May 4, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:
The Greater Atlantic Region boasts dozens of large and important rivers, as well as our nation’s largest estuary-the Chesapeake Bay. We rely on rivers for drinking water, irrigation, transportation, food, recreation, and electricity. In our push for development, we overlooked the importance of these rivers as habitat for fish–among them, river herring, sturgeon, Atlantic salmon, striped bass–with sometimes disastrous results for these species.
Since 1996, the NOAA Restoration Center has supported approximately 874 community restoration projects in the region, benefiting almost 1,500 acres of estuarine and riparian habitat and opening more than 1,000 miles of in-stream habitat for migratory fish.
Un-Build It and They Will Come
The Penobscot Watershed, one of NOAA’s Habitat Focus Areas, is important habitat for 11 species of migratory fish. Until recently, three dams blocked habitat from access by these fish. In 2012, the Great Works Dam came down, and in 2013, the Veazie Dam was removed. At the Milford Dam, a fish lift (like an elevator) was installed, giving fish access up to the Howland Dam. Now, NOAA Fisheries is working with other federal and state agencies, hydropower dam owners, the Penobscot Indian Nation, and seven conservation groups as part of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust to build a bypass around the Howland Dam, a nature-like alternative route that will give fish access to historic spawning, nursery, and rearing grounds. The amazing thing? The fish are coming back. In 2014, more than 255 Atlantic salmon, 800 American shad, and 180,000 river herring used the Milford fish lift, giving them access as far up as the Howland Dam. Read the whole story.
Conserving the Choptank
Of the 18 rivers running through the Delmarva Peninsula (part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem), the Choptank River is the longest. Providing critical habitat for spawning striped bass and river herring, and historically abundant oysters, this Habitat Focus Area is getting special attention from NOAA Fisheries. The Greater Atlantic Region’s Habitat Conservation Division is working with local communities to improve water quality and recover species, and is studying the role “living shorelines” might play in helping this river recover from years of pollution and neglect. Read the whole story.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov or 978-281-9175.