HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Ashland Mill Dam, formerly used for hydromechanical power at a flour mill on the South Anna River, is being removed by a private ecological restoration service. This will reportedly allow fish species access to native spawning and rearing habitat. According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, the dam is 13 feet tall. It spans 210 feet across the river, blocking certain fish species' access during the spring to areas where, historically, their eggs would be deposited and fertilized, after which juveniles would begin to develop. The department said those species include hickory shad, American shad, blueback herring, alewife herring, striped bass and sea lamprey. The dam has also reportedly delayed the upstream migration of juvenile American eels. A large hickory shad taken on a fly rod from the James River near Richmond, VirginiaStriped bass, Virginia's official state saltwater fish. (Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)Sea Lamprey Spawning in the Susquehanna River Watershed (Photo: Getty Images) Planning documents shared with 8News by Hanover County said that in addition to those species' inhibited movement, the dam also may limit habitat for some rare, threatened and endangered species. As of Tuesday, Oct. 1, roughly a third of the dam had been removed with construction equipment, according to Brad Breslow, senior project manager for Davey Mitigation -- the ecological restoration service working on the project. The process of removing the dam began in September and is expected to take about six to eight weeks to complete, reportedly opening 38 miles of river and over 108 miles of streams to spawning for those fish species. In addition to removing the dam, another facet of the project includes rehabilitating the area, which Breslow explained would entail stabilizing the stream bed and bank, including light grading -- or reducing the steepness of the bank slope -- and planting vegetation. For at least the next 10 years after the project is complete, the river will continue to be monitored, and data will be collected by Davey Mitigation and the Department of Wildlife Resources, as well as students at Randolph-Macon College. In July, the college shared a video highlighting undergraduate research led by Professor Chas Gowan featuring his summer research student, Jacob Langley, where the pair measured and analyzed data about fish species in the river near the dam. According to Randolph-Macon College, "this is the first time a dam removal project of this type has been implemented in Virginia using this business model, which offers a way to protect the environment at no cost to taxpayers." (Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)(Photo: Nick Ruxton, Randolph-Macon College)Beginning of the removal process (Photo: Davey Mitigation) This removal comes as part of a mitigation bank undertaken through an agreement by Davey Mitigation and state agencies, which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, "is a wetland, stream, or other aquatic resource area that has been restored, established, enhanced, or (in certain circumstances) preserved for the purpose of providing compensation for unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources." Fishing just downstream from the Ashland Mill Dam on the South Anna River (Photo: Matt DiNardo, 8News) This follows an announcement by Hanover County in June that the dam was failing due to its age and recent storms. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) said a department-approved Alteration Permit was awarded for the project on Aug. 31. Overhead view of the Ashland Mill Dam (Photo: Love Affair Creative for Davey Mitigation) In terms of the mill's former function, it was used to grind grains into flour, and its dam was built in 1916, according to the Department of Historic Resources. The historic mill building burned down in April of 1980 and was rebuilt in 1981. In a review of the dam removal project for the Army Corps of Engineers by Department of Historic Resources staff in October 2021 through December 2023, the department found that the dam was not eligible to be listed as a historic landmark due to the loss of the mill building in the fire.