Three dams in the Concord region that have created large recreational areas – Franklin Falls Dam, Blackwater River in Webster and Hopkinton-Everett Lakes – will be the subject of open houses in April as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers starts the process of revising its master plans.

The Corps of Engineers owns the land on both sides of the rivers in these areas, dating back to the construction of the dams as part of flood-control projects throughout New Hampshire.

The open houses will not include formal presentations, according to a release, but are designed to start the process of examining the master plans. Corps of Engineers “team members will be stationed around the room and can share information about the revision process, provide the general schedule and gather initial feedback from the public.”

Key topics in the revised master plans include land use classifications, new management objectives, recreation facility needs and special issues such as invasive species management and threatened and endangered species habitat. The revisions will not deal with technical and operational aspects of the dams related to flood risk management or water conservation.

The largest and busiest area owned by the Corps of Engineers is around the Hopkinton-Everett dam, which covers 10,000 acres including Elm Brook Park and Clough State Park and has more than 400,000 visits per year. The dam was built in the early 1960s.

The Franklin Falls Dam, built in the early 1940s, has public areas for recreation including fishing, hunting, mountain biking, hiking and snowmobiling and even disc golf on both sides of the Merrimack River from Franklin north to Bristol. It gets about 150,000 visits a year.

The area that includes Blackwater Dam, also built in the 1940s, covers 8 miles of the Blackwater River in northern Webster as well as a portion of Mill Brook and nearby Greenough Pond. Its recreation area includes hunting, fishing, picnicking and extensive equestrian trails, drawing an estimated 23,000 visits a year.

The master plans for the areas have not been revised for at least two decades. If all goes as planned, draft versions of the revisions will be available by summer of 2026.

The open house for Hopkinton-Everett Dam will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, at the Slusser Center, 41 Houston Drive, Contoocook.

The open house for Franklin Falls Dam is set for from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9, at the Franklin Elks Lodge, 125 South Main St., Franklin. The Blackwater Dam open house will be from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, at Webster Town Hall, 945 Battle St.