The removal of abandoned and derelict dams ensures free flowing rivers for fish and other aquatic organisms to freely migrate to important upstream spawning habitats and other seasonal refuge locations.
Saturday, Oct. 24 and Wednesday Oct. 28—The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, along with several local, state and federal conservation partners, will be celebrating World Fish Migration Day on Saturday, Oct. 24 and Wednesday, Oct. 28 with in-person and online activities.
World Fish Migration Day is a global day of recognition to raise awareness about fish migration and commemorate free flowing rivers. Vermont Fish & Wildlife, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, Friends of the Winooski River, Vermont Rivers Program, Connecticut River Conservancy, the Vermont chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are offering opportunities to learn more about Vermont’s fish migration efforts.
“During this international event, we’re featuring the restoration work that we and our local partners do every day to remove abandoned dams, improve passage at hydropower dams and fix perched culverts to improve aquatic organism passage for migratory fish,” said Aquatic Habitat Biologist Will Eldridge with Vermont Fish & Wildlife.
Saturday, Oct. 24, guests can tour the Camp Wihakowi Dam removal site on Bull Run, a tributary to the Dog River in Northfield, and see a stream restoration project happening. Tours start at 12 p.m. and end at 3 p.m. Please email the Friends of the Winooski River to register: info@winooskiriver.org.
Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Connecticut River Conservancy will host a virtual town hall meeting to learn about native sea lamprey and American shad, two species that migrate from the Atlantic Ocean to the Connecticut River and its tributaries to spawn. Register for the event at tinyurl.com/ctriverevent.
An Agents of Discovery digital scavenger hunt and three educational videos will showcase the migrating fish at the Winooski One Dam, native sea lamprey and American shad in the Connecticut River, and brook, brown and rainbow trout in Bull Run in Northfield.
All local World Fish Migration activities including the scavenger hunt, video premieres, and event information can be found at vnrc.org/world-fish-migration-day.
