My day out on the Back River

Today’s blogger is Shalen!

Did you know that the Weymouth Herring Run in the Back River watershed is one of the largest runs in Massachusetts? On August 6^th, I had the great pleasure of joining Linda DiAngelo, President of the Back River Watershed Association (BRWA), on a boat tour of the Back River. Local State Representative James Murphy, a longtime supporter of the BRWA, organized this tour to gain support for the proposed Back River Trail connecting Great Esker Park and Abigail Adams State Park in North Weymouth to Stodder’s Neck State Park and Bare Cover Park in East Weymouth, making these seemingly separate parks a one-destination attraction. This trip was also an excellent opportunity for me to get to know the BRWA, as well as the issues, triumphs, and goals for the Back River watershed.

The Back River runs through Weymouth and Hingham Massachusetts. Its watershed includes portions of Braintree, Abington, Rockland and Holbrook, and the river is a state-designated area of critical environmental concern (ACEC). The BRWA’s mission to preserve, protect and promote the Back River. The Back River is tidal and its Estuary is one of the most productive with tidal flats, seabed nurseries for many species of fin fish, and shellfish beds. The mouth of the river lies at Whitman’s Pond in East Weymouth, which serves as the town’s secondary water supply. It is also the spawning grounds for river herring and is the location of the Weymouth Herring Run. The run boasts five fish ladders. Webb State Park, Abigail Adams State Park and Great Esker Park sprawl to the west side of the river and Bare Cove Park to the east (in Hingham). Many tributaries flow into the Back River including Fresh River entering from Hingham and Old Swamp River and Mill River from Weymouth. Nine open-space parks, including those previously mentioned, surround the river, and are wonderful passive recreational areas for walking, jogging, bicycling, cross-country skiing, fishing, birding and wildlife watching. The Back River flows out to Hingham Bay, which is where the herring enter the river. 

Mary F. Toomey founded the BRWA in order to conserve the Back River, with help and direction from Dr. Mary Sears of Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institution. Toomey was born in Weymouth, taught in its school system for 41 years, and was beloved for her leadership. She served as a Weymouth Town Meeting Member and was an active participant in this community. To save the Back River, Toomey ran a campaign with the Weymouth Conservation Commission to buy Great Esker Park when released for sale by the government. Among her numerous accomplishments, Toomey’s tireless work helped the Weymouth Back River attain its ACEC designation in 1982. Toomey helped constitute four important designations for the Back River:  an ACEC in 1982, a wildlife sanctuary, a local scenic river, and one of Massachusetts Special Places, by Mass. Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.  As Representative Murphy acknowledged on our tour, everyone in the area knows of and highly respects the late Mary Toomey for her dedication to and influence on the Back River watershed. In 2004 Toomey was honored with The Gulf of Maine Council Visionary Award.  Along with Linda, another of the BRWA’s board members is Phil Lofgren, the Assistant Herring Warden and a particularly knowledgeable individual.

On the hour-long tour, we departed from the South Shore Yacht Club at Abigail Adams State Park. The morning was sunny and the breeze welcoming as the day heated up out on the water. According to Representative Murphy, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) completed plans for the proposed trail, and they just need funding to begin the extension project. As president of the BRWA, Linda is excited about the trail extension, but also she impressed upon me the importance of not widening the existing trails, because Great Esker Park in particular contains a valuable and fragile post-glacial ninety-foot esker, reversing falls, and many archeological treasures. There is a fine balance between recreation and conserving the waterfront shores of the river. Many important officials were in attendance, including members of the DCR and the Conservation Commission. In particular I talked to Abby Pearsall, Conservation Officer of the Town of Hingham Conservation Commission.

We ventured upstream the Back River’s waters, in between the state parks, heading towards the direction of Whitman’s Pond. When the waterway narrowed too much for the boats to pass, we turned around and double-backed past the Yacht Club, our starting point, and downstream to see Stodder’s Neck. Stodder’s Neck is a piece of the Back River Reservation (a coastal reservation and part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston) that Representative Murphy wants to be preserved for the conservation commission. We also saw the nearby Weymouth Port Condominiums, which rest on a piece of land that was remediated by the multinational corporation ConocoPhillips. The land, which was contaminated by lead and arsenic residue left over from the operation of a fertilizer plant owned by American Agricultural Chemical, was acquired by ConocoPhillips in 1963.  The boat tour was the perfect way to draw people out, and have them experience the beauty and inherent importance of the Back River to its environment and notice the need for a trail to connect the state parks.

Linda DiAngelo, President of the BRWA

After our tour of the river concluded, Linda was kind enough to bring me to the huge Weymouth Herring Run. To reach Whitman’s Pond for spawning, the herring travel from the Atlantic Ocean to Massachusetts Bay, from there to Hingham Bay, and finally up the Back River and through the five fish ladders. The herring, most of which are alewives, must travel a total of 70 vertical feet up the Weymouth Herring Run, located in Jackson Square in Weymouth, to reach the pond. Linda led me to the three viewing areas in the square, from which I could see the run. I saw a resting pool for the herring at one section adjacent to Stephen Rennie Park, and I observed the swinging gate in need of repair in another section (discussed below) in Herring Run Pool Park. From the Iron Hill observation platform, I marveled at the longest sector of the run, and at the size and scope of the run in its entirety. Finally, Linda and I walked from Iron Hill, named for the iron production that flourished in the 19^th century in the area, to a south cove that led up to Whitman’s Pond, the mouth of the Back River.

One of the issues the BRWA encounters is a host of structural problems on their herring run. The major problem with the run is a swinging gate that is not functioning correctly at the part of the run that contains a flood control tunnel. Fish are getting caught and killed in the gate. The herring are a vital keystone species in this environment, because they sustain the recreational and commercial fisheries in Boston Harbor and the Gulf of Maine, and the damaged gate must be repaired to sustain the herring population and therefore these fisheries. In addition to maintaining the fish ladders, BRWA also strives to improve water quality in the Back River and Estuary, because of declining herring populations, and to reopen shellfish beds.

Thanks to Linda, and her never-ending and vibrant knowledge of the Back River watershed, and Representative Murphy for sponsoring an informative and engaging tour on the river, I experienced my day to the fullest. The Back River watershed, like the Jones River watershed and countless others, is another priceless and wonderful environment in Massachusetts, and perhaps even more impressive than the river itself are the people striving to preserve and protect it.

Want to learn more about the Back River Watershed Association? Please visit their Facebook page by clicking https://www.facebook.com/pages/Back-River-Watershed-Association/345912222170505 and visiting the Watershed Action Alliance at http://watershedaction.org/.

Next Stop, the Jones River watershed!

Our Blogger today is Shalen Lowell

Elm Street Dam, Kingston MA

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Jones River Watershed Association (JRWA) and the unique and beautiful Jones River watershed. This watershed is relatively small, and is self-contained in the town of Kingston. It begins upstream at Silver Lake and flows down and out to Kingston Bay. Although this watershed occupies a relatively small geographic area, it contains a multitude of unique ecological features such as coastal areas, cranberry bogs, and a glacial lake.

Led by JRWA intern Amy Meloski, we first stopped at Kingston Bay, to which the Jones River flows, as it winds through the watershed from Silver Lake. We journeyed upstream from the bay to Mulliken’s Landing, a canoe launch leading out to the Jones that was overgrown and out of care. The landing’s path was shrouded with overgrown bushes and vandalized benches. Should someone take up this project, the Landing would be a great recreational attraction for this downstream section of the watershed.

On our tour upstream, we encountered a road block at the Elm Street dam: the bridge there is under construction. There we saw the fish ladder which enables herring to traverse the dam and with which the JRWA observes herring counts. Though many herring pass along the river in this manner, smelt and shad are unable to get through. Like many of us, the JRWA is concerned with herring runs, which is an indicator of overall watershed health. Because herring counts are so crucial at the Elm St. dam, during April and May, the JRWA allows volunteers to assist with the herring counts, a great way to engage the public, to take ownership, and to get people involved in their local environment.

A refreshing walk along a wooded path led us to several more fish ladders which led up to a pond on higher ground. The fish ladders pass from the pond, down to the Jones River, bridging an earthen dam.

The last spot I saw was the glacial Silver Lake (see right). The lake provides drinking water for the town of Brockton and its water is pumped out to Brockton every day. This restricts river flow from the lake, and in times of low-flow or draught, can be cut off from the flow of the Jones almost entirely.

The JRWA’s primary concern is removing dams in the Jones River watershed, and eventually getting the fish back to Silver Lake. Many earthen dams in the area are coming to the end of their lives and must be disposed of instead of repaired. Dams are more expensive in the long run due to the initial costs of construction but also lifetime maintenance. Here I learned that a river is better left to flow naturally rather than be subjected to unneeded construction.

The JRWA dismantled one such dam not long ago: the Wapping Road dam which is one of the inactive, concrete dams abandoned after industrial development.

Possibly the JRWA’s most important investment is in environmental education. Not only does the association visit schools, but it also encourages student volunteering. Pine duBois is working with high school students to use one of the bog areas that still remains in the Three Rivers Basin to set up a sustainable business, selling and maintaining the cranberries in this area. The majority of the Three Rivers Basin, 29 acres previously used for cranberry bogs, is being restored to the habitats that used to occupy the Jones River along Pine Brook.

To visit the Jones River Landing’s website and learn more about the Jones River Watershed Association, please visit http://jonesriver.org/ or WAA’s site at http://watershedaction.org/.