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Jack Alan with a salamander found by Mill Brook
Photo courtesy of Stefanie Gill |
By Briana Bizier
Did
you know that hundreds of animals are migrating past Windham right now?
Every
day, schools of alewives brave waterfalls, predators, high rivers, and strong
currents in order to reach their spawning grounds. Last Saturday, thanks to the
Presumpscot Regional Land Trust (PRLT), we got a chance to view these
impressive fish in action during the Trust’s first Member Thank-You hike
in Mill Brook Preserve.
Opened
in 2016, the Mill Brook Preserve protects 130 acres of forested land along Mill
Brook in
Westbrook. My family and I hiked part of this five-mile trail system
in January, and I promised my little hikers that we would return in the spring
to watch the alewives. Saturday’s event was a perfect opportunity to
make good on that promise.
“This
is a really exciting natural phenomenon,” said Toby Jacobs, PRLT Stewardship
and Outreach Manager.
The
alewives, a species of herring, spend the majority of their lives at sea but
return to fresh water to spawn. Unlike the slightly more famous spawning
species salmon, most alewives do not die after they spawn. Instead, they return
to the ocean and make their inland trek again the next spring.
The
restoration of alewives to their traditional migratory paths and spawning
grounds has been a tremendous success story in Maine. With the removal of
several large dams and the addition of fish ladders and fish elevators,
alewives now run through many of the major rivers in Maine, including the
Kennebec, the Presumpscot and, of course, Mill Brook. Alewives provide an
invaluable food source for raccoons, mink, herons, osprey, and bass, as well as
serving as lobster bait for local fishermen.
“How
far do you think these fish swim?” Jacobs, who led the family friendly hike,
asked our group of children, parents, and grandparents as we set off down the
trail.
“Fifty
thousand miles!” someone offered.
“One
hundred miles!” another added.
“Not
quite,” Jacobs answered. “These fish swim eleven miles to get from Casco Bay to
Highland Lake.”
Given
that the fish are, on average, only ten to twelve inches long, this journalist
was quite impressed by their eleven-mile trek. We were also delighted with the
trail, which set off from the MAGAN trailhead at the intersection of Route 302
and Willow Drive and then dropped through a majestic hemlock grove and into a
large, boulder-strewn clearing. Here Jacobs distributed scavenger hunt
checklists to the children, who took off running as they searched for treasures
like insects, rocks, and pinecones.
“You
don’t need to pick the items up,” Jacobs explained when my eight-year-old
assistant asked about finding a spider. “You just need to see them.”
One
of the children, Jack Gill, even spotted a salamander among the oak leaves on
the forest floor. “He’s black and
gray, and his name is Sammy,” Gill explained as he gently held the salamander
for the other hikers to see.
This
was a first time visit to the Mill Brook trail system for Jack and his mother Stefanie
Gills. “We’ve fished in Mill
Brook before,” Gills began, “but we had no idea that these trails and fish
pools were back here.”
After
checking off nearly all the boxes on the scavenger hunt list, the family hike
set off in search of the very last item: a fish. The trail meandered through
the woods, crossed beneath the power lines, and led us to a lovely little
waterfall. At this pool, the family friendly group met up with the second
nature walk, led by University of Southern Maine professor Karen Wilson.
This faster group of nature walkers included Ralph Hatt who, along with his
wife Marilyn, donated 33 acres of land to the Mill Brook Preserve.
“This
area is really a jewel of the greater Portland area,” Professor Wilson
explained. This winter, Wilson’s students studied local rivers and streams.
Mill Brook had the least amount of road salt of any stream in the area. It’s a
very healthy watershed, hosting strong populations of fish, birds, and even
beavers.
“And,
yes, that also means lots of bugs,” Wilson added.
Hopefully
no readers will be surprised to learn that an early June hike in the Maine
woods led to a few mosquito and black fly encounters. If you plan on visiting
Mill Brook to observe the alewives, I suggest insect repellent and a strong
appreciation for the vital role robust insect populations play in a healthy
ecosystem.
As
the family group joined the second nature walk, several hikers pointed to a
small pool halfway up the waterfall. There, to our delight, several dozen
alewives were schooling together and resting before making the final push up
the waterfall. After checking “fish” off the scavenger hunt checklist,
my hiking assistants and I were lucky enough to see a few of the silvery
alewives push their way up the falls as we cheered them on.
It
was truly an awe-inspiring sight.
If
you want to catch the alewives in action, Jacobs recommends the southern fish
viewing pool in Mill Brook Preserve. To access this pool, park at the
Methodist Road trailhead off of 302 in Westbrook, cross the brook, and then
turn right, or south, on the trail. Please see map at
https://www.prlt.org/mill-brook-preserve.
It will be a rockin’
good time for this year’s Windham Summerfest to be held next Saturday, June 22
at Windham High School. Living up to its motto, “Bringing Unity to the Community”,
the Summerfest committee has been working hard to incorporate a variety of family
games, activities, and more.
And, don’t forget –
those of you who enjoy a morning run, walk – or roll can sign up for the Toby
Pennels Memorial 5K and 1-mile run. The race will start at 7:45 a.m. To
register or donate: www.runinarace.rezdy.com/104722/tobys-dream-5k-and-1-mile-race.
