On Earth Day 2019 Darius Coombs, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Member and director of Wampanoag and Algonkian Interpretation at Plimoth Plantation led attendees to the Holmes Dam Removal and Town Brook Restoration Project where American eels and tagged river herring were released upstream of the Newfield Bridge.
The Holmes Dam Removal and Town Brook Restoration Project is a $7 million effort to improve Plymouth’s waterway conditions. Several dams have been removed since 2002 and the brook bed has been rehabilitated to create more natural environment for herring and other animal species.
The continued focus on restoring our natural environment is a direct result of the collaborative relationship that the Tribe’s Historic Preservation Department and Natural Resources Department have fostered with state and federal organizations.
Other speakers at the event included Governor Charlie Baker, U.S. Rep. William Keating; Michael Pentony, Greater Atlantic regional administrator of the Fisheries Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Eric Darleth, Massachusetts coordinator of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Plymouth Selectman John Mahoney.
