streambank before project
The two-tiered log cribbing structure, stretching 150 feet along the salmon pool below Willsboro falls, has been completed by Moriah Shock inmates under the supervision of John Northup, ENCON Supervisor. Work was hard and dirty due to a 35-foot tall embankment of loose black ash residue from the former pulp mill, upstream ledge rock, and downstream timbers and concrete. Nevertheless, John Northup once again illustrated his skill at turning BRASS designs into reality.
during project
Because Shock inmates are not allowed to use power tools, the ENCON Supervisor must cut, notch and shape all cribbing logs with a chain saw. He must also organize and supervise the inmates as they drill and pound steel rebar, spike logs together, fill the structures with stone, and secure each logged tier with welded wire. This is the third BRASS project for John Northup. Previously he worked on the cribbing in New Russia and on the reconstruction of the fish weir in Elizabethtown.
Once again, BRASS received wonderful cooperation and services from local towns, businesses, and agencies. International Paper Company donated the cedar trees which inmates cut into logs during the winter. The Willsboro Public Works Department provided many hours of backhoe work and transported all the logs. NYCO donated shot rock and John Sheehan and Kevin Lawson transported the stone. Ledge rock was drilled and steel rods secured by Al Ulmer. Money for material purchases and stone hauling came from a Fisheries Across America grant to the BRASS.
after project
With recommendations from the NYSDEC Fisheries Department, BRASS made some changes to the cribbing design. Usually our cribbing structures are designed so each tier is 3 feet deep. But, in order to give anglers more room at the Willsboro crib, each tier was built to be 5 feet deep. Because the top of the first tier is 2-3 feet higher than water level, DEC asked if steps could be added so fishermen in waders could easily get out of the pool water and walk along the cribbed tier. Rather than compromise structural stability of the cribbing by adding log steps, or cutting steps into it, BRASS designed metal stairs that can be removed during the winter.
Paul Spooner in Westport refined BRASS' design and fabricated a handsome set of stairs. Robert McShane, an avid fisherman from Willsboro, has volunteered to be responsible to removing the stairs in late fall and replacing them in the spring.