Staff Report

FARMINGTON — Voters showed their support Tuesday for the $1.2 million Walton’s Mill Dam project.

The project, which voters approved 2,031 to 1,195, will be funded entirely by the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and includes removal of the dam.

The project also includes new lawn space in Walton’s Mill Pond Park, trail improvements, an expanded parking lot, public restrooms and a pavilion.

The project would also replace culverts on Clover Mill Road and Cummings Hill Road, estimated at $350,000.

The work is being done because the dam is blocking salmon from traveling up Temple Stream to spawn, which is a violation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

If voters had not approved the project, the town’s other option would have been to spend an estimated $750,000 to build a fish passageway and leave the dam in place.