Dam birds may have to find another perch to fish if Suzie Nakasian has her way

Ames Mill dam on the Cannon River, downtown Northfield Great Blue Heron on the Ames Mill dam Great Blue Heron on the Ames Mill dam 
On Saturday afternoon as the Riverwalk Market Fair was closing up, John Thomas  (AKA Mr. JST Technology) alerted me to a Great Blue Heron that was perched on the top of the Ames Mill dam. After a few minutes, a Mallard joined it. It’s moments like that that make most Northfielders love that dam and the visually pleasing pool of Cannon River water behind it.  But it could be much more.

There’s a resurgence of interest in planning for the Cannon River as it flows through downtown Northfield, especially if the dam is removed. See the discussion attached to my 2007 blog post: Tear down the Ames Mill dam.  And the Sept 2011 PRAB minutes included this:

Council Member Suzie Nakasian reported. The City of Reno Nevada was chosen as an example of how to maximize the river corridor in a city. The planning was done around the river, recreation, economic development, and flood mitigation. A slide show presentation showed the reconstruction of the river to an Olympic class kayak run. She presented this to the PRAB to inspire creativity and thinking of the Cannon River as a park. To create a corridor along the river as parkland.

I was at that PRAB meeting and saw Suzie’s slideshow. It’s pretty cool what they’ve done along the Truckee River in Reno. See the Reno Riverwalk District, the Truckee River Whitewater Park, the Reno River Festival and the Downtown Makeover page on Reno.

Imagine something like this (smaller, of course) in downtown Northfield:

DSC00728 DSC00729 renokayakparkro6 2478640677_907d140dd5 by RenoTahoe 529539_10151062507755575_2079489686_n

httpv://youtu.be/6Sg4XKsc3Eo 

3 Comments

  1. Megan Tsui said:

    I love the photo of all of the people using the river. What might that be like in Northfield? What business opportunities might arise because of a change in the dam?

    August 27, 2012
  2. rob hardy said:

    You mean Suzie doesn’t want to replace the dam with a giant latté machine?

    August 27, 2012
  3. Griff Wigley said:

    Megan, I think the new downtown store, Gear ReSource, might benefit. The Nfld News article on the new store says:

    Robert said that they hope to offer canoe, kayak and inner tube rental next year, and snowshoes and cross-country skis in the winter. It’s possibly they’ll also offer a transport service for those who are renting canoes and the like, so that they may be picked up downriver.

    August 28, 2012

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