The Cherohala Skyway is a scenic drive that winds 40-plus miles through the Cherokee National Forest and Nantahala National Forest from Tellico Plains, Tennessee, to Robbinsville, North Carolina.
Citico Creek is a pristine waterway that originates high in the mountains of the Citico Wilderness and eventually empties into Tellico Lake.
50 years ago, a low dam was constructed in a misguided effort to prevent warm water fish (including green sunfish, bream and creek chubs) in Indian Boundary Lake from migrating into the trout waters of Citico Creek. Today, biologists understand that this was an error—warm water fish cannot survive in the cold water of Citico Creek and therefore pose no threat.
Water tumbles over the manmade structure, and each fall, some fish drama takes place there: Brown trout can be seen leaping out of the water, throwing their bodies against the obstruction in an effort to travel upstream to spawn. No doubt this has been going on since the dam was built nearly 50 years ago.
This week, a track hoe and hydraulic hoe ram changed everything in this little nook and cranny of forest. Thanks to a partnership between American Rivers, Region 8 of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Cherokee National Forest, the dam was removed.
“[Citico Creek dam] is the first dam removal to take place as part of a new partnership between American Rivers and the southern region of the U.S. Forest Service,” said Gerrit Jöbsis, senior director of conservation programs with American Rivers, a national river conservation organization.
“Most of our work focuses on dams that are not being used and are causing harm, risking public health and impacting aquatic species,” Jöbsis said.