2018 CONFERENCE: Field Trips
Please note: this schedule is from the 2018 Conference which has passed.
Tuesday, September 11│12:45pm - 5:00pm
1) USFWS Hatchery, Sunderland
Peter Hazelton, MassWildlife
The Richard Cronin Aquatic Resources Center is a former state cold-water fish hatchery, and was given to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1982 for use as a National Atlantic Salmon Station to assist in efforts to recover Atlantic Salmon in the Connecticut River. In 2012, the USFWS ceased production of Atlantic Salmon as sustainable stocks were not returning to southern New England. Since the closure of the Atlantic Salmon program, the USFWS has worked with other federal, state, and University collaborators to repurpose the station for use in research and conservation of other aquatic fauna in Massachusetts. Currently the Resource Center focuses on rearing of federally endangered Tiger Beetles, freshwater mussels in cooperation with UMass and MassWildlife, and other research on anadromous fishes.
2) Mitchell Brook Culvert Upgrade, Whately
Amy Singler, American Rivers
The Nature Conservancy and the Town of Whately collaborated on replacing a 36” corrugated metal pipe on Conway Road over Mitchell Brook with a new structure to provide aquatic organism and terrestrial wildlife passage. The project included building a stable stream bed at a steep gradient, within a new open-bottom arch structure. Mitchell Brook, a high-quality cold-water tributary to West Brook, has been a long-term research site, and post construction monitoring has documented more brook trout moving upstream into Mitchell Brook, and dace are now being found in the stream for the first time.
3) Route 116 Retaining Wall Project, Conway
Roy Schiff, Milone & MacBroom
The retaining wall along Route 116 (Ashfield Road) near the North Poland Road intersection in the town of Conway, Massachusetts, was replaced in 2015. A geomorphic-based design was selected to provide as much room as possible for the river to create a stable channel. The design also included instream habitat features such as an engineered log jam, a flood bench, boulder deflectors, and root wads.
4) Route 2 Mud Slide/Irene Damage, Charlemont
Scott Stevens, MassDOT Highway Division
In late August 2011, Tropical Storm Irene resulted in widespread damage across many northeastern states, and in Massachusetts damage was greatest in the hill towns within the western part of the state. Of the many roadways and transportation assets impacted by the storm, Route 2 experienced retaining wall and side slope failures, roadway washouts, landslides, culvert failures and bridge damage, resulting in the closure of about 4 miles of the road in the Charlemont-Florida area. With the hard work of MassDOT staff and contractors, the state was able to design, engineer, survey and begin construction in record time. The reconstruction work was completed in 3 months and Route 2 was reopened for traffic on December 15th, and through coordination with permit and resource agencies, specific attention was paid to restoring riverbed habitat.
5) Henry Street Amphibian Tunnel, Amherst
Scott Jackson, UMass Amherst
The Henry Street salamander tunnels, believed to be the first amphibian tunnels in North America, were constructed in 1987 and hosted their first salamander migration in the spring of 1988. Two tunnels were constructed on Henry Street, a busy two-lane road, where local residents had succeeded in getting the town to close the road during periods of spotted salamander migration. The Fauna and Flora Preservation Society (now Fauna and Flora International) initiated the project with assistance from the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Town of Amherst, and University of Massachusetts. The two tunnels, donated by ACO Polymer Products, were installed by the Amherst Highway Department. Guide fencing was installed by volunteers coordinated by the Hitchcock Center. Monitoring of the tunnels in the years following construction indicated that the structures were successful for passing spotted salamanders, but that effectiveness was hampered by insufficient light in the tunnels. The tunnels and fences have been maintained over the past 30 years by volunteers from the Hitchcock Center. Much was learned by this project that helped design and implement amphibian crossing structures at other sites throughout the United States and Canada.
Peter Hazelton, MassWildlife
The Richard Cronin Aquatic Resources Center is a former state cold-water fish hatchery, and was given to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1982 for use as a National Atlantic Salmon Station to assist in efforts to recover Atlantic Salmon in the Connecticut River. In 2012, the USFWS ceased production of Atlantic Salmon as sustainable stocks were not returning to southern New England. Since the closure of the Atlantic Salmon program, the USFWS has worked with other federal, state, and University collaborators to repurpose the station for use in research and conservation of other aquatic fauna in Massachusetts. Currently the Resource Center focuses on rearing of federally endangered Tiger Beetles, freshwater mussels in cooperation with UMass and MassWildlife, and other research on anadromous fishes.
2) Mitchell Brook Culvert Upgrade, Whately
Amy Singler, American Rivers
The Nature Conservancy and the Town of Whately collaborated on replacing a 36” corrugated metal pipe on Conway Road over Mitchell Brook with a new structure to provide aquatic organism and terrestrial wildlife passage. The project included building a stable stream bed at a steep gradient, within a new open-bottom arch structure. Mitchell Brook, a high-quality cold-water tributary to West Brook, has been a long-term research site, and post construction monitoring has documented more brook trout moving upstream into Mitchell Brook, and dace are now being found in the stream for the first time.
3) Route 116 Retaining Wall Project, Conway
Roy Schiff, Milone & MacBroom
The retaining wall along Route 116 (Ashfield Road) near the North Poland Road intersection in the town of Conway, Massachusetts, was replaced in 2015. A geomorphic-based design was selected to provide as much room as possible for the river to create a stable channel. The design also included instream habitat features such as an engineered log jam, a flood bench, boulder deflectors, and root wads.
4) Route 2 Mud Slide/Irene Damage, Charlemont
Scott Stevens, MassDOT Highway Division
In late August 2011, Tropical Storm Irene resulted in widespread damage across many northeastern states, and in Massachusetts damage was greatest in the hill towns within the western part of the state. Of the many roadways and transportation assets impacted by the storm, Route 2 experienced retaining wall and side slope failures, roadway washouts, landslides, culvert failures and bridge damage, resulting in the closure of about 4 miles of the road in the Charlemont-Florida area. With the hard work of MassDOT staff and contractors, the state was able to design, engineer, survey and begin construction in record time. The reconstruction work was completed in 3 months and Route 2 was reopened for traffic on December 15th, and through coordination with permit and resource agencies, specific attention was paid to restoring riverbed habitat.
5) Henry Street Amphibian Tunnel, Amherst
Scott Jackson, UMass Amherst
The Henry Street salamander tunnels, believed to be the first amphibian tunnels in North America, were constructed in 1987 and hosted their first salamander migration in the spring of 1988. Two tunnels were constructed on Henry Street, a busy two-lane road, where local residents had succeeded in getting the town to close the road during periods of spotted salamander migration. The Fauna and Flora Preservation Society (now Fauna and Flora International) initiated the project with assistance from the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Town of Amherst, and University of Massachusetts. The two tunnels, donated by ACO Polymer Products, were installed by the Amherst Highway Department. Guide fencing was installed by volunteers coordinated by the Hitchcock Center. Monitoring of the tunnels in the years following construction indicated that the structures were successful for passing spotted salamanders, but that effectiveness was hampered by insufficient light in the tunnels. The tunnels and fences have been maintained over the past 30 years by volunteers from the Hitchcock Center. Much was learned by this project that helped design and implement amphibian crossing structures at other sites throughout the United States and Canada.
