Pawcatuck Borderlands News

Ell Pond, Hopkinton

Some Dam Inventory

The Conservancy was recently awarded a grant from the William P. Wharton Foundation to conduct a one-year inventory of all the dams and other impoundments in the lower Pawcatuck River and its tributaries. The Conservancy's partners have identified the lower Pawcatuck River watershed as excellent breeding habitat for alewives and blueback herring, important marine fish that live most of their lives in saltwater environments but swim up freshwater streams to breed.

But two hundred years of dam building have blocked the routes these fish once utilized in great numbers. Today, most of these dams are no longer in use. The Conservancy plans to work with its state and local partners to once again open these historic fish runs by either bypassing the dams with fish ladders or removing dams when possible.

This inventory is the first step in a multi-year, multi-phase effort to identify the feasibility and cost of restoring alewive and blueback herring runs in the Pawcatuck Borderlands. Stay tuned for reports on our ongoing progress in this vital endeavor.

Multi-lateral Land Conservation Underway
The Conservancy's Pawcatuck Borderlands Project Director, Kevin Essington, has been busy meeting with landowners as part of a multi-lateral land protection team. In conjunction with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Management, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, and local land trusts such as the Avalonia Land Trust, the Hopkinton Land Trust, and the West Greenwich Land Conservancy, Kevin is finding great strength in working as part of a diverse team to protect this greatly threatened landscape.

"The tremendous growth pressure here demands that every one concerned about the preservation of this large central hardwoods forest work together to ensure the resource endures for future generations," Essington said. "By working as a team, across state and town lines, we can do more, better, and faster."

Since opening the Conservancy's new office in the Borderlands in December, Kevin has met with nearly two dozen landowners in conjunction with the Conservancy's partners and has been pleased at the interest of local landowners in various conservation options. "There are many, many land owners in the Borderlands who have had their property in the family for generations who would dearly love to see the area remain undeveloped," Essington said. Expect to hear more about this initiative in the coming weeks as the Conservancy and its partners complete some exciting conservation projects.