Restoring Ipswich River Clamming: A Conservation Success Story
The Ipswich River contains several hundred acres of highly productive shellfish beds and about a million dollars worth on average each year are harvested from the River. It didn’t always used to be this way. Following the realization of the link between sewage-contaminated water and human illness at the turn of the last century, the…
Who Pays for Dam Removal?
“Who is paying for this?” is one of the more common questions that comes up around dam removal. It’s an important question and one that deserves transparency. Dam removal is an expensive endeavor that can often incur significant costs well before the actual dam removal part happens. That is why there are plenty of grant…
Dam Removal and Water Supplies: What’s the real story?
If you’ve been following IRWA for any time at all, you’ve probably heard us talk over and over about our top two priorities to protect and restore the health of the river: water withdrawals contributing to low flows and dam removal. And as we make inroads on both of these issues, we’ve increasingly gotten the…
Why Count Fish at the Ipswich Mills Dam?
It’s almost fish counting season! So let’s talk about fish – specifically herring – and the Ipswich River. Why do we count fish? Since 1999, the Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA) has organized annual herring counts. Historically, the Ipswich River supported a robust and stable population of Alewife Herring (Alosa pseudoharengus), anadromous fishes that are…
Call For Art: Magic of the Ipswich River
“The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men.” – Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi (1883) Calling all artists! The Ipswich Arts Association, in collaboration with Ipswich River Watershed Association, is putting out a call for art inspired by the Magic of the Ipswich River. Selected artwork will be…
A Good Week for Advocacy: Updates on the Drought Bill and the North Shore Water Resiliency Task Force
A key component of the work of IRWA’s resiliency program is our advocacy efforts- to support, protect, and improve our River through key policy decisions and sustainable resource management efforts. However, it’s sometimes hard to talk about advocacy accomplishments because they are often incremental and don’t usually involve a ribbon cutting complete with fish-themed dessert….