JohnR
09-20-2002, 07:52 AM
Good news:
The full text follows and the original link may be found at...
http://ledger.southofboston.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/September/19-3483-news06.txt
This is great news and I found the following quote as worth noting. It is another example of how the folks who manage our fisheries are able to continually improve them without the need for a mandatory saltwater fishing license:
"The $300,000 project is being paid for with a combination of state, federal and corporate grants and a small contribution of town money. It is expected to take about 10 days."
Enjoy,
Mike Flaherty
BassPond.Com
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September 19, 2002
Clearing the way: Plymouth’s Town Brook dam removal eliminating herring roadblock
By TAMARA RACE
The Patriot Ledger
Herring will have a straight shot to spawning grounds in Billington Sea next spring thanks to a dam removal project under way on Plymouth’s Town Brook.
Federal, state, corporate and environmental agencies involved in the project gathered yesterday at the Billington Street dam to watch members of the Army Reserve begin the work.
The Billington Street dam removal project is the first of its kind in coastal Massachusetts and may set a precedent for the removal of some of the thousands of derelict dams blocking fish passage in the state.
The $300,000 project is being paid for with a combination of state, federal and corporate grants and a small contribution of town money. It is expected to take about 10 days.
The Billington Street dam has been the last remaining obstruction to the passage of blueback herring and alewives through Town Brook.
The fish swim upstream from the ocean to freshwater spawning grounds - in this case, the 270-acre Billington Sea. They are an important food source for larger fish, such as striped bass and bluefish, and they are prized as bait by fishermen.
The fish were a staple in the American Indian diet and vital to the Pilgrims’ survival.
As industry developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, several dams were built on Town Brook to harness energy to power mills and factories. The factories are long gone and the now-obsolete dams are in various stages of decay.
The Plymouth dam is one of 3,000 across the state targeted for repair or removal as part of the River Restore Program launched in 1999 by Secretary of Environmental Affairs Robert Durand in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement.
‘‘There are over 3,000 dams in the state, one for every four miles of river,’’ Durand said. ‘‘Most have outlived their usefulness and will be removed, while others are restored. Of the 600 river restoration projects under way across the country, this is the best example of what we’re trying to do.’’
The town’s parks director, Owen Muise, said the Billington Street dam, built in the 1790s, was the newest of five old dams on Town Brook, but in the worst condition.
Several years ago, then-Parks Director Doug Gray sought grant money to repair a herring ladder on the dam, according to Muise.
‘‘The dam was on town property and in faulty condition,’’ Muise said. ‘‘It was better to remove the dam and not have to rebuild the fish ladder. For the first time in 20 years, herring will swim to Billington Sea on their own.’’
In years past, state fisheries officials would truck 7,000 herring to Billington Sea in hopes that the fish would spawn and return on their own the following year, Muise said.
Town Brook empties into Plymouth Harbor just 100 yards from Plymouth Rock.
Removal of the dam will open up 1.5 miles of Town Brook and complete work done previously: removal of sediment, regrading the channel bottom and planting native vegetation to stabilize the brook’s banks.
The restoration work is expected to increase the herring and alewife populations almost tenfold, to more than 100,000 annually. It will eliminate the need to manually collect, transport and release adult fish upstream of the dam.
Tamara Race may be reached at trace@ledger.com
Copyright 2002 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Thursday, September 19, 2002
The full text follows and the original link may be found at...
http://ledger.southofboston.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/September/19-3483-news06.txt
This is great news and I found the following quote as worth noting. It is another example of how the folks who manage our fisheries are able to continually improve them without the need for a mandatory saltwater fishing license:
"The $300,000 project is being paid for with a combination of state, federal and corporate grants and a small contribution of town money. It is expected to take about 10 days."
Enjoy,
Mike Flaherty
BassPond.Com
================================================== ================================================== ===
September 19, 2002
Clearing the way: Plymouth’s Town Brook dam removal eliminating herring roadblock
By TAMARA RACE
The Patriot Ledger
Herring will have a straight shot to spawning grounds in Billington Sea next spring thanks to a dam removal project under way on Plymouth’s Town Brook.
Federal, state, corporate and environmental agencies involved in the project gathered yesterday at the Billington Street dam to watch members of the Army Reserve begin the work.
The Billington Street dam removal project is the first of its kind in coastal Massachusetts and may set a precedent for the removal of some of the thousands of derelict dams blocking fish passage in the state.
The $300,000 project is being paid for with a combination of state, federal and corporate grants and a small contribution of town money. It is expected to take about 10 days.
The Billington Street dam has been the last remaining obstruction to the passage of blueback herring and alewives through Town Brook.
The fish swim upstream from the ocean to freshwater spawning grounds - in this case, the 270-acre Billington Sea. They are an important food source for larger fish, such as striped bass and bluefish, and they are prized as bait by fishermen.
The fish were a staple in the American Indian diet and vital to the Pilgrims’ survival.
As industry developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, several dams were built on Town Brook to harness energy to power mills and factories. The factories are long gone and the now-obsolete dams are in various stages of decay.
The Plymouth dam is one of 3,000 across the state targeted for repair or removal as part of the River Restore Program launched in 1999 by Secretary of Environmental Affairs Robert Durand in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement.
‘‘There are over 3,000 dams in the state, one for every four miles of river,’’ Durand said. ‘‘Most have outlived their usefulness and will be removed, while others are restored. Of the 600 river restoration projects under way across the country, this is the best example of what we’re trying to do.’’
The town’s parks director, Owen Muise, said the Billington Street dam, built in the 1790s, was the newest of five old dams on Town Brook, but in the worst condition.
Several years ago, then-Parks Director Doug Gray sought grant money to repair a herring ladder on the dam, according to Muise.
‘‘The dam was on town property and in faulty condition,’’ Muise said. ‘‘It was better to remove the dam and not have to rebuild the fish ladder. For the first time in 20 years, herring will swim to Billington Sea on their own.’’
In years past, state fisheries officials would truck 7,000 herring to Billington Sea in hopes that the fish would spawn and return on their own the following year, Muise said.
Town Brook empties into Plymouth Harbor just 100 yards from Plymouth Rock.
Removal of the dam will open up 1.5 miles of Town Brook and complete work done previously: removal of sediment, regrading the channel bottom and planting native vegetation to stabilize the brook’s banks.
The restoration work is expected to increase the herring and alewife populations almost tenfold, to more than 100,000 annually. It will eliminate the need to manually collect, transport and release adult fish upstream of the dam.
Tamara Race may be reached at trace@ledger.com
Copyright 2002 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Thursday, September 19, 2002