BIRCH HILL DEEP CUT Traditional Cache

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Birch Hill Dam from 1940-1942 to reduce flood damages on the Millers and Connecticut Rivers. Completed at a cost of $4 million, Birch Hill Dam was one the first dams the Corps of Engineers built in New England to reduce damage caused by floods like those that devastated Athol and Orange in 1936 and 1938. Its storage capacity of 16.3 billion gallons of water could fill 439 Empire State Buildings.

Besides flood risk management, another significant benefit of the dam is that the 4,384-acre reservoir area provides open space for public recreation. Since 1976, the Corps of Engineers has leased most of the reservoir area (4,221 acres) to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for recreation and fish and wildlife purposes, including the popular Lake Dennison Campground and Day Use Area. Under the supervision of DCR, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife stocks fish and pheasants and promotes healthy wildlife populations within the reservoir area for public hunting and fishing. Other types of recreation include: boating, biking, camping, swimming, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, cnowshoeing, picnicking, horseback riding, and of course, geocaching!

This lock and lock plastic container is hidden in the "deep cut" area of Birch Hill Dam, a beautiful section in its frozen state, but not so pretty during mud season.