Just read most recent article “Yarmouth approves Royal River Dam removal.” I thought I was abreast of all of the back and forth regarding this. I thought the residents of Yarmouth either voted or would be voting on this monumental decision for this town. We should have a vote.

So you had the Army Corps of Engineers do a study and they found the river habitat would improve and restore fish access. Please explain to me how horrible the current habitat is and how long will it take for fish to start to swim upstream? Tell me if current homes along the river’s edge will now be in flood zones? What happens to all of the habitat that has adjusted and formed when the dams were put in, does that get lost? Oh, and really take away recreation for folks on the river currently so there can be white water kayaking, how many residents do this?

With everything going on with climate change, and if these dams have been here for more than 20 years, then fix them and let the ecology and environment continue as is around them. And when was the price quoted, last week or five years ago? This town says one thing about not taxing residents, but they find their ways. We are the highest taxed town around and here is yet another project to affect us. If you need a project, why don’t you put money and efforts into removing the overgrowths of those vines all along the sides of Route 1, routes 88 and 295? That invasion is killing all the habitat and environment.

Stephanie Wilson
Yarmouth