River Safari Part 2

....and that was just the beginning (see Part 1 below). After reemerging at my truck on Grove St we were able to drop the trash we had picked up and shed a few layers. Although, with poison ivy threatening from all angles I decided to stay fairly bundled up. We did a short assessment of the road and railroad culverts then headed to Three Rivers Basin to carry on down the river.

Here we opted for the canoe again. After paddling a short ways up Jones River Brook, we headed back into the main channel and pushed downstream. There are some very nice, secluded stretches of river here with diverging channels and low marsh all around. Eventually though, we came to an impassable wall of thorns. Now it was time to ditch the canoe and head out on foot again. Pine assured that it was "only about 600-ft" to the final culvert we were seeking to inspect. Hmmmm, may need to remeasure that Pine! The terrain in the old cranberry bog is soft, wet, hummocky grass that ranges from knee to head high. In between each small tuft of unstable high grass is mud that threatened to steal the hip waders at each step.

It seemed like many miles and many hours, but mostly it was just the tough terrain. Eventually we reached the final culvert. In the end, we were all pleased to see that although the going is pretty rough for people, there does not appear to be any major impediments to fish passage. As Brad put it "There is a lot of work to be done in here but there is no 'project'". Essentially this means that with some chainsaws, brush cutters, and a few gallons of DEET a team of volunteers could clear this stretch of river without needing heavy equipment, funding, or high paid specialists. Boy scout project anyone?!?

I could keep going with this story, but these pictures should be worth a few thousand words....

Silver Lake High School in the Cranberry Watershed Preserve

While we are busy with our efforts to remove the dam at Wapping Road we are also working on restoring other portions of the watershed. Our most active site right now is the lower portion of Pine Brook. Pine Brook and the Jones River are both coldwater, groundwater fed streams. Pine Brook contains some of the best potential for aquatic species habitat in the system that could serve as a source of ecological recovery of the Jones. Today, Pine Brook suffers from a number of impairments including reduced flows, a series of small barriers and restrictions, limited stream bank vegetation and cover, and poor water quality. At least eight small barriers exist on Pine Brook (debris dams, culverts, and flow diversions for historic cranberry bogs). The impoundments and channelized brook present poor fish habitat as temperatures are unnaturally high and dissolved oxygen is often quite low. Now that these bogs are no longer active and the land is owned by the town, these structures may be removed to restore natural flow throughout the brook. We are currently working to determine the flows necessary to enhance and maintain the habitat conditions necessary to support native fish fauna. The goal is also to increase the amount of habitat available to the fish and mussels in Pine Brook and Jones River within the range of available flows to enhance the resilience and survival of the species.

'Approximate' location of the Preserve.

One of the best things we have going for us here is that the town owns a huge portion of land that Pine Brook runs through…the Cranberry Watershed Preserve. Because of the public landownership there is a high potential for successful and rapid implementation of restoration plans.

An exciting part of the project is the opportunity to partner with the teachers and students at Silver Lake High School. The Preserve is literally in the backyard of the school and makes for a great outdoor classroom. The school’s horticulture program students are conducting species inventories and water quality testing, while the video program is documenting all of the activities and starting to create short films that will be available on line. We’ll get them posted as soon as they are available. Yesterday we went out and did recon of the site with some of the students and discussed the baseline monitoring needs.

Final Feasibility Study

This post backtracks a little bit. But since I didn't post much over the winter I thought it would be worthwhile to give a brief summary of some activities. I'll try to get a few more of these out over the next few weeks....

Throughout 2008 JRWA worked closely with a team of partners to conduct a feasibility study for restoration options at the Wapping Road. The project involved a big group of private, local, state, and federal partners. This included Jones River Realty Trust (the property owner), the Town of Kingston (Cons. Comm.), Division of Marine Fisheries, the Riverways Program, and NOAA Marine Fisheries. The bulk of the technical work was conducted by Milone & MacBroom Inc, a well known river restoration firm. Our study was guided by a specific set of goals for the river:

1. Restore the river habitat back to a more natural environment.
2. Reduce operation and maintenance requirements of the Wapping Road Dam.
3. Promote long-term sustainability at the dam and of the river system.
4. Avoid or mitigate impacts to the Wapping Road Bridge relative to scour and stability.
5. Create a condition that is compatible with the adjacent mill buildings, considering
structural stability as well as ongoing and future operations.
6. Pass target fish species, including alewife, blueback herring, American eel, and sea lamprey.
7. Improve the upstream water quality in the Jones River.
8. Maintain or enhance habitat for rare species that may occur in the project area.
9. Promote recreational use of the river (i.e., canoeing and kayaking).

The study assessed the engineering, biological, ecological, economic, and logistical issues surrounding a variety of alternatives for the site. The alternatives considered included doing nothing, installing a fish ladder, installing a bypass channel, installing a roughened ramp, removing portions of the dam, and removing the entire dam. After weighing the pros and cons of each alternative, it was determined that full removal of the dam would best meet the project goals.

If you want some more detail, please take a look at the Final Feasibility Study Report.