The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Maryland's State Highway Administration will spend more than US$6M to remove the dam at the US state’s Bishopville pond.
The dam removal will add 14.5km of stream for fish migrating up the St. Martin river.
Species of fish expected to make the additional swim include eels, which already inhabit the nearby St. Martin river, white perch and river herring.
The dam removal is only part of the plan to enhance the ecosystem of Buntings Branch creek, a tributary of the St. Martin river. The project is being carried out under the authority of the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000, which requires USACE to implement estuary restoration projects that improve the quality of the environment. This is the first project of the Baltimore division of the Army Corps in response to the Estuary Restoration Act.
Other organisations involved with the project are the Maryland Coastal Bays programme, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and Worcester County government.