Wildlands Conservancy officials said Thursday night they are eyeing two grants for the construction phase of the Silk Mill Run restoration project in Jim Thorpe Borough.

The grants, said Kristie Fach, director of ecological restoration for the Wildlands Conservancy, are from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the other from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

“We are anticipating the total construction cost at $315,000 and we would apply for half from one grant and half from the other,” Fach said. “With the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant, the money spent on design and permitting can serve as the match, covered through state funding. For the DEP grant, a 15% match of approximately $23,000 is required, which Wildlands will cover through their time and previous expenses related to the project.”

Five dams along the nearly 2-mile Silk Mill Run creek, designated as a Class A brown trout cold-water fishery, will be demolished and removed as part of the project. Jim Thorpe and the Wildlands Conservancy signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 regarding the restoration.

“The ponds behind the dam are now filled with sediment and smother any habitat for the macro invertebrate organisms that depend on a cobble and rocky stream bed,” the document states. “Removing the dams would eliminate any obstacles for fish to swim upstream and would re-create ideal conditions for fish to reproduce and young trout to take advantage of the spring-fed wooded stream.”

Fache outlined Thursday the steps taken so far, including the successful acquisition of grant funds totaling $265,000 for design and permitting. The borough actively participated in the process, forming a project advisory committee of engaged residents. Thompson Environmental spearheaded the design and permitting phase, bringing expertise from over 50 dam removal projects to the table.

Grant funding decisions, she added, are expected in the winter of 2025. If successful, construction could commence in the summer of 2025, with a focus on completing the project by the fall. Special considerations, such as the prohibition of work in the stream after Oct. 1 to protect wild trout reproduction, were also highlighted during council’s workshop Thursday.

Fach addressed queries about post-construction maintenance, assuring the borough that the natural recovery of the stream would eliminate the need for ongoing maintenance.

“Typically, from a permitting standpoint,” she said, “with working through dam safety, there’s typically not any monitoring. There’s all kinds of monitoring you could do, especially being a wild brook trout stream. There’s not that many streams in the state that have wild brook trout reproduction. So that’s pretty unique in itself. With our projects, when Wildlands is involved, we’re really invested in the success of it. We’ll be periodically checking on it.”

Borough officials said they plan to vote next week on authorizing Wildlands to apply for the grants to cover the cost of construction.