ALBANY TOWNSHIP — Federal funding was received by the White
Mountain National Forest to replace a 50-year-old dam at Broken Bridge Pond with
a concrete spillway to restore the Oxford County pond to its original level,
according to a Monday report.

The funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will also cover replacement of the 1960 Province Pond Dam in Chatham, N.H., and the 1940 Beaver Pond Dam in Woodstock,
N.H., with concrete spillways, the report stated.

According to the WMNF, the 18-acre Broken Bridge Pond, which
has a maximum depth of 25 feet and average depth of 14 feet, is stocked with
brook trout by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The Maine
department built the Broken Bridge Pond Dam in 1959. The pond drains directly into
the 45-acre Patte Brook Marsh, which provides valuable habitat for waterfowl, and food and shelter for moose, turtles,
snakes, frogs, and many other creatures.

According to WMNF supervisor Tom
Wagner, reconstruction of the three dams will “allow us to safely restore pond
water to its previously designed level and improve fisheries and other wildlife
habitat.”

The money will also be used to restore the East Central
Lagoon, which is used to treat sewage pumped from National Forest recreation
sites. It is in Harts Location, N.H. The lagoon will be restored to
its original design capacity with a liner replacement.

Minor repairs to the well house and lagoon control building
will also restore their original functionality and provide a safe working
environment for system operators, the report stated.

Nationally, WMNF has received $1.15 billion through ARRA. As of July 24,
the forest service has released 81 percent of the $1.15 billion in ARRA funding, the
report said.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com