Just before Tropical Storm Irene hit Massachusetts, employees of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), including me, were informed of the storm’s potential impact on a dam rehabilitation project that was underway in Westborough, Mass., a suburban community west of Boston. At the time, NRCS was working to widen the auxiliary spillway at the George H. Nichols Dam, a flood retention structure owned by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). This project was made possible with nearly $2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act) funds.