Outdoors Girl: Simkins Dam update - Maryland parks and outdoors: Life in Maryland’s great outdoors by Candy Thomson

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November 11, 2010

Simkins Dam update

Work to remove Simkins Dam on the Patapsco River just outside Ellicott City halted while some logistical details and government approvals were ironed.

Serena McClain of American Rivers, the organization overseeing the dam removal, sent me this update this morning:

I am pleased to report that we received approval on the new bridge crossing from Baltimore County Public Works on Tuesday evening. As of Wednesday, John W. Gleim Inc. was back on site, working on the water diversion. Over the course of this week, the crew will continue to put in the bridge structure and build the causeway out to the dam.

Removal of the fish ladder itself should occur somewhere around Nov. 15 or 16, with notching and breaching expected to occur around Nov. 18 and 19.

Also, we should have the "dam cam" up and running no later than early next week.

Posted by Candus Thomson at 10:24 AM | Permalink

About Candus Thomson

In a world of paper vs. plastic and candy mint vs. breath mint, my early memories involved a debate about the merits of freshwater vs. saltwater.

On the one hand, a great uncle’s fishing cabin on the Susquehanna River beckoned, but so did family gatherings on the Jersey Shore.

The correct answer, thankfully, was, “both.”

As The Sun’s outdoors writer for more than a decade, I’ve fished across Maryland in one day, hiked the width of the state in one hour, camped overnight in the median of I-95 to experience the wildlife between the fast lanes and chased mountain bikers in a 24-hour marathon race.

Those are some of the highlights. I’ve also fallen in a raging Gunpowder River during a trout survey (photo available upon request), had a shark spill its guts on my clothes and been stuck in a sub-freezing Vermont wilderness with men armed with flintlocks and hatchets, shuffling along on ancient wooden snowshoes.

And, in my travels I’ve met lots of you, who share a love of the outdoors and the good times and mishaps that go along with it.

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