Over the last two weeks we “visited” two local watersheds in our communities through the PHK Express and learned about the amazing and tireless organizations and citizens that have come together to repair, protect, and preserve these vital parts of our ecosystem. It has been inspiring to find such passion, commitment, and intelligence among the many stewards of our local waterways. The Taunton River Watershed Alliance, our last featured local watershed in this series, is comprised of the same caliber of people and also accomplishing vitally important things.
Based on geologic evidence, we know that 10,000 years ago the landscape of southeastern Massachusetts was covered by ice flows. The retreating glaciers in this flow created a large glacial lake that eventually drained to become the Taunton River and its tributaries. This river system moved through glacial deposition that included outwash plains, wetlands, and the many kettle ponds we enjoy today. The Taunton River begins at the confluence of the Matfield and Town Rivers in Bridgewater and runs over forty miles to Mount Hope Bay. It is considered “tidal” water due to saltwater intrusion for its last eighteen miles.
The Taunton River is the longest undammed coastal river in New England. The land area that drains into a river is known as its “watershed.” The watershed of the Taunton River, and all of its tributaries, covers 562 square miles. This river is also unique because in 2009, the Taunton River was designated a Wild and Scenic River by the National Park Service, the U.S. Congress, and President Obama. The Wild and Scenic Rivers System currently protects 12,709 miles of 208 rivers in the United States.
The recognition and protection of the Taunton River is largely due to the efforts of the Taunton River Watershed Alliance, formed in 1988, much in the same way that the other local watershed advocacy organizations in the area began -concerned and activated citizens. A “Taunton River Stewardship Plan” was completed in 2005 by the Taunton River Wild and Scenic Study Committee. The Taunton River Stewardship Council was then formed and is composed of delegates from each of the communities in the watershed to identify goals and objectives to guide future efforts to restore and preserve the Taunton River corridor.
One of the many people dedicated to the TRWA is Abby Abrahamson, Bruce Spooner Education Center Program Manager. “We are very lucky to have a large group of dedicated board members and volunteers that support us,” says Abrahamson, “In fact, we still have some of the original members from 1988 serving on the board and involved in our programs.”
As with the other two local watershed organizations, the TRWA relies on volunteer citizen science to collect data and record observations as well as carry out projects and gather resources for the alliance to continue its important work. “We have significant programs to restore and protect, assist in restoration and preservation, and provide education and advocacy in the community,” Abrahamson explains. “We monitor 20 sites for nine months of the year for water quality and species status -all through volunteers. Volunteers need no prior training or experience, but we do require them to attend a training in April to learn about how to gather and submit data as well as be organized into teams.” Citizen-gathered results are then tested at the Veolia Water Treatment Plant in Taunton where the data collected strengthens the ability of the TRWA to work with and provide information to the Environmental Protection Agency. The goal is to ensure that harmful levels of nitrogen and other pollutants in the river and its tributaries are reduced.
Abrahamson continues, “We also monitor groundwater levels and promote water conservation in local communities and assess barriers throughout the watershed and the species affected by the river flow.” One of the main focuses of the TRWA is the monitoring and protection of the threatened Diamondback Terrapins. Abrahamson explains, “We work in partnership with Mass Wildlife and Bristol County Agricultural High School to assess the population of the terrapins in the watershed. They are very threatened by human development and they also have a large number of predators. Volunteers participate in nest watching along the rivers, and if nests are particularly vulnerable, we carefully remove the nests, put them into bins, and transfer them here to the Bruce Spooner Education Center to hatch safely. We can get them over the first hurdles to a point where survival is more likely.”
Another focus of the TRWA is nothing new to those of you who have heard or read about the work the Jones River Watershed Association, North and South Rivers Watershed Association, and every other local watershed organization is focused on -water flow and quality improvement via the removal of outdated, unnecessary, and harmful dams.
Stephen Silva, Corporate Clerk and Board Member of the TRWA, has a Civil/Environmental Engineering background from the University of Vermont, and an Associate of Science in Offshore Marine Technology from the Florida Institute of Technology. Silva offers his time and expertise on a constant basis to the TRWA and the gathering and evaluation of data as well as spearheading dam removal projects. Though the Taunton River itself is dam-free, its tributaries are not.
Silva explains why the removal of these dams is crucial to our watersheds, “What we find is the area behind the dams revert to healthy streams quickly, and fish and wildlife do much better. Anadromous fish, like herring, are food for many fish and birds that come upstream. Flood risk is reduced by removing dangerous dams and reopening flood plains which were flooded in the former impoundments.”
Silva has been a part of various dam removals and has seen firsthand the drastic difference restoring water flow makes to water and ecosystem quality. “The Three Mile River dam removal project was one of the bigger ones in our watershed -three dams were removed and a state-of-the-art fish ladder was put on the last dam at Lake Sabbatia. That has enhanced the Three Mile River which runs right through the heart of Taunton. It improved water quality and fish passage.”
There have been smaller dam removals as well, including one that is personal to Silva. “One of the dam removal projects was on the Cotley River -which is right near where I sample. I have actually seen the benefits when that dam came out -the water quality improved -you could see it visually, never mind my sampling.” Another significant and recent dam removal was in the Town River in Bridgwater. “The Town River Bridge Removal was a very big project,” says Silva, “and that really opened up the river and it allows fish passage into Lake Nippenicket.”
None of the data, or projects it spearheads and supports, would be possible without the volunteers that work with Silva. He explains, “We sample twenty sites once a month, and we have 40 volunteers that go out on the second Tuesday of the month. We were just out this morning sampling.” Information on becoming a volunteer, or even looking up and monitoring the data collected to satisfy your own curiosity, can be done on the website. “If you go to the homepage”, Silva explains, “Go to ‘Watershed News’ and you can see the results of our sampling. It explains the water quality, the accomplishments to date, and also the future goals of stormwater management.”
Of course, one of the key elements to assure longevity and success for organizations like the TRWA is education and outreach. The TRWA is dedicated to taking their mission out into the community and teaming up with other local groups and organizations to promote and support their mission. “We have a number of educational programs that get people involved and engage children. One of our collaborations is ‘Learning in Concert’ where we have collaborated with members of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra who present a narrated 40-minute musical performance which brings the ecosystem to life,” Abrahamson goes on, “This is a program for children, ages 7-10, to learn about the connectivity of living parts in a salt marsh ecosystem, as well as among musical parts in a piece of music.”
In addition, the TRWA makes great effort to offer education to and involvement with local libraries. “Right now, we have a grant in place which makes our public library outreach programs free,” says Ambrahamson, “Children can also be involved in helping with the terrapin monitoring program as long as they are accompanied by an adult.”
One of the TRWA biggest public events is the Taunton River Festival in June. Abrahamson explains, “The Taunton River Festival brings people together to celebrate the Taunton River and support local artists while learning more about the watershed in a fun, festival setting with food and vendors.” If you are looking for a way to support the TRWA from home while encouraging local photography, the TRWA publishes an annual Taunton River Tide Calendar that combines tide data with seasonal photography from the watershed. The photography is selected via a digital photography contest that is open to adult and teen photographers -amateur or professional.
The TRWA has certainly accomplished a great deal in terms of restoring and preserving their watershed, but there is always far more to do than to check off as “done”. Luckily, the team moving the alliance into the future has plenty of resolve and passion to accomplish their goals. “We are passionate about engaging with all members of the watershed,” says Abrahamson, “We are all connected and these programs and this alliance exist because it is important that we do this and learn together. It takes all of us. We are always interested in talking to community members and we really want to know, what can we bring to YOU?”
It is my personal hope that the last three weeks learning about our local waterways and the wonderful organizations that protect and preserve them have given a clearer picture of the vital role they play in our ecosystems and communities. We cannot separate ourselves from the ecosystem when we are such a large and impactful part of it. Water is as powerful and omnipotent in this world as it is fragile and vulnerable -meaning what we do with it can make or break us as a species. I am grateful for those who gave their time and energy to share these stories with our readers and I encourage everyone to learn about their local watershed and instead of waiting for them to ask what they can bring to you, ask what YOU can bring to THEM. You will be surprised at how much you are needed.
For more information and news about the TRWA, please visit:
www.tauntonriver.org
www.savethetaunton.org