Above and Below a Contentious Dam

 

With the Talbot Mills Dam (photo above) in the news of late, I decided to paddle down the Concord River this past Monday and visit the dam which is presently under discussion for removal.  Started in the early morning to beat the heat and took a look at the higher than usual water level (for late July) at the Route 225 bridge before heading downriver...

Passed under several bridges before reaching the narrowest section thru Fordway Bar...

...and shortly thereafter the (perhaps not long for this world) Talbot Mills Dam...

A view of the dam from the small park on the river's east side (Talbot Mills to west)...

The dam's original purpose was providing water power for the mills and source-water for the Middlesex Canal.  Both functions are no longer required.   

I returned to the area yesterday and resumed my journey from a boat launch below the dam.  The view looking upriver to the dam from below...

This black-crowned night heron watched over the eddy near the boat launch...

Both the river and current spread out further downriver...

...with many riverside hibiscus in full bloom...

A white-tailed deer seemed curious...

Several railroad bridges cross the river just before reaching the end of navigable water.  This steel one carries freight trains while the wooden trestle beyond was long ago abandoned..

Navigable water for me ends just past the Lawrence Street bridge at the Centennial Island Dam...

Muldoon Park is just above this spot and has a boat launch where folks can either take out or put in.  I turned about here and headed back upriver to the Talbot Mills.  After exiting the water I drove over to the dam for a closer look.  Dams at this location have been contentious since the late 1700's when farmers some 20 miles upriver reported their riverside hay meadows often being flooded.  Legal battles ensued for many years.  At one point the farmers seemed to finally prevail only to have upriver dams release stored water in order to help the Talbot Mills.  One exasperated farmer, Col. David Heard of Wayland, MA, is said to have proclaimed the farmers' valley is "damned at both ends and cursed in the middle" according to Brian Donahue in his article "Damned at Both Ends and Cursed in the Middle": The "Flowage" of the Concord River Meadows 1798-1862.  The farmers ultimately lost and today many of those once flooded meadows are part of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

The present reasoning for removing the Talbot Mills Dam is stated clearly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as follows: "This is the largest dam removal ever in Massachusetts, opening 135 miles of habitat, including 260 acres of lakes and ponds, spawning, rearing and thermal refugia habitat for native fish species.  This dam removal will reduce flooding, improve water quality, and improve recreational boating."

A December 2016 Concord River Diadromous Fish Restoration Feasibility Study prepared for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by Gomez and Sullivan Engineers provides additional details.

However, as this sign at the dam shows, not everyone is supporting the removal project... 

Thus the fate of the long contentious dam is up in the air leaving me to wonder which way the Talbot Mills weathervane will end up pointing...

I support the dam's removal believing the benefits of removal far outweigh any negative effects.  

Between my two days on the Concord River I visited the Nashua River last Wednesday launching from the Oxbow N.W.R. in Harvard, MA and finding lots of shady spots as I worked my way upriver.  While the shade was welcome, the huge numbers of small and very fast mosquitoes were not.  This seems to be the summer of their dreams...

Somewhere in the Bolton Flats I encountered this wise old fellow...

...who pondered my questions...

...before providing sage advice and flying off.

Trash for the week:

Monday's...

Wednesday's which included another 143 miniature alcohol bottles aka "nips" from the upper Nashua...

Saturday's...

This riverside trash barrel below Talbot Mills Dam is being put to good use but appears to need more frequent emptying...

Nashoba + Assabet = Nashobassabet

 

Got out on two sections of the  rain-swollen Assabet River this week.  On Monday I paddled an up and back on the waters impounded by Ben Smith Dam.  Launched from Ice House Landing in Maynard, MA (photo above).  Yesterday got out for another up and back paddle on the lower Assabet from Lowell Road in Concord, MA.  The inscription at Egg Rock showed only three words, "On the Hill..."...

Many of the usual landmarks such as Dove Rock were submerged.  Willow Island was awash.

The high water level allowed a foray up Nashoba Brook to the Commonwealth Ave bridge...

...where the combined flow from Nashoba and Fort Pond brooks exit Warners Pond...

The above photo shows a strong tea-colored flow from one of two falls and therefore only represents about half of the total flow.

The swift trip back down the brook to the river brought me alongside Nashoba Bakery...

Wildflowers seen blooming along the Assabet River and Nashoba Brook include Button Bush...

...Joe Pye Weed...

...which according to legend is named for a Native American who is said to have cured folks suffering from typhoid fever with a tea made from this plant.  A blogpost by Cathy Ludden on the Greenburgh Nature Center.org website mentioned the legend and referenced a 2017 article by Richard B. Pearce and James S. Pringle which appeared in the Great Lakes Botanist Journal.  Pearce and Pringle concluded the plant was likely named for Joseph Shauquethqueat a highly respected Mohican sachem also known as Joe Pye who lived in the Mohican community at Stockbridge, Massachusetts.   

Another wildflower seen blooming yesterday was the Cardinal Flower.  It's the first I've seen this year...

...and reminds us that summer is already getting long in the tooth.

Wildlife included this adult eagle in Stow on Monday...

...and this buck on Wednesday...

Trash saw an uptick due to the high levels and flows.

Monday's included an "Eternal" plastic water bottle (inadvertent truth in advertising?)...

Wednesday's included 28 miniature alcohol bottles...

Trash had definitely been on the move of late as it treks to the sea.

Rising Waters Lift All Flotsam

 

Got out on the Nashua River in Groton and Pepperell, MA this past Thursday.  Launched at Petapawag where the boat ramp was submerged.

Came across a small group of white-tailed deer...

...traveling and browsing together...

One of the deer was having trouble with a rear leg.

Also encountered was this immature eagle not far from a nest on a small island...

The original winding path of the river seemed clearly discernable in the lake-like/water chestnut- plagued section upriver from the dam at East Pepperell...

Perhaps the channel is being kept clear by machines harvesting water chestnut plants.

The USGS gauge at East Pepperell recorded 5' which is a little on the high side for July and will likely go even higher in the coming days as a result of this weekend's deluge-fest.

The higher water levels had floated down another batch of miniature alcohol bottles also known as "nips" from upriver.  On Thursday there were another 71 of them all found at one fallen-tree trash trap spanning more than half the river channel.

Where's a "Bermuda High" weather system when we need one?

Rivers 'Round Here

 

Back home from some camping/paddling on Maine's Penobscot River I got in some paddling on my local waterways.  Seems each time I return from far-away (and bigger) waters I find myself wondering if the rivers 'round here will somehow seem diminished...until I get out on them again and I find just the opposite. The Sudbury River in Wayland, MA couldn't have looked better this past Friday with classic summer weather...blue skies, real summer heat, and a gentle southwest breeze.  Water levels were plentiful, especially for July, and allowed access to the old cut-off loop of the river passing under the Town Bridge (opening photo).

Heading upriver from the River Rd. boat launch...

Figured with this much water a trip through the grass and shrubbery to Heard Pond might be in the cards.  I followed the winding path where it appeared other boats had recently passed and pushed my way through some tall grass where they hadn't until until finally finding only pickerelweed between me and the pond...

...and then a little further the pond itself...

...where some fishing occurred but no catching.  The fish showed no interest in my lure gliding along the surface...

Heading back and approaching the Pelham Island Road bridge...

Sunday's cloudy and cool conditions were a welcome change from the heat and humidity.  Egg Rock's inscription indicated ample water for the Concord River...

The Old North Bridge...

The riverine pathway between the trees...

Went downriver to the tiny cove near William Brewster's old stone canoe house (part of October Farm)...

Back at Egg Rock a passing stand-up paddleboarder alerted me to this bald eagle around the bend on the lower Sudbury River...

A nearby fisherman reported the eagle as having been perched there for more than an hour.

Alongside the lower Assabet River this white-tailed deer was devouring leafy foliage...

...

The white tail stayed down as the deer showed little to no concern as to my presence.

Trash from Friday...

 Trash from Sunday...

Anyone else use CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) for sleep apnea when car-camping?  I usually prefer the more isolated tent sites in a campground, but these sites most often don't have electricity meaning no power for my CPAP machine.  Therefore upon retiring I bought a marine/RV deep-cycle battery and a DC converter for powering my CPAP when camping.  Problem was the battery would die halfway into a third night leaving me waking to a loss of air.  Before my recent camping/paddling trip to Maine I consulted my CPAP manual and found the following advice for users traveling: "If you are using an external battery, you should turn off the humidifier in order to maximize the life of your battery."  This I did along with also turning off  the air-tube heater and happily found the battery lasted a full five nights.  Who knew?  Now I do!