Zero Is an Important Number

A special presentation for new and returning alewife monitoring volunteers.

The return of herring to the Merrimack River Watershed is a great environmental story. Anadromous fish species, such as herring, traveling from the ocean up into the Concord River must first pass over the Essex Dam in Lawrence, where they are counted. Data collected here indicates that during the last two decades their numbers have increased from ten (total) to over 450,000. Unfortunately, their passage up the Concord River and into the upper reaches of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord (SuAsCo) River Watershed is hampered by significant obstacles.

Eric Hutchins, our speaker, is a passionate habitat restoration biologist with the National Oceanic and and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Eric provides technical support to our fish monitoring program on the Concord River here in Lowell and has long envisioned obstacle-free fish passage.

Join us for an evening of inspiration as he shares his vision, the challenges, and feasibility of obstacle-free passage on the Concord River. This will include recent updates on the Talbot Mills Dam in Billerica.