Category: Officer Report

The News & Observer reported Friday that 8,000 acres of wetlands, flood plains and other features near Jordan Lake will be protected and maintained in their current condition under an agreement signed by state and federal agencies.

This includes land on both sides of the Lower Haw, which is south of U.S. 64 in Chatham County. The agreement also will protect parts of New Hope Creek, among other tributaries of the lake, according to the agreement.

The Upper Swepsonville Dam was recently removed from the Haw River in Alamance County, according to Peter Raabe, the North Carolina conservation director for American Rivers.

The old timber dam stretched across the river just downstream of the access at the Swepsonville River Park. The American Rivers project, which cost approximately $100,000, was completed in early October, he said.

The work was done by Wildlands Engineering Inc.While the dam was not very high and mostly submerged, it was a barrier to fish trying to swim upstream, he said.