For a bunch of Wiscasset Middle School students, tromping outdoors to follow a stream was an excellent way to pay attention last Wednesday.
Five boys wearing rubber boots for wading, joined language arts teacher Cheryl Joslyn and Sheepscot River Watershed Council (SRWC) coordinator Charlie Baeder to explore a section of Ward Brook in Wiscasset. They used notebooks, cameras, global positioning navigation system (GPS), and a tall measuring stick to record various observations of their walk on the wild side not far from busy Rt. 1.
They were among 14 8th graders and about 20 adults participating in a stream corridor/ estuary survey aimed at identifying negative impacts on fish species, such as Atlantic salmon, alewives and shellfish. Brookings Bay, Ward Brook, and Montsweag Brook were target areas.
Negative impacts, the volunteer teams learned at an introductory session at Chewonki, can originate from hobby farms, cows in the stream, pet waste, and wild animal feces flushing into the water, as well as streamside manure piles; from pollution by storm water and septic leach fields; from perched or hung culverts, large debris and beaver dams, and ledges that block or impede upstream fish passage. Too much sediment can also degrade habitat by plugging up spawning ground and damaging fish gills.
The volunteers learned their efforts were important – two-thirds of the Sheepscot River watershed has never been surveyed.
Besides SRWC, trained staff from other watershed protection groups represented the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association, marine resources interests, and soil and water conservation districts in the Oct. 14 survey.
The sound of rushing water tipped the group off to the presence of a barrier or cascade creating the pool. Further exploration led them to a small dam where the stream plunged six feet over the spillway. A brick water district building squatted on the bank. They surmised the installation was to regulate water flow.
Baeder explained to an 8th grader named Austin how to take a GPS reading. Classmate Logan wrote down the numbers. Students Curtis and Walker also measured the depth of the water and the height of the dam.
Urging the youngsters to look for animal signs because they needed to document possible bacteria sources, Baeder turned upstream where Ward Brook winds its way through the power line, under the railroad tracks and eventually into woods. Riffles, where oxygen levels are usually generous, and the presence of canopy, providing beneficial shade, suggested good places for fish to thrive.
Several waterfalls, with a drop of four feet, seemed less inviting. Baeder thought they were too high for most fish, including alewives, to get past. Atlantic salmon, on the other hand, are vigorous jumpers. Still, farther along, there were ledges he deemed “big enough to stop all but the strongest salmon.”
As the volunteers got closer to Rt. 1, the downside of winter road sanding became evident. There was a considerable amount of sand in the stream and a large sandbar. Both conditions degrade gravel for spawning purposes and, along with ditches carrying sediment into the stream, were the most detrimental impact the team saw.
The area surveyed, located between Wiscasset Ford and a junkyard, showed no signs of open sewer pipes.
In the short time before catching their bus to return to school, the 8th graders measured culverts and stream width, took water temperatures and dissolved oxygen readings, inspected an ancient cut granite culvert at a railroad overpass, and especially enjoyed taking GPS coordinates and walking across a log that spanned the brook.
The teams will share their findings in a conference call this week, said Baeder. “I know we didn’t get to every place we planned. I believe they’ll send people out to do stream flow and bacteria counting” in the weeks ahead.
What he would like to see is the kind of funding provided by the Land for Maine’s Future program within the State Planning Office. The 22-year-old program has captured millions of dollars through bond issues that “pass almost every time,” Baeder said. He believes a culvert bond issue “would probably have similar support,” and partnership with environmental and fishery interests, such as Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, would create “a good opportunity for a coalition.”
Baeder said Pennsylvania earmarks part of its inland fisheries money to remove dams, for example. “Everyone acknowledges dams are not good for fish passage,” he said.
Although big culverts are better for fish, the inadequacies of culverts he has surveyed also involve climate change. Big culverts are far superior to handling large volumes of water during heavy storms.
The SRWC coordinator also said a Maine law is taking effect early next year, and towns will no longer be exempt from installing big culverts. Since municipalities will have a hard time spending money on larger replacements, Baeder said, working in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could benefit them. The federal agency “could put up the largest portion (of the cost), and the towns would (provide) in-kind contributions.”
Leaving federal money lying on the table doesn’t make sense, Baeder said. “One of the opportunities we have as a state is to create a revenue source, whether through bonding or fees, to leverage federal money. I’d like to get the conversation going.”