WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – A long-awaited removal project began on a dam on the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River this week.
Crews blasted the structure for the first time on Monday.
The river has been choked by the dam that pooled water for the City of Bellingham’s intake to supplement Lake Whatcom since 1961.
The city has teamed up with the Lummi and Nooksack Tribes, state and federal agencies and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to remove the dam and install a new intake for Bellingham water.
Removal of the dam will provide 16 miles of cold, pristine spawning habitat for salmon, steelhead and trout.
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