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Branford Supply Pond Fishway, CT - Save the Sound
Save the Sound, a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment, is a partner in the Branford Supply Pond Fishway, restoring fish access to 86 acres of open water, 9 acres of riparian habitat and 5 miles of river and stream habitat.
As a result of increased development, the need for flood protection and water storage has increased around the region. Many communities have constructed dams on the rivers and streams in an attempt to correct or alleviate the problem. An example of this technique was the construction of a 16-foot high stone dam built over a century ago in Branford that created the water supply ponds for the Town. Although the dam was successful for its intended purpose of supplying water to the town, it also effectively eliminated fish passage, cutting off anadromous and diadromous fish from their historic breeding grounds. Restricted access to habitat is a common problem for fish around Long Island Sound. While the precise impact on fish communities cannot be measured, scientists agree that it has been a major contributing factor to the decline in populations of species such as alewife and other herrings, eels, sea-run trout, salmon, striped bass and others that depend on freshwater access for part of their life cycle. 
In partnership with the Branford Land Trust, the Town of Branford, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Branford Rotary Club, the Corporate Wetland Restoration Program, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP) and the CT DEP Long Island Sound Fund, a fish pass unit has been installed at the at the dam, allowing fish to again gain access to 86 acres of open water, 9 acres of riparian habitat and 5 miles of river and stream habitat. This includes some of the most notable sites in the state including Linsley Pond, a deep pond studied by one of the most famous scientists in the field of limnology (G. Evelyn Hutchinson) and Pisgah Brook, the most pristine river habitat in Branford. Currently, Yale University is repeating some of Dr. Hutchinson's research and will assist in monitoring the changes that occur when fish access is once again established on previously free-flowing rivers and streams. An electronic fish counter will provide accurate information for this research. The site has been identified by the State as one of its priority habitats for the CT DEP Anadromous Fish Plan Initiative for restoring fish populations to Long Island Sound. Citizen involvement in this project was critical to its success, with approximately 1,000 volunteer hours contributed to the fishway installation process.
Save the Sound's habitat restoration program began work in 1996, focused on contributing to the regional targets of 2000 acres and 100 river miles to their highest possible function by 2010. This program represents a critical step in the implementation of the goals of the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, signed by Connecticut, New York and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1994 and reaffirmed in 1996 and 2003. This project is supported by the National Partnership between Restore America's Estuaries and the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program. For more information, visit www.savethesound.org.