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.
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.
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.
