| OCR Text |
Show Parts of tlie White Mountain and Green Moun- tain National Forests are in the upper part of the basin and play a part in the recreational activity in the area. These recreational facilities are heavily used. Programs for the Future There are no specific long-range programs for the extension of recreational facilities by public agen- cies. The Forest Service plans to enlarge recrea- tional facilities in national forests as rapidly as funds become available. No information is available on plans of private groups. The Department of Agriculture envisions greater production of small game on private farms through practices recommended by the Soil Conservation Service, and an increased production of fish through the construction of hundreds or possibly thousands of farm ponds. The reservoirs constructed by the Corps of Engi- neers have provided potential recreational sites. The several basin States are presently studying the possibilities sX these sites with a view to obtaining State funds for their development for recreation and wildlife purposes. Development of navigation improvements also will provide excellent opportunities for recreational boating on the lower river. Furthermore, recrea- tional interests consider an effective pollution abate- ment program of major importance in terms of the river's possibilities. Control of pollution, coupled with improved low flows resulting from conservation storage, would render the Connecticut River a rec- reation streajn throughout the greater part of its length. Fisheries Situation at -Present In the earrly years of settlement, the fish supply of the Connecticut River was abundant and of major economic importance. The building of dams across the sttream eliminated such migratory fish as salmon, alewives, and shad from all except the lower reaches of thie stream. Salmon disappeared years ago. Gradually the catch of the other two dwindled. However, comparatively recently catches of shad have increased. Pollution is known to have con- tributed to «he decline of the fish population in 482 the basin, but the relative importance of barrier dams and pollution in the elimination of resident fishes and anadromous runs is not certain. At present there is a minor commercial fishing industry. The value of the shad catch on the Connecticut in 1946 was $162,000. There also is a small commercial catch of alewives and a few other species. Catches during the last 10 years have been increasing. Fishing in the basin, however, is of major im- portance as an adjunct of the recreation industry. There is some sport fishing in the Connecticut River itself, excellent trout fishing in many of the tributaries, and extensive fishing of warm-water game species in the lakes and ponds. All the fishing resources of the basin are subject to heavy pressure. A Federal fish hatchery at St. Johnsbury, Vt., raises land-locked salmon and trout, and has a limited production of warm-water fish. Program for Immediate Future There is no immediate prospect of reintroducing sizable runs in the Connecticut River. However, the prospect for shad is somewhat brighter. Until 1950, shad have been confined to the stream below Holyoke because of a dam at that point and prob- ably also because of pollution in the vicinity. The redevelopment of the dam at Holyoke includes the installation of fish ladders. If experiments with ladders here are successful, the extension of the shad spawning grounds may be considerable. The design and installation of special devices for the protection of young shad migrating downstream past Holyoke Dam have been deferred until studies can be made of the use and operation of fishways now under construction. If safe passage for migratory fish can be achieved at Holyoke, an important contribution will have been made also to the solution of the problem as- sociated with construction of the proposed dam at Enfield. Unless the proposed Enfield Dam can be modified to provide effective fish passage, it will destroy not only the possibility of extending the shad spawning area on the Connecticut, but also the existing shad runs, since the present primary shad spawning areas lie between Hartford, Conn., and Holyoke, Mass. It is thought by some engineers that the use of adjustable blade turbines, as pro- posed for both the Holyoke and Enfield develop- ments, will permit a reasonable number of the fingerlings to pass downstream. |
