mill

A New Hampshire dam built in 1929 to power one sawmill outlived the mill by decades; its 2024 removal reopened nearly 40 miles of brook trout habitat

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With the dam gone, the river runs free again, and brook trout have access to cold, clean upstream water. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)

Some old structures just refuse to go away. One stood in a river in Colebrook, New Hampshire, for 95 years. According to a January 2025 story from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the complete removal of the Washburn Mill Dam in October 2024 has restored access to nearly 40 miles of excellent brook trout … Read more

For half a century, Massachusetts’ Mill Brook ran beneath a downtown parking lot; Athol has now uncovered it, created 12,000 sq ft of wetlands and turned 53,000 sq ft of pavement into vegetation

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For half a century, Massachusetts' Mill Brook ran beneath a downtown parking lot; Athol has now uncovered it, created 12,000 sq ft of wetlands and turned 53,000 sq ft of pavement into vegetation

For decades, a stretch of Mill Brook in Athol, Massachusetts, was hidden beneath asphalt, largely out of sight beneath what had become a downtown parking area. This month, the small central Massachusetts town celebrated a very different landscape: the stream is flowing in the open again, new wetlands surround it and much of the former … Read more

In 1998, Pittsburgh’s last operating steel mill closed, leaving 178 riverfront acres vacant; 28 years later, 700,000 sq ft has been built or is underway for robotics, biotech, housing and parks

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In 1998, Pittsburgh's last operating steel mill closed, leaving 178 riverfront acres vacant; 28 years later, 700,000 sq ft has been built or is underway for robotics, biotech, housing and parks

The new CMU Robotics Innovation Center sits in the foreground, with new housing development under construction behind it and the U.S. Steel Community football field visible in the background. For decades, 178 acres along the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh remained largely vacant after the collapse of the steel industry. The site was once home to … Read more

A Connecticut brass mill closed in 1986 and left behind a contaminated 66-acre site; 40 years later the town plans to turn it into a public works campus while converting its old yard into a riverside park

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A Connecticut brass mill closed in 1986 and left behind a contaminated 66-acre site; 40 years later the town plans to turn it into a public works campus while converting its old yard into a riverside park

Nearly 40 years after a brass mill shut down on the banks of the West Aspetuck River, the long-vacant industrial property in New Milford is finally being lined up for a new purpose, one that could turn a contaminated brownfield into a working municipal campus and, eventually, help create new public riverfront space elsewhere in … Read more