Dawt Mill dam removed from North Fork River

     The water in the North Fork of the White River was unimpeded for the first time in over a century as it flowed past Dawt Mill. Work began around nine a.m. Friday as two tracked excavators started demolishing nearly two-thirds of the dam on the river, and according to the Ozark County Times, the majority of the structure was gone by early afternoon.
     The dam had stood at Dawt since 1892, and its purpose was to impound water that powered the landmark grist mill on the adjoining property. However, it had been a subject of public scrutiny since late June when 13-year-old Chloe Butcher of Springfield drowned after trying to help another swimmer and becoming lodged under the water.
     After the incident, Dawt Mill Resort owner Ed Henegar went through the demolition-permitting process with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Corps has the authority to enforce provisions of the federal Clean Water Act, and Fish and Wildlife's main concern was relocating an endangered species known as the Ozark hellbender salamander from the area around the dam. Henegar's permit application, asking to remove the dam with the "exact end point to be determined where dam is stabilized on existing bedrock," was dated July 20th and approved September 1st.
     Henegar informed the Ozark County Times Cary Stewart of West Plains was awarded the contract for the removal project. The office of Missouri Congressman Jason Smith sent a news release stating a 290-foot section of the 420-foot structure was removed, and the remaining section extends from the old mill race on the east side of the river.