain fairly consistent year round, limiting damage from winter draw-down, but also preventing the higher summer water levels good for recreational uses: swimming, fishing, and boating.
Does this mean real change for Goshen Dam? Absolutely. The pond will be much smaller: too small for trolling motors, and perhaps even for canoes. The south bay where the stream flows in will cease to exist as part of the pond, but will become a wetland. Will the change be for the better? I hope so, though I don't see the fishing improving. But perhaps in exchange, we will gain a valuable new wetland habitat. And while I expect to miss some of the fun fishing I used to have--especially in that south bay--there are other places in the state to boat, swim, and fish, while wetlands have been disappearing at an alarming rate for decades. As for where these other places to fish are, unfortunately I'm again out of space.