The existing 1930’s era fish ladder at the Willowdale Dam on the Ipswich River is not very good at its job of allowing fish to swim over and past the dam to important habitat upstream. With the vast majority of the Ipswich River watershed located upstream of this site, improving fish passage at Willowdale is a critical component of watershed-wide efforts to restore healthy populations of native fish species.
Back in 2006 the MA Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) commissioned a feasibility study that explored various options for improving fish passage at the dam for a wide range of species. No action was taken following the 2006 report because of the dam owner’s interest in keeping the dam in place and the relatively high cost of installing the upgraded fish ladder options.
Efforts to improve fish passage at the Willowdale Dam on the Ipswich River are now being rekindled. The project received funding as part of a NOAA Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal grant, and the project team is working through the process of design alternative selection in order to determine the best nature-like fishway solution to improve migratory fish passage at this location.
We look forward to counting many more fish swimming up and over this dam in the coming years.
Project Status:
Active
Project Team:
Ipswich River Watershed Association
Essex County Greenbelt
Foote Brothers Canoe and Kayak
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
NOAA