Specifications include, but are not limited to: The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife (FWD) is proposing to remove a notch from the spillway of the Prison Pond Dam at Windsor Grasslands WMA in Windsor, Vermont. The notch will be 6.3 feet wide and 2.4 feet down from the top. FWD is working with the Vermont Department for Environmental Conservation (DEC) as well as the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) on the project. As defined in the attached report dated February 8, 2024 by Andrew Sampsell, PE, the dam in its current condition presents several potential risks, resulting in the recommendation that the water level of the impoundment be reduced by 2.4 feet, therefore requiring the removal of the notch from the spillway. Eventually, FWD proposes to remove the dam entirely. The Northeast Archaeology Research Center (NEARC) completed an assessment of the entire WMA in 2018, defining several potential archaeologically sensitive areas. None of these areas overlap the pond or dam. However, a determination of eligibility (DOE) has not been completed for the dam. FWD is asking that DOE be completed, and if the dam is determined to be eligible, that an assessment is made of the proposed undertaking to remove a notch from the spillway.
