This winter marks five years since the removal of the Tack Factory Dam on the Third Herring Brook. Although this was the second dam removal on the brook, it was the one with the greatest habitat gains due to being the first dam from the North River. Its removal provided access to 8.4 miles of habitat, including 2.7 miles of mainstem. Since the removal, eastern brook trout have moved out of the colder tributaries into the mainstem of the river, and river herring have not only been able to pass the site but have increased in number over the years since the removal (last year being the exception due to a coast-wide, hopefully temporary, decline in numbers.) We have monitored the stream for fish, vegetation, and sediment movement. Since the Tack Factory Dam was removed, we have also removed the Peterson Pond Dam behind the Hanover Mall and are currently working with the Town of Norwell to provide fish passage into Jacobs Pond to complete the Third Herring Brook Restoration.
The Tack Factory Dam removal was funded by many federal, state, and local partners, with a majority of the funding coming from major project partners the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Restoration) and Mass. Division of Ecological Restoration. The total project cost for all phases of work was $420,000, not including in-kind time by the project partners. Other funders included the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Massachusetts Environmental Trust, Corporate Wetland Restoration Partnership, Cardinal Cushing Centers, the Sheehan Family Foundation, Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition, Trout Unlimited, and private donors.
Watch a time-lapse of the dam removal below.
Read more about Dam Removals here.
Watch our 50th Anniversary film Letting the Rivers Flow.
