September 2
There are signs of fall along the path but there is a long way to go before the stream is flowing again. For now, there is time enough to call in the rain dancers.
There are signs of fall along the path but there is a long way to go before the stream is flowing again. For now, there is time enough to call in the rain dancers.
Below is the now exposed culvert pipe the herring must pass through to follow the stream from Walker's to Slough. It runs for about 20 feet. No one knows when it was installed but it is obvious that it is badly deteriorated. Who knows what it is like at the center of the pipe for the migrating fish!
Congratulations are due to the APCC for its receipt of a landmark $15 million dollar grant from NOAA for restoration projects on Cape Cod including river, marsh, and fish passage restoration efforts. (Article here.) We are grateful for their continued hard work and dedication to protecting and preserving our natural resources. Securing such funding for the restoration of the Slough Pond fish passage, a small, inexpensive, but no less valuable project, would support the goal of the Town of Brewster's $1.2 million dollar restoration at the Stony Brook fish ladder, slated to begin in November, funded primarily by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Its goal is the improvement of migratory fish passage into the herrings' natal ponds. Once again, the APCC grant from NOAA reflects the importance and value placed on herring run restoration across their entire migratory route; perhaps a missed opportunity for the Town to be part of.
Congratulations are due to the APCC for its receipt of a landmark $15 million dollar grant from NOAA for restoration projects on Cape Cod including river, marsh, and fish passage restoration efforts. (Article here.) We are grateful for their continued hard work and dedication to protecting and preserving our natural resources. Securing such funding for the restoration of the Slough Pond fish passage, a small, inexpensive, but no less valuable project, would support the goal of the Town of Brewster's $1.2 million dollar restoration at the Stony Brook fish ladder, slated to begin in November, funded primarily by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Its goal is the improvement of migratory fish passage into the herrings' natal ponds. Once again, the APCC grant from NOAA reflects the importance and value placed on herring run restoration across their entire migratory route; perhaps a missed opportunity for the Town to be part of.
I am not a mycologist but clearly there is quite a variety of mushrooms in the woods, some well nibbled on. I have at least one friend who is knowledgeable enough gather them, others beware.
September 10
Techs from the Cape Cod Ponds Network were hard at work this morning gathering data from their station on Slough Pond. The Network gathers data monthly from March through November in this three-year study of 50 representative ponds on the Cape; a joint effort of the APCC and the CCC. It was a beautiful day to be out plying the waters in a canoe even if they were working. We haven't seen reps from the Town* out on the pond in some time now collecting data from their own marked buoy (white v. yellow), nor have we seen the DMF, also conducting a study, but we have heard they, at least, are out there in the pre-dawn hours.
*On 9/24 the TOB announced it had partnered with the Brewster Ponds Coalition until the end of the season, in late October, for data gathering on the ponds.
Techs from the Cape Cod Ponds Network were hard at work this morning gathering data from their station on Slough Pond. The Network gathers data monthly from March through November in this three-year study of 50 representative ponds on the Cape; a joint effort of the APCC and the CCC. It was a beautiful day to be out plying the waters in a canoe even if they were working. We haven't seen reps from the Town* out on the pond in some time now collecting data from their own marked buoy (white v. yellow), nor have we seen the DMF, also conducting a study, but we have heard they, at least, are out there in the pre-dawn hours.
*On 9/24 the TOB announced it had partnered with the Brewster Ponds Coalition until the end of the season, in late October, for data gathering on the ponds.
It seems time to review the state of the Slough Pond passage. In the three months ahead we will need at least five inches of rain to fill the channel enough for this year's fry to get out, or emigrate. A little digging and leaf removal will be necessary as well. Yes, they can over-winter but not without loss of life for many. Recall that the sandbag weir the Town installed last December was re-arranged to block the channel in mid-June when the water level dropped in the ponds and streams. By then, most adult herring had departed and the fry were in full nursery mode in the pond. The sandbags then deteriorated in late June and were replaced with a sand berm, or mound, blocking the passage throughout the summer.
Now, in this second week of September, as you can see in the photograph below, the passage is inundated with accumulated sand and the pond level is extremely low making passage impossible, for now.
The Town has argued that this very changeability at this passage is why it should be permanently closed, to prevent migration in, subsequent entrapment, and loss of life. Like many intermittent streams across the Cape, and state, this variability is not unusual and wardens and natural resources officers must use adaptive and effective management practices, recognizing that loss of habitat has contributed to the declining herring population. Where there is a will there is a way.
Now, in this second week of September, as you can see in the photograph below, the passage is inundated with accumulated sand and the pond level is extremely low making passage impossible, for now.
The Town has argued that this very changeability at this passage is why it should be permanently closed, to prevent migration in, subsequent entrapment, and loss of life. Like many intermittent streams across the Cape, and state, this variability is not unusual and wardens and natural resources officers must use adaptive and effective management practices, recognizing that loss of habitat has contributed to the declining herring population. Where there is a will there is a way.
September 20 & 21
Day two of rain, not even close but coming along...
Day two of rain, not even close but coming along...
Day three of rain and it's getting closer. All we need is 3" for the fry to depart, once the passageway is cleared and the water is free-flowing that is.
Meanwhile, in Wellfleet, Cormorants, those great fishers of ponds, estuaries, and the sea, once seen on but evicted from the power lines in Orleans, have taken advantage of a new perch for their fishing expeditions along the Herring River Restoration project.
September 23
State of the Slough Pond passage after three days of intensive rainfall with accumulations of 8" in Brewster.
State of the Slough Pond passage after three days of intensive rainfall with accumulations of 8" in Brewster.
September 24
Murky magic. Masters of disguise, changing color to adapt to their surroundings, sometimes the passing alewives are easily missed... no more than a sleight of hand it would seem, a trick of light and water. But now that the pond level is up after the heavy rains, and the 10 feet of new beach we gained this summer is lost again beneath the waves, the schools are closer to shore and more easily detected. If you look closely that is.
Murky magic. Masters of disguise, changing color to adapt to their surroundings, sometimes the passing alewives are easily missed... no more than a sleight of hand it would seem, a trick of light and water. But now that the pond level is up after the heavy rains, and the 10 feet of new beach we gained this summer is lost again beneath the waves, the schools are closer to shore and more easily detected. If you look closely that is.
September 28
Vast schools of fry swimming past are a daily occurrence now at all times of the day. And we've gained another inch of pond level in the past few days. Perhaps the alewives feel the change of season moving in their blood as they ready themselves for their departure from the nursery waters of Slough Pond to the high seas, as we too await the fall maintenance crew at the passage to clear their way. The time is at hand.
Vast schools of fry swimming past are a daily occurrence now at all times of the day. And we've gained another inch of pond level in the past few days. Perhaps the alewives feel the change of season moving in their blood as they ready themselves for their departure from the nursery waters of Slough Pond to the high seas, as we too await the fall maintenance crew at the passage to clear their way. The time is at hand.
A little business for the end of September:
I have come to understand recently, as we await news of the fall Alewife Committee meeting we hope for, that the head warden not only possess his own hand-written notes of Brewster's herring migration during his now eight year tenure, but also those of Dana Condit who served for 40 years. These journals hold a half century of our Town's written history. There is a perfect venue available for digitizing historical records such as these for sharing with the public at large, for research purposes, and for preserving scientific and anecdotal data for future generations (similar to Brewster's Oral History Project). I highly recommend we do. The Brewster Ladies' Library and the Brewster Historical Society are already members of the Digital Commonwealth and have made good use of this free service. What a wonderful project this would be for a young intern to take on!
For more information on the Boston Public Library and the Library for the Commonwealth Program- More info link.
I have also come to understand, hearsay possibly, that there are two levels of wardenship in the Town of Brewster: the voting warden who sits on the three-member committee, is appointed by the Select Board, and paid a $1,000 per year stipend, and the working warden. The voting warden is also a working warden but the strictly working wardens do not sit on the committee and do not vote. As the two alternate wardens allowed by the Town Charter are appointed by the head warden and vote they must fall into this voting/working wardenship category. I believe the strictly working wardens may be also be appointed by the head warden and I do not know how many can fill this role or their actual distinction from volunteers. There is nothing in the Town Charter referring to this practice which may be long-standing. (I recall that Warden Dana Condit "deputized" Frank Borack and his wife to police the run when the moratorium on fish catch went into effect in 2006. )The Determination of Applicability application filed with the Conservation Commission between the Natural Resources Department and the Division of Marine Fisheries, dated 2023, outlines the department's responsibilities for herring management and makes no mention of wardens or the Alewife Committee at all. Hopefully this will all be clarified in the future.
I have come to understand recently, as we await news of the fall Alewife Committee meeting we hope for, that the head warden not only possess his own hand-written notes of Brewster's herring migration during his now eight year tenure, but also those of Dana Condit who served for 40 years. These journals hold a half century of our Town's written history. There is a perfect venue available for digitizing historical records such as these for sharing with the public at large, for research purposes, and for preserving scientific and anecdotal data for future generations (similar to Brewster's Oral History Project). I highly recommend we do. The Brewster Ladies' Library and the Brewster Historical Society are already members of the Digital Commonwealth and have made good use of this free service. What a wonderful project this would be for a young intern to take on!
For more information on the Boston Public Library and the Library for the Commonwealth Program- More info link.
I have also come to understand, hearsay possibly, that there are two levels of wardenship in the Town of Brewster: the voting warden who sits on the three-member committee, is appointed by the Select Board, and paid a $1,000 per year stipend, and the working warden. The voting warden is also a working warden but the strictly working wardens do not sit on the committee and do not vote. As the two alternate wardens allowed by the Town Charter are appointed by the head warden and vote they must fall into this voting/working wardenship category. I believe the strictly working wardens may be also be appointed by the head warden and I do not know how many can fill this role or their actual distinction from volunteers. There is nothing in the Town Charter referring to this practice which may be long-standing. (I recall that Warden Dana Condit "deputized" Frank Borack and his wife to police the run when the moratorium on fish catch went into effect in 2006. )The Determination of Applicability application filed with the Conservation Commission between the Natural Resources Department and the Division of Marine Fisheries, dated 2023, outlines the department's responsibilities for herring management and makes no mention of wardens or the Alewife Committee at all. Hopefully this will all be clarified in the future.
September 30
A little clearing was accomplished yesterday by an invited warden, lest we forget our little flume in the woods. The sand berm was removed. There is enough depth for the soon to be departing fry but there are a few remaining leafy sandbars to attend to in this first fall phase of maintenance.
A little clearing was accomplished yesterday by an invited warden, lest we forget our little flume in the woods. The sand berm was removed. There is enough depth for the soon to be departing fry but there are a few remaining leafy sandbars to attend to in this first fall phase of maintenance.
