New York Rivers and Streams Are Being Ruined, Stop Building Rock Dams

When it gets hot outside people can get desperate to find ways to cool off. Sure, we have air conditioning, swimming pools and some of the finest lakes in the Nation to cool off in but for some, that's not enough. Lately folks have been doing something that is detrimental to our wildlife and it's time to stop.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is warning residents, hikers and tourists to stop with building rock dams and here's why.

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You may have seen stone towers at the beach or on a hike and those are pretty to cool to create and artistic to look at. Those aren't the issue with New York's ecosystem. The problem is individuals moving rocks around local streams to build a dam that will create a swimming hole. Stop it.

According to the DEC, these rock dams have a detrimental impact on our trout streams. Trout need clean, cold water to survive. When these rock dams are built, the water pools and warms to potentially lethal temperatures for trout.

These rock dams that people create prevent the natural migration of our trout and they are unable to reach their spawning habitat in the spring and fall. What's the solution? Stop building rock dams and let nature take its course.