being well distributed throughout the river. Before the removal of the dam, not one dwarf wedgemussel could be found beyond the dam. This was making the mussels highly susceptible to extinction. A catastrophic flood, oil spill, chemical spill, or epidemic could have resulted in local extinction of the mussel populations in the Neversink River. The threat that the dam posed on the mussel life, particularly the Dwarf Wedge Mussel was one of the primary reasons for its removal. American shad The Cuddebackville Dam also caused problems for the fish in the Neversink River. The dam restricted the upstream movement of the American shad and the trout in the river. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation had reported cases of schools of 100 to 1000 fish attempting to migrate up the Neversink River, only to be blocked by the dam. Removal In order to protect the endangered aquatic life in the Neversink River the dam was removed in October, 2004. The project was a combined effort of the Nature Conservancy and the Army Corps of Engineers. Dams had previously been removed for environmental reasons in other states. However, the Cuddebackville Dam was the first dam in the state of New York to be removed solely for environmental reasons. The cost of the removal process was about $2.2 million. The Nature Conservancy covered 35% of this expense, the Army Corps of Engineers covered the rest. The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy is known primarily for buying land that might be threatened by development due to its environmental sensitivity. The removal of the Cuddebackville Dam marked a turning point in the organization, in which they broadened their scope to protecting an endangered species by protecting an entire ecosystem. The Nature Conservancy’s interest in the situation began in 1993, three years after the Dwarf Wedge Mussel was discovered and placed on the federal endangered species list. In 1993, the Nature Conservancy purchased 170 upland acres of land on the Neversink River and created the Neversink Preserve in order to protect the newly discovered species of mussel. Over time they have purchased more land so that the Neversink Preserve covers . However, the Nature Conservancy found that the purchasing and protecting of the land was not enough to protect the Dwarf Wedge Mussel due to the complexity of their life cycle and the interference of the Cuddebackville Dam. Army Corps of Engineers The