Happy trails, salmon!

Partners celebrate the restoration of Yokum Brook, students release young salmon into their new home

Read more about the Yokum Brook project and see pictures of the dam removal on the MassRiverways website.

BECKET, Mass. (May 11, 2007) - Elementary school students from the Becket Washington School released about 300 young salmon into the newly restored Yokum Brook on Friday. The salmon had been raised by the students in the school’s library over the winter and spring as part of Trout Unlimited’s Atlantic salmon egg rearing program.

The release was the highlight of an event celebrating an effort to restore river continuity and fish movement in Yokum Brook, a coldwater tributary to the West Branch of the Westfield River. The project included the removal of the Silk Mill dam in 2003 and the Ballou Dam in 2006, opening up approximately 30 miles of river downstream.

The restoration project was led by the Department of Fish and Game’s Riverways Program - in conjunction with the Town of Becket and a diversity of partners - and supported by numerous others, including Lowe’s, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

NRCS provided some $10,000 in cost-share assistance through the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.

School principal Laura Dumouchel welcomed more than 100 people to the event, and Acting Fish and Game Commissioner Tom French drew laughter and applause as the event’s Master of Ceremonies, often speaking directly to the students.

“Do you see all these grownups behind you?” French asked the children. “Can you believe they all worked together to get this project done?”

Speaking at the event were representatives from organizations involved in the river’s restoration, including Becket town administrator Richard Furlong, State Senator Benjamin Downing, State Representative Denis Guyer, Eric Derleth of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Jim Turek of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NRCS State Conservationist Christine Clarke, and Bill Toomey of The Nature Conservancy.

As a gesture of thanks for their support, Mass Riverways Director Joan Kimball presented project sponsors with awards constructed out of actual pieces of the dam that they helped remove.

Opening up the river significantly improves migration and movement for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), making it easier for the fish to reach spawning and feeding habitat.

“Connectivity is essential to a river’s health,” said Bill Toomey of The Nature Conservancy, who attended the event. “Removal of the Ballou dam is a boost not only for salmon and brook trout, but for the whole watershed.”

The Nature Conservancy recently completed a three-year, comprehensive survey of the road crossings and dams throughout 1,000 miles of rivers and streams in the Westfield River watershed. The study found more than 300 bridges, culverts and dams causing substantial impediments to wildlife passage and critical river processes such as movement of sediment, nutrients and woody debris.

With its combined ecological and public safety benefits, the project is widely praised in the community, and has drawn financial support from Lowe’s, Riverways, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Northeast Utilities, the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Taconic Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Sweetwater Trust, Natural Resources Conservation Service, FishAmerica Foundation and Pro-line Manufacturing. Numerous other groups have provided in-kind support including providing essential engineering guidance and technical assistance during the planning stage.

“Yokum Brook is an excellent example of the successful public-private partnerships that are hallmarks of the Riverways Program,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles in a prepared statement. “This is truly a win-win project that not only improved public safety, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, but also helped advance environmental education among local students.”

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