Olson Woods Lake: Alewives begin their journey.

Photos by Margot Hand

Two weeks ago Dave Ellis and Andrea Scott, from the DEP's Inland Fisheries division, arrived at our Olson Woods nature preserve with a tank full of pregnant Alewives (River Herring).The DLT's Den Frelinghuysen assisted as Dave scooped up a few fish from the tank and handed the fish net to Andrea. Then she ran with the fish to the lake to fling them into their new home. This was repeated about 8 times.

We are very excited about this landmark act for the Darien Land Trust because it means we have now tipped the first domino in a very important set of steps: by stocking the lake at Olson Woods with Alewives, we've insured that herring will spawn, and baby herring will in turn swim downstream to Holly Pond and from there make their way out to the Atlantic Ocean. In 3 years, the babies, who always return to the lake or pond of their birth, will want to go back up the Noroton River to Olson Woods. HOWEVER, there is a barrier at the I-95 culvert at the entrance to Holly Pond. The DLT has agreed to SPONSOR a fish ladder under I-95 so that the alewives will be able to return to the lake of their birth-in 3 years. In an effort to install the fish ladder by that time, we have started the application process and look forward to welcoming the alewives back to Olson Woods.

The purpose of this project is not just to increase the number of herring, but to lure the majestic Osprey—and other wildlife that prey on these fish—back to our neck of the woods. The chain or web of ecosystems that benefit from each of our projects is very exciting to contemplate.