River Herring Viewing Guide

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

River Herring Viewing Guide Each spring, MILLIONS of river herring migrate into Massachusetts waters, returning to their place of birth to create a new generation! This guide offers information on fifteen of our states busiest fish passage locations. VIEWING GUIDE Life Cycle of a Herring Adults migrate upstream to FRESHWATER Egg laying (spawning) happens in the same river they hatched! Blueback Herring Spawn in late April through June when water temperatures reach 57ºF Surviving adults migrate downstream to SALTWATER Young fish stay in freshwater until they are mature enough Alewife to migrate to estuaries Spawn in late March to mid-May, when water temperatures reach 51ºF estuary, noun. [es·tu·ary] 1. a place where freshwater meets the ocean What is a “fish ladder”? By the numbers... There are 13 diadromous species in A manmade structure (which often resembles a Massachusetts, including river herring, ladder with steps) that allows fish swimming up- Rainbow Smelt American eels, and rainbow smelt! stream to get past barriers like dams, waterfalls, and locks. Smelt spawn at night in freshwater from early March through May. Mass DMF designs and installs eel ramps Female rainbow smelt can lay in coastal rivers to assist their upstream between 5,000 and 80,000 eggs! migrations. 9 have been installed in Massachusetts since 2007! Weir pools are made There are over 100 separate river up of a series of herring runs in Massachusetts! small pools of regular length to create a American Eel Since 2013, 23,500 river herring have long, sloping channel for The only catadromous fish in North been stocked throughout the region by fish to travel upstream. America, meaning it lives mostly in Mass DMF! freshwater but returns to the ocean to reproduce! River Herring swim very fast in short bursts to pass up the ladder, making for a spectacular show! diadromous, adj. [dahy·ad·ruh·muh s] 1. (of fish) migrating between fresh and salt waters. Baffle fishways look just like ladders! Examples include Denil and Alaskan Steeppass. Woolen Mill Dam & Fishway April 15 - Apple and Pond Street Bridges April 1 - Parker River, Newbury May 15 Alewife Brook, Essex May 1 This is the 1st of six dams on the Parker River, and each has a fishway to Mass DMF maintains an electronic counting station at Pond Street, provide passage to the headwaters in Pentucket Pond. with current run counts displayed! Bridges are located just off Western Avenue (Route 22). Central Falls Dam & Fishway May 1 - Mystic Lakes Dam & Fishway May 1 - Aberjona River, Winchester June 1 Mystic Lakes, Medford June 1 The ladder (located off Main Street near Mystic Valley Parkway) was River herring are counted using an underwater video camera operated installed in Fall of 2016, providing access to previously inaccessible by the Mystic River Watershed Association (mysticriver.org) habitat in Wedge and Horn Ponds. Watertown Dam & Fishway May 1 - Jackson Square Dam & Fishway April 15 - Charles River, Watertown June 15 Back River, Weymouth May 15 This is the 2nd of eight dams along the Charles River - Extensive efforts The weir-pool fishway (built in the 1990’s by Mass DMF) is one of seven from Mass DMF and other agencies has provided 20 miles of fish total fish ladders, spanning 4.8 miles from Boston Harbor to Whit- passage access to upstream spawning habitats! man’s Pond. Barker Street Dam & Fishway April 15 - War Memorial Park Dam & Fishway April 15 - Herring Brook, Pembroke May 15 Town River, West Bridgewater May 15 Near the Allen and High St. intersction, Herring Brook has more than Town River has 354 acres of spawning and nursery habitat available in 347 acres of spawning and nursery habitat. Improved passages have Lake Nippinicket. Run viewing is best seen on Arch street (between greatly increased fish numbers in the pond! River and Bryant streets) Oliver Mills Dam & Fishway April 1 - Wareham Street Dam & Fishway April 1 - Nemasket River, Middleboro May 1 Nemasket River, Middleboro May 1 Located on Nemasket street, just off Rt 44, the river has one of the Located off the Wareham and Sylvan St. intersection, this large weir- largest spawning areas in eastern Massachusetts, at more than 5000 pool ladder was acres! designed and constructed by Mass DMF in 1996. Jenny Grist Mill Dam & Fishway April 15 - Mill Pond Dam & Fishway April 1 - Town Brook, Plymouth May 15 Agawam River, Wareham May 15 Substantial improvements have been made to the fishway (including More than 500 acres of spawning and nursery habitat are available in the removal of several dams) to boost access. The Mill is located near the pond and impoundments, which is located just off Rt 6/28 West. the intersection of Summer St. and Spring Ln. Parking is available in the Elk Lodge. Monument River Fishway April 15 - Lower Mill Pond Dam & Fishway April 15 Monument River, Bournedale May 30 Stony Brook, Brewster - May 15 Mass DMF has monitored this run for more than 30 years using elec- Located near the intersection of Stony Brook and Setucket road, this tronic and visual counts to estimate population size, which has ranged fishway is described in great detail by John Hay in his book “The Run”. from 91,000 fish in 1980 to 672,000 in 2000! Mill Pond Dam & Fishway April 15 - Marstons Mills River, Barnstable May 15 Fish passage restoration work led by the Town has improved access to Middle and Hamblin ponds. Run Size: Travel Information: 10,000 - 20,000 fish Public Parking 20,000 - 50,000 fish Street Parking 100,000 + fish Limited Parking Group Friendly Ideal Viewing Dates Visit our website: www.mass.gov/service-details/diadromous-fisheries-project.
Recommended publications
  • Project Descriptions for July 10, 2019 Board of Trustees Meeting Clean
    Project Descriptions for July 10, 2019 Board of Trustees Meeting Clean Water Commitments Bourne CW-19-07 The project involves construction of a new 100,000 gpd package wastewater treatment facility with subsurface discharge on town-owned land. The plant is designed using MBR technology. A Groundwater Discharge Permit has been approved for the plant and discharge. Based on detailed site testing and groundwater modeling, treated effluent will move towards the Cape Cod Canal. Added capacity is needed to handle flows above the 200,000 gpd capacity owned by Bourne in the Wareham WWTF. That plant, where no added capacity is available for Bourne's use, discharges to the Agawam River. Existing sewer flows from a portion of Bourne's sewered area will be intercepted and re-directed to the new treatment plant, redirecting treated effluent away from the Agawam River. Fall River CW-18-38 The City of Fall River's WWTF is aging and requires rehabilitation/upgrade to maintain reliable operation and performance. Additionally, EPA has indicated its intent to include a nitrogen limit in the City's next NPDES permit. Mt. Hope Bay is listed as impaired; Fall River's wet weather discharges and operational SSOs contribute to its impairment. Recent air quality regulations (Title V) necessitated shut down of the WWTF incinerator. Liquid sludge is trucked off site for disposal, dramatically increasing disposal costs. Administrative facilities are ineffective and undersized for current needs. Site electrical and security issues will also be addressed. Norton CW-18-43 This project involves providing new sanitary sewers to reduce pollution caused from the failed and malfunctioning private onsite sewage disposal systems, and more specifically the already failed systems at the Woodland Meadows Elderly Housing development.
    [Show full text]
  • The Acushnet River Restoration Project: Restoring Diadromous Populations to a Superfund Site in Southeastern Massachusetts
    Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical Report TR-56 The Acushnet River Restoration Project: Restoring Diadromous Populations to a Superfund Site in Southeastern Massachusetts J.J. Sheppard1, S. Block2, H.L Becker3, and D. Quinn4 1Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries South Shore Field Station 1213 Purchase Street, 3rd Floor New Bedford, MA 02740 2National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restoration Center 55 Great Republic Drive Gloucester, MA 01930 3EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc 221 Sun Valley Boulevard, Suite D Lincoln, NE 68528 4DQ Engineering 11 Hickory Lane Walpole, MA 02081 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Department of Fish and Game Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical Report Technical March 2014 Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical Report Series Managing Editor: Michael P. Armstrong Technical and Copy Editor: Elaine Brewer The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical Reports present information and data pertinent to the management, biology and commercial and recreational fisheries of anadromous, estuarine, and marine organisms of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and adjacent waters. The series presents information in a timely fashion that is of limited scope or is useful to a smaller, specific audience and therefore may not be appropriate for national or international journals. Included in this series are data summaries, reports of monitoring programs, and results of studies that are directed at specific management problems. All Reports in the series are available for download in PDF format at: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/publications/technical.html or hard copies may be obtained from the Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station, 30 Emerson Ave., Gloucester, MA 01930 USA (978-282-0308).
    [Show full text]
  • Agawam River
    105 with the result that the fish arrive at the ponds in an exhausted condition. The stream once yielded as high as 5,000 barrels per season, and maintained an average of 1,500 until 1912, when the fishery was seriously affected by the dredging of the canal, which changed the location of its outlet. The stream has never recovered from the effect of this change, and during the last few years it has yielded only a small per cent of its former production. The average receipts from the sale of the privilege for the seventeen years between 1895 and 1912 has been $787.93, the highest price, $1,843.55, having been paid in 1893. This naturally productive stream has been heavily taxed by the one-year lease system, and has passed through a precarious stage of its existence during the dredging of the Cape Cod Canal. If the town of Bourne will ease the abrupt slope in certain parts of the stream, correct the defects in the present fishway, declare an immediate closed season in order to allow a good supply of alewives to reach the spawning grounds, and then lease the fishery for five-year periods, it can be brought back to its former position as one of the most productive streams in Massachusetts. AGAWAM RIVER. Agawam River, or Half Way Pond Stream, has its origin in Half Way Pond, and flows through Wareham and Plymouth for 9 miles into Buzzard's Bay. It is used for power and flooding cranberry bogs, receiving as a. tributary Maple Spring Brook from Spectacle Pond, and forming in its course Glen and Agawam ponds.
    [Show full text]
  • A Hiking and Biking Guide
    Amherst College Trails Cadwell Memorial Forest Trail, Pelham Goat Rock Trail, Hampden Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Trails, Hampden Redstone Rail Trail, East Longmeadow Amherst College trails near the main campus traverse open fields, wetlands, This 12,000-acre forest offers a trail includes 24 individually numbered stations, each The 35-acre Goat Rock Conservation Area connects two town parks via a popular Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary features woodlands, meadows, and streams along The Redstone Rail Trail connects two major destinations in town. The wide and flat flood plain, upland woods, and plantation pines. The Emily Dickinson railT is with information about a different aspect of the forest’s wildlife habitat. The main hiking trail called the Goat Rock Ridge Trail, which runs along the Wilbraham its four-mile trail system in its 356 acre property. Laughing Brook was once the home asphalt path connects town soccer fields and industrial district with the center of south of the Fort River. trail links to the M&M Trail. Mountain ridge for a little over a mile. There are two scenic vistas, Lookout Point at of beloved children’s author Thornton Burgess and the beautiful brook inspired many town. The trail passes by fields, wetlands, and wooded areas. PIONEER VALLEY Location: The trail network can be accessed from the Mass Central Rail Location: Take Enfield Road off Pelham Road; after 2 miles bear left on the east end of the trail and the historic Goat Rock at the west end. of his timeless tales. Location: From the rotary in the center of town travel ¼ mile west on Trail, and from South East St., College St., South Pleasant St., Packardville Road.
    [Show full text]
  • Plymouth County, Massachusetts (All Jurisdictions)
    VOLUME 3 OF 5 PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS (ALL JURISDICTIONS) COMMUNITY NAME NUMBER COMMUNITY NAME NUMBER ABINGTON, TOWN OF 250259 MARSHFIELD, TOWN OF 250273 BRIDGEWATER, TOWN OF 250260 MATTAPOISETT, TOWN OF 255214 BROCKTON, CITY OF 250261 MIDDLEBOROUGH, TOWN OF 250275 CARVER, TOWN OF 250262 NORWELL, TOWN OF 250276 DUXBURY, TOWN OF 250263 PEMBROKE, TOWN OF 250277 EAST BRIDGEWATER, TOWN OF 250264 PLYMOUTH, TOWN OF 250278 HALIFAX, TOWN OF 250265 PLYMPTON, TOWN OF 250279 HANOVER, TOWN OF 250266 ROCHESTER, TOWN OF 250280 HANSON, TOWN OF 250267 ROCKLAND, TOWN OF 250281 HINGHAM, TOWN OF 250268 SCITUATE, TOWN OF 250282 HULL, TOWN OF 250269 WAREHAM, TOWN OF 255223 KINGSTON, TOWN OF 250270 WEST BRIDGEWATER, TOWN OF 250284 LAKEVILLE, TOWN OF 250271 WHITMAN, TOWN OF 250285 MARION, TOWN OF 255213 PRELIMINARY: APRIL 18, 2018 FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY NUMBER 25023CV003D Version Number 2.3.3.5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 1 Page SECTION 1.0 – INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 The National Flood Insurance Program 1 1.2 Purpose of this Flood Insurance Study Report 2 1.3 Jurisdictions Included in the Flood Insurance Study Project 2 1.4 Considerations for using this Flood Insurance Study Report 5 SECTION 2.0 – FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT APPLICATIONS 17 2.1 Floodplain Boundaries 17 2.2 Floodways 34 2.3 Base Flood Elevations 35 2.4 Non-Encroachment Zones 35 2.5 Coastal Flood Hazard Areas 35 2.5.1 Water Elevations and the Effects of Waves 35 2.5.2 Floodplain Boundaries and BFEs for Coastal Areas 37 2.5.3 Coastal High Hazard Areas 38 2.5.4 Limit of Moderate Wave Action 39 SECTION 3.0
    [Show full text]
  • Buttermilk Bay Report Final
    FINAL REPORT ANALYSIS OF ARTIFACTS RECOVERED FROM BENEATH A HOUSE IN BUTTERMILK BAY, BOURNE, MASSACHUSETTS By Craig S. Chartier Plymouth Archaeological Rediscovery Project March 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST IF FIGURES.....................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES.....................................................................................................iv I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 II. PREHISTORIC CONTEXT.................................................................................2 III. HISTORIC CONTEXT.......................................................................................12 IV.ARTIFACT ANALYSIS......................................................................................18 V. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................76 REFERENCES CITED..............................................................................................77 ARTIFACT CATALOG............................................................................................90 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Fragment of possible native bone spear recovered showing possible reconstructed length and style ..................................................................2 Figure 2. Tobacco pipes. Top Left: 1820-1860 pipe bowl; Top Right: E (R or B) Stamped bowl Bottom stem fragment........................................................21
    [Show full text]
  • WINTER 2010 Newsthis Issue Dedicated to the Memory of Brendan Mcfadden
    NEWS FROM THE WAREHAM LAND TRUST • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 • WINTER 2010 NEWSThis issue dedicated to the memory of Brendan McFadden Good News (and some not-so-good news) for the Great Outdoors “Across America, communities are uniting to protect the places they love, and developing new approaches to saving and enjoying the outdoors. They are bringing together farmers, land trusts, recreation and conservation groups, sportsmen, governments and industry.… The Federal Govern- ment, the nation’s largest land manager, has a responsibility to engage with these partners to help develop a conservation agenda worthy of the 21st century.” — President Barak Obama, April 16, 2010 ast spring, President Obama brightest of local ideas by promoting ex- acres of open space, including national L energized land protection ad- isting programs, increasing conservation parks, wildlife refuges, playgrounds, vocates across the land when he and recreation-based job and volunteer greenbelts and seashores even though launched the America’s Great Out- opportunities and encouraging more it has only once in 45 years received its doors initiative. With charitable and larger public-private partnerships. full $900 million annual appropriation. organizations of all kinds hit hard by At this writing, the Senate has yet to a weak economy, federal support of Shortly after the Great Outdoors Initia- consider an energy reform bill but our environmental causes was good news tive announcement, we witnessed per- hope is that it too will include dedi- indeed. On hand for the kick off were haps the worst environmental disaster cated LWCF funding. representatives of conservation organi- in our nation’s history.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents West Springfield, Massachusetts
    Master Plan 2009 West Springfield Massachusetts West Springfield Master Plan Update Table of Contents West Springfield, Massachusetts Table of Contents Municipal Department/Board Relations .............................3-34 Section 1- Introduction Section 4 - Land Use Introduction...........................................................................1-1 Purpose..................................................................................4-1 Vision Statement...................................................................1-1 Introduction...........................................................................4-1 Master Plan Advisory Committee.........................................1-1 West Springfield - Past & Present ........................................4-2 Public Participation Process..................................................1-2 Land Use ...............................................................................4-8 Goals and Actions.................................................................1-2 Zoning Regulations.............................................................4-11 Past Plans ............................................................................4-14 Section 2 – Executive Summary Public Input.........................................................................4-16 Land Use Challenges/Opportunities/Needs........................4-17 Land Use ...............................................................................2-1 West Springfield Tomorrow ...............................................4-20
    [Show full text]
  • PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS (ALL JURISDICTIONS) Volume 1 of 4
    PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS (ALL JURISDICTIONS) Volume 1 of 4 COMMUNITY NAME COMMUNITY NUMBER ABINGTON, TOWN OF 250259 BRIDGEWATER, TOWN OF 250260 BROCKTON, CITY OF 250261 CARVER, TOWN OF 250262 DUXBURY, TOWN OF 250263 EAST BRIDGEWATER, TOWN OF 250264 HALIFAX, TOWN OF 250265 HANOVER, TOWN OF 250266 HANSON, TOWN OF 250267 HINGHAM, TOWN OF 250268 HULL, TOWN OF 250269 KINGSTON, TOWN OF 250270 LAKEVILLE, TOWN OF 250271 MARION, TOWN OF 255213 MARSHFIELD, TOWN OF 250273 MATTAPOISETT, TOWN OF 255214 MIDDLEBOROUGH, TOWN OF 250275 NORWELL, TOWN OF 250276 PEMBROKE, TOWN OF 250277 PLYMOUTH, TOWN OF 250278 PLYMPTON, TOWN OF 250279 ROCHESTER, TOWN OF 250280 ROCKLAND, TOWN OF 250281 SCITUATE, TOWN OF 250282 WAREHAM, TOWN OF 255223 WEST BRIDGEWATER, TOWN OF 250284 WHITMAN, TOWN OF 250285 REVISED NOVEMBER 4, 2016 Federal Emergency Management Agency FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY NUMBER 25023CV001C NOTICE TO FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY USERS Communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program have established repositories of flood hazard data for floodplain management and flood insurance purposes. This Flood Insurance Study (FIS) may not contain all data available within the repository. It is advisable to contact the community repository for any additional data. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may revise and republish part or all of this Preliminary FIS report at any time. In addition, FEMA may revise part of this FIS report by the Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) process, which does not involve republication or redistribution of the FIS
    [Show full text]
  • Thinking Like a Floodplain: Water, Work, and Time in the Connecticut River Valley, 1790-1870 by (C) 2016 Jared S
    Thinking Like a Floodplain: Water, Work, and Time in the Connecticut River Valley, 1790-1870 By (c) 2016 Jared S. Taber Submitted to the graduate degree program in History and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson Sara M. Gregg ________________________________ Gregory T. Cushman ________________________________ Edmund P. Russell ________________________________ Robert J. Gamble ________________________________ Peggy A. Schultz ________________________________ Dorothy M. Daley Date Defended: 28 April 2016 The Dissertation Committee for Jared S. Taber certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Thinking Like a Floodplain: Water, Work, and Time in the Nineteenth Century Connecticut River Valley ________________________________ Chairperson Sara M. Gregg Date approved: 28 April 2016 ii Abstract Residents of the nineteenth-century Connecticut River Valley learned the character of the river, and water more broadly, through their labor. Whether they encountered water in the process of farming, shipping, industrial production, or land reclamation, it challenged them to understand its power as both an object outside their control and a tool that facilitated their work. This awareness of water's autonomy and agency necessitated attention to how water's flow varied across timescales ranging from seasons, through historical precedents in working with water, and into the geological processes whereby the river shaped the contours of the Connecticut River floodplain and the valley as a whole. Communities mobilized this knowledge when explaining the limitations that ought to circumscribe novel water uses and trying to maintain the river's status as a common tool shared among diverse bodies of users.
    [Show full text]
  • Watershednews Westfield River Watershed Association (WRWA) ~ P.O
    The SPRING 2005 WatershedNews Westfield River Watershed Association (WRWA) ~ P.O. Box 1764 ~ Westfield, MA 01086-1764 ~ (413) 532-7290 ~ www.westfieldriver.org The President's Message Now that we finally have some hints of the long-awaited spring, I hope all of you will be able to get outside and enjoy our beautiful watershed. When I’ve been out biking, I’ve noticed something that I’ve read about happening in more developed parts of Massachusetts, but haven’t seen here until now. In two locations I observed small older homes torn down that are being replaced by much larger new ones. While “recycling” land in this manner may be better than building on undeveloped land, it does remind me that although the Westfield River Watershed is one of the least developed areas in the Commonwealth, we live in the third most densely populated state in the U.S. As pressures to develop creep our way, the work that WRWA does to raise people’s awareness of the value of our local environment has never been more important. Mark Noonan Wins Waite Award WRWA has many things to celebrate: a very successful symposium, the additional “Wild and Scenic” designation on the Westfield River, very positive public reaction to “Five Page 6 Feet and Rising: The Flood of ‘55”, and a host of programs underway now and planned for the summer. 200+ Attend 11th Annual As WRWA Board Members implement a very ambitious Westfield River slate of programs, we need two things: money, and help Symposium doing the work to carry them out.
    [Show full text]
  • Provides This File for Download from Its Web Site for the Convenience of Users Only
    Disclaimer The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) provides this file for download from its Web site for the convenience of users only. Please be aware that the OFFICIAL versions of all state statutes and regulations (and many of the MassDEP policies) are only available through the State Bookstore or from the Secretary of State’s Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) Subscription Service. When downloading regulations and policies from the MassDEP Web site, the copy you receive may be different from the official version for a number of reasons, including but not limited to: • The download may have gone wrong and you may have lost important information. • The document may not print well given your specific software/ hardware setup. • If you translate our documents to another word processing program, it may miss/skip/lose important information. • The file on this Web site may be out-of-date (as hard as we try to keep everything current). If you must know that the version you have is correct and up-to-date, then purchase the document through the state bookstore, the subscription service, and/or contact the appropriate MassDEP program. 314 CMR: DIVISION OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL 4.06: continued FIGURE LIST OF FIGURES A River Basins and Coastal Drainage Areas 1 Hudson River Basin (formerly Hoosic, Kinderhook and Bashbish River Basins) 2 Housatonic River Basin 3 Farmington River Basin 4 Westfield River Basin 5 Deerfield River Basin 6 Connecticut River Basin 7 Millers River Basin 8 Chicopee River Basin 9 Quinebaug
    [Show full text]