Orleans committee reviews herring run rehab funding
Other Committee · Meeting of March 23, 2026
Orleans water panel reviews nearly $3 million herring run rehab and two town meeting funding requests. Natural Resources Manager Nate Sears told the Marine and Freshwater Quality Committee that a rebuild of the Pilgrim Lake herring run's 1930s-era fishway, funded by roughly $1 million from NRCS plus a $400,000 town match and a separate $1.2 million federal culvert grant, is one to two years from construction. "The lake is completely penned off, yet the run is flowing," Sears said, describing groundwater keeping the channel wet through last year's drought.
Volunteer coordinator Judy Scanlon said manual counts remain more reliable than the run's glitchy video camera. The committee, chaired in Carolyn Audi's early absence by acting chair Rich Levy, also reviewed a May town meeting warrant including $30,000 for Cedar Pond water quality study and $10,000 for a water quality consultant fund, and approved its prior minutes by unanimous roll call.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 849 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of March 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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