Nothing could stop the celebration of the removal of the Tack Factory Dam, especially not a little much needed rain! Project partners and friends of the rivers came together to mark this great milestone in the restoration of the Third Herring Brook.
Samantha Woods, Executive Director of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, spoke of the 300 plus years of human uses of the brook. First used by the Native Americans for sustenance and then by the first colonists and later generations for powering grist and sawmills and finally a Tack Factory. Woods also discussed the education, engagement and fundraising the NSRWA and its partners undertook to remove this dam and the momentum that is now building for further restoration upstream at the Hanover Mall to remove their dam.
“Project by project, person by person, river by river we are making a difference and improving the health of our rivers and our waters and leaving behind a healthier more resilient watershed for our children. A future that I hope will allow them to enjoy seeing the return of the herring to the Third Herring Brook to their full glory.” Woods said after thanking the 16 partners that had contributed to the project.
Sara Grady, NSRWA Ecologist/South Shore Regional Coordinator for MassBays, relayed her excitement about watching the new wetland and stream channel develop and also thanked the partners.
Sig Kozaryn, CFO of the Cardinal Cushing Centers (owners of the former dam) thanked the NSRWA, MassBays, MassDER, and NOAA for their help in pushing the project forward, which now relieves Cardinal Cushing Centers of liability and potential maintenance costs.
Mass Division of Fish and Game Commissioner George Peterson recognized the importance of partners like NSRWA and MassBays to accomplishing these projects.
John Catena, Northeast Regional Supervisor NOAA Restoration Center, noted that his organization is always glad to see these projects come to fruition, saying that restoration projects like these “are literally fish factories – making more fish to improve fish stocks”, and explaining that New England and Massachusetts bring in a large proportion of restoration funding because of the expertise of groups like Mass Division of Ecological Restoration, Mass Bays and the NSRWA.
After the ceremony, participants walked to the former Tack Factory Dam Site on the Third Herring Brook. All of the partners gathered by the newly formed stream channel to admire it and hopefully see a river herring. (Although none were seen in the stream at the site, a few were seen downstream later in the day and an osprey flew over with one in its talons.)
As we move onto the next step in restoring the Third Herring Brook, we would like to thank the Hanover Mall and recognize them for their commitment to start the work to remove their dam and help us to continue this restoration project and ultimately return herring to Jacobs Pond.
Tack Factory Dam Removal Project Partners
Cardinal Cushing Centers
Conservation Law Foundation
Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership
Eaglemere Foundation
Greater Boston Trout Unlimited
Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program
Massachusetts Div. of Ecological Restoration
Massachusetts Environmental Trust
NOAA Restoration Center
North and South Rivers Watershed Association
Private donors
Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition
Sheehan Family Foundation
Sylvester Fund
Town of Hanover
Town of Norwell
Trout Unlimited of Southeastern Massachusetts
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Click here to see more photos of the ribbon cutting on our Facebook page.