More than just metal: Banding provides essential information

What’s in a band?

We’re not talking about musical geniuses that sing and play in harmony, but referring to the Service’s black duck banding efforts. For decades, national wildlife refuges have worked with state partners to band and monitor black ducks. This important effort helps establish hunting seasons that maintain a healthy number of ducks within their habitat.

Black duck at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.
Credit: Scott Nielson/USFWS

Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge joins partners to help breed rabbits

This post is part of a series running all week about the work done on national wildlife refuges to help with threatened and endangered species recovery. Today, you’re hearing from Nancy Pau, a wildlife biologist at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and James Panaccione, a biological science technician, about the construction of hardening pens to help recover New England cottontails.

DID YOU KNOW?

The New England cottontail has become so rare that it's a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. What's a candidate? (PDF)

You’ve seen them hopping around your backyard right?

Well, not necessarily. You may have seen rabbits in New England, but probably not the rare New England cottontail.

While these rabbits may closely resemble the more commonly seen eastern cottontail, they require a much more specific type of home and are known as habitat specialists. New England cottontails need dense thickets, and they hesitate to stray from cover. 

As that habitat has been lost to development and maturing forest, the New England cottontail population has dramatically declined. These issues, along with habitat separated or fragmented by expanding roads and highways, make it difficult for these rabbits to find food or mates.

Moving mussels

Cheryl Daigle from the Penobscot River Restoration Trust.

Today you're hearing from Cheryl Daigle, the community liaison and outreach coordinator for the Penobscot River Restoration Trust. This post is part of a series running all month on freshwater mussels, highlighting their importance to the Northeast landscape and the concerted efforts underway to ensure their future in our waters.

Working on a river restoration project that is focused on restoring 11 species of sea-run fish -- including the enigmatic shortnose sturgeon and leaping wonder of salmon -- offers many fascinating moments of discovery about rivers, community, and restoration of place.

Yet, I never imagined freshwater mussels would invite the depths of thought I had while helping to relocate exposed mussels to deeper habitat during the removal of the Great Works Dam and subsequent lowering of the impoundment to a natural river flow.

Reviving a river: Free-flowing waters at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project.

The majority of the heavy lifting at Great Works is complete, so we'd like to share a series of photos capturing the incredible progress made since June this year -- a representation of many years of conservation efforts. 



See more Great Works dam updates. 

Life in the lab: The less glamorous side of marine biology

Today you're hearing from Melissa May, a doctoral student in marine biology at the University of Maine, about her work studying how mussels respond to changes in salinity. For this post, we're switching from freshwater to saltwater mussels in our series.

Sure, being a marine biologist is awesome, but it’s not all whales and ocean excursions.

Most of us spend a fair amount of time in the laboratory, bent over microscopes or analyzing data. And, more often than not, our research subjects resemble slimy blobs instead of adorable animals. But, we lab rats get a different perspective of the world. We see inside the cells, we manipulate the unseen, and we play with expensive equipment.

I study mussels – the same ones you’ve sautéed in wine. On the outside, there isn’t much to them, but we all know it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And take it from me, they’re fascinating!

Reviving a river: Checking in at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project.

Our Maine hydro licensing coordinator, Steve Shepard, says, "Imagine running these rapids. I hear it was done last week, though the fish have been doing it for weeks!"

 

See more Great Works dam updates. 

Reviving a river: Checking in at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project.

As the Penobscot River Restoration Trust says: "The next best thing to the sight of a newly restored, free-flowing stretch of river? The sound of water coursing through natural ledges and cobbles. An amazing transformation has been taking place on this stretch of the Penobscot River!"

Reviving a river: From the Atlantic Salmon Federation

Andy Goode, vice president of U.S. programs
for the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

Today you're hearing from Andy Goode, the vice president of U.S. programs for the Atlantic Salmon Federation, an international conservation organization dedicated to the conservation, protection and restoration of wild Atlantic salmon and the ecosystems on which their well being and survival depend. ASF is a partner in the internationally recognized Penobscot River Restoration Project, re-opening nearly 1,000 mile of habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon, sturgeon, river herring and eight other species of sea-run fish in Maine.


The Penobscot Project offers a rare, far ranging, and for the foreseeable future, our only opportunity to restore a significant run of Atlantic salmon in the southern range of the species. For the first time in 200 years this project will directly address the primary threat to Atlantic salmon restoration by reducing multiple dams in Maine’s largest salmon river, thus offering the real potential to reverse the longterm decline of salmon in the United States.

Reviving a river: Checking in at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project.

Our Maine hydro licensing coordinator, Steve Shepard, tells us, "The folks with the big toys are making steady progress!"

Work is starting on the remains of the Legacy Dam which dates back to days of hydromechanical power when there were reportedly 120 mills between Old Town and Bangor. 

Reviving a river: Checking in at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. 

The two big timber crib sections in the background are nearly demolished! Two excavators in the foreground are demolishing another concrete section with hoe rams (impressive hydraulic hammers that have 4-5 tons of impact).

In the center of the photo, the excavator near the dam is completing a fish passage channel that will become the thalweg of the river, or its lowest point. After that is complete, the coffer dam will be removed, and the water will drop to something close to the new level. 

Credit: Steve Shepard/USFWS

Reviving a river: Checking in at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. 

Demolition is proceeding smoothly with the help of very low flows and the ability to work within the coffer dam. The outer timber crib section is nearly gone and the next one may be chewed up by the end of the week.  

Reviving a river: Checking in at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. 

These photos are not from the same perspective as previous, but you get a better appreciation of the current state of the dam. The concrete section at left is nearly gone and most river flow passes through this breach.

Credit: Steve Shepard/USFWS

Reviving a river: Checking in at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project.

This graph shows that the water has remained flooded. It was at less than 7,000 cubic feet per second when it was breached and then peaked at 70,000 cubic feet per second. We're hopeful that work can start back up in another week.

News Roundup

Today we're taking a break from featuring endangered species by state, but take a few minutes to see what we heard this week! Check back next week for features on the wonderful states of Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.

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NJ Cape May County Herald: Water and Praises Flow at Cox Hall Creek Event
VILLAS — Like an epic movie, it was 11 years in the making but the ending is monumental. On Wed., June 20, officials from Lower Township and county agencies cut a ribbon dedicating the Cox Hall Creek Improvement Project which removed a derelict sewage pumping station and sent a pipe to Delaware Bay to allow cleansing salt water in the phragmites reed clogged creek.

Over hundreds of years, attempts to control water flow has allowed invasive plants to crowd out other wildlife. This project is part of a long-term effort to control invasive wildlife along the Delaware Bay of New Jersey. A team is working to restore 87 acres of wetlands to control water quality and flooding, as well as provide habitats for our native wildlife. Through our Delaware Bay Estuary Project and New Jersey Field Office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided much-needed resources to complete this project.

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Reviving a river: Dam breached!

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. 

The dam was breached this past Saturday! Watch the video here (you may want to skip ahead to minute 11).

Courtesy Penobscot River Restoration Trust

 
However, Old Town has seen some pretty serious rain lately. It may be a couple weeks before folks can get back to work. 

Credit: Steven Shepard/USFWS

 
See older photos here. 

Reviving a river: Checking in at Great Works Dam

Each week, our folks at the Maine field office are driving by to check on the progress of the Great Works Dam removal, part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project.
 
The photo is taken from the Bradley shore on the east side looking at the dam from downstream. You can see the 1930s fishway in the center, with the pulp mill on the left.

We'll be seeing a lot more change on the section at left as continues. 



Credit: Steven Shepard/USFWS



This is part of a series on fish passage. Read the other blog posts here.

 

Partnering to save endangered animals: Maine

We're so excited about the new interactive map highlighting endangered species efforts in each state across the nation. Each day we'll feature a state, partner and animal. Subscribe on the right to keep up!

Almost 150 years ago, Maine’s fish commissioner saw the toll that over-fishing, pollution, dams, and loss of habitat were taking on Atlantic salmon.

He began exploring the possibility of raising salmon in captivity to restore wild stocks, and his husbandry work led to the creation of the first Atlantic salmon hatchery, a predecessor to the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery. The hatchery's work produces up to 3 million eggs that are raised for release in the wild. Read the rest of this story. 

Salmon are raised at Craig Brook and released in the Penobscot River.
Credit: Randy Spencer – ME DMR

Reviving a river: From the coast

Last week we celebrated the beginning of dam removal at the Great Works Dam in the Penobscot River in Maine. Today, you’ll hear from senior biologist Jed Wright in our Gulf of Maine Coastal Program. This office provided the project with the first federal funding and is making major contributions to restoring fish passage throughout the Penobscot River watershed.

The Gulf of Maine Coastal Program has been a strong supporter of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. We’ve provided both funding and technical assistance to the project, and we’re now building upon this unique opportunity by identifying and implementing priority fish passage projects at dams and road crossings throughout the Penobscot River. 

Reviving a river: Getting fish around those dams

Today, you’re hearing again from the head of our Maine field office, Laury Zicari. Last time we talked about the long history of native fish in Maine. Now, learn how we help get fish up and around those dams using fishways. 

 

Working to relicense hydropower projects while accommodating native fish is a challenge.

This past week, our team got together to do their annual compliance inspection. The team includes our Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hydropower relicensing biologist, Steve, the Natural Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) engineer Don, three fishway engineers from the our regional office, two NMFS law enforcement agents and hydroplant operators.
The inspection focused on compliance with fishway operating criteria and turbine operation protocols at the larger hydroelectric plants. 

Who’s talking about the Penobscot?

Hear, hear, make way for the fish! The joy for the Penobscot's future splashed all over the news, with more than 50 articles popping up over the weekend through yesterday.

Take a look at what they had to say:

"The dams will fall and the salmon will rise.

That may sound like prophesy, but it’s as certain as scientific predictions get these days, particularly in matters of ecological restoration." From a National Geographic blog