>> HI, I'M ERIC FORD FOR "MADE HERE".

DIRECTOR IAN SWEET IS BACK WITH ANOTHER DIRECTOR.

THIS TIME, IT'S A STORY ABOUT THE CLYDE RIVER IN VERMONT AND ITS HISTORIC PAST.

THE FILM DETAILS CURRENT WORK TO INCREASE THE SALMON POPULATION IN THE RIVER, AND A LOOK TOWARD THE MORE VITAL FUTURE FOR THIS RIVER AND WATERSHED IN ORLEANS COUNTY.

YOU CAN WATCH "SALMON OF THE CLYDE RIVER" AND OTHER GREAT "MADE HERE" FILMS STREAMING ON VERMONTPUBLIC.ORG AND STREAMING ON THE APP.

ENJOY THE FILM AND THANKS FOR WATCHING.

>> ♪ IN THE CLYDE RIVER ♪ ONCE UPON A TIME TELL ME WHO ♪ ♪ TELL ME WHEN, TELL ME WHY, WHY, WHY ♪ ♪ SAILING ON THE CLYDE RIVER ♪ ONCE AGAIN WILL RISE RUN SALMON RUN ♪ ♪ BECAUSE YOU'RE SWIMMING FOR YOUR LIFE FOR YOUR LIFE YOU'VE GONE UPSTREAM ♪ ♪ AGAINST THE ODDS BUT IN YOUR SIGHTS ♪ ♪ TENACIOUS BY ANY MEANS ♪ DON'T GIVE UP SO WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ ♪ SWIM ON SWIM ON ♪ ♪ SWIM ON WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ ♪ SWIM ON SWIM ON ♪ ♪ SWIM ON YOU WON'T FORGET THE ♪ ♪ SALMON ON THE CLYDE RIVER ONE UPON A TIME ♪ ♪ TELL ME WHO TELL ME WHEN TELL ME WHY, WHY, WHY ♪ ♪ SALMON ON THE CLYDE RIVER ONCE AGAIN WILL RISE ♪ ♪ RUN SALMON RUN BECAUSE YOU'RE SWIMMING FOR YOUR LIFE ♪ ♪ FOR YOUR LIFE GO UPSTREAM ♪ ♪ AGAINST THE ODDS BUT IN YOUR SIGHTS ♪ ♪ TENACIOUS BY ANY MEANS ♪ YOU DON'T GIVE UP SO WE WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ ♪ SWIM ON SWIM ON ♪ ♪ SWIM ON NO, WE WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ WE WON'T GO GET ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON SWIM ON ♪ ♪ WE WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ WE WON'T GO GET YOU >> WELCOME TO THE CLYDE RIVER IN NEWPORT, VERMONT.

THE RIVER HAS A UNIQUE SALMON RUN.

AND HISTORICALLY, ANGLERS HAVE BEEN COMING HERE FOR DECADES TO FISH FOR LAND LOCKED SALMON.

THE SALMON RUNS WERE VIGOROUS AND ATTRACTED HUNDREDS OF ANGLERS OVER THE YEARS TO THIS UNIQUE URBAN FISHERY.

>> OVER THE YEARS, MANY THINGS HAPPENED TO THIS RIVER.

ONE WAS THE SALMON CAPTURE AND EGG STRIPPING BY VERMONT FISH AND GAME.

>> THE OTHER WAS THE BUILDING OF NUMBER 11 DAM.

CERTAINLY AFFECTED THE NUMBER OF SALMON RETURNING EACH YEAR.

THE SALMON EGGS STRIPPING FINALLY STOPPED AND WITH THE HELP OF MOTHER NATURE, NUMBER 11 DAM WAS BREACHED WITH A MASSIVE FLOOD.

BECAUSE OF THE TENACIOUS WORK AND PASSION OF A LOCAL TROUT UNLIMITED CHAPTER, THE NUMBER 11 DAM ON THE LOWER CLYDE WAS REMOVED WHICH RESTORED SALMON'S SPAWNING GROUNDS.

BUT IT'S HOPED WITH THE CONSTANT MONITOR AND STOCKING THAT THE NUMBERS OF SALMON WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE.

THE CLYDE RIVER HAS A GREAT BACK STORY AND WE HOPE THAT A NEW CHAPTER IS ABOUT TO BE WRITTEN.

>> THE QUESTION OF SALMON IN THE BASIN HISTORICALLY AND CURRENTLY IS A HIGHLY ARGUABLE ONE.

AND ONE OF THE KNOWN FACTS IS THAT ATLANTIC SALMON ASCENDED THE ST. FRANCIS RIVER UP THROUGH DRUMMONDVILLE.

DRUMMONDVILLE NEAR THE ST. LAWRENCE, AND IF YOU LOOK AT A MAP OF THE ST. FRANCIS WHICH THE BASIN IS A PART, YOU'LL SEE THAT BOTH DOWNSTREAM AND UPSTREAM OF SHERBROOK WHERE THE RIVER HITS THE ST. FRANCIS, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF SMALL STREAMS CALLED SALMON RIVERS.

AND WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE FIRST DAMS WERE BUILT ON THE ST. FRANCIS DOWN CLOSE TO THE ST. LAWRENCE DRUMMONDVILLE, I THINK IN THE EARLY 1800'S.

SALMON COULD HAVE BEEN LOCKED OUT OF THE CLYDE.

THE QUESTION IS WERE THEY ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, I MEAN WE KNOW ABOUT THE SALMON RIVERS.

WERE THEY ALSO ABLE TO AND DID THEY ASCEND THE RIVER AND COME UP THROUGH MAGOG, QUEBEC INTO THE LAKE ITSELF.

AND WHICH THEN WOULD HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, 26 MILES UPSTREAM TO THE WATERS, BLACK RIVER, BARTON RIVER, CLYDE RIVER, JOHNS RIVER.

THE INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION BASICALLY A FEDERAL INTERNATIONAL BODY LOOKED AT THE OPERATIONS OF THE DOMINION TEXTILE DAM, ANOTHER OBSTRUCTION AT THE OUTLET OF THE LAKE, AND IN THE COURSE OF THAT INVESTIGATION, THERE WAS IDENTIFICATION OF A FISHERY AT THE OUTLET OF THE LAKE.

NOW, CERTAINLY, COULD HAVE BEEN A LOT OF DIFFERENT SPECIES OF FISH THAT, YOU KNOW, ENTERED THE LAKE AND LEFT THE LAKE.

THERE'S AN ARGUABLE CASE THAT SEA RUN ATLANTIC SALMON WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT ALL THE WAY UP FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE THROUGH UP INTO CERTAINLY AT LEAST AS FAR AS WEST CHARLESTON ON CLYDE.

AND MAYBE UP THE BARTON AND BLACK AS WELL.

AND WHEN WE LOOKED AT WHAT FISH CAN DO, ONE OF THE MEASURES THAT WE'VE ALWAYS APPLIED TO WHAT SALMON MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ASCEND IN THE CLYDE WAS JUST TO GO OVER TO THE FALLS ON THE WILLOUGHBY AND LOOK AT THE CATARACT RAINBOW FOUT THAT CAN ASCEND.

LAND LOCKED ATLANTIC SALMON WEREN'T ACTUALLY INTRODUCED INTO THE BASIN UNTIL THE 1860s.

THAT FIRST INTRODUCTION OF SALMON, TO MY RECOLLECTION IN THE 1860s, WASN'T NECESSARILY SUCCESSFUL IN ESTABLISHING BUT THERE WERE SUBSEQUENT INTRODUCTIONS IN THE LATE 1800s AND THOSE SEEMED TO BE THE ONES THAT ACTUALLY ESTABLISHED A, YOU KNOW, SELF-PERPETUATING RUN IN THE LOWER CLYDE.

MOVING FISH AROUND WAS LOOKED AT AS THE PRINCIPAL MECHANISM OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT IN THE EARLY DAYS.pSO FROM THE MID 180 FISH COMMISSION WAS MOVING FISH EVERYWHERE IN THE STATES.

PRETTY MUCH ENDORSING.

KING SALMON WERE ACTUALLY STOCKED IN LAKE CHAMPLAIGN.

SO TO SPECULATE ABOUT WHY LAND LOCKED SALMON MIGHT HAVE BEEN STOCKED IN THE LAKE IS NOT A REACH AT ALL.

THERE WASN'T A LOT OF THOUGHT TO, YOU KNOW, INTERACTION OF SPECIES.

OF FISH COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS THAT MIGHT BE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE.

IT'S LIKE WELL, WATER LOOKS PRETTY GOOD.

WE COULD PROBABLY PRODUCE A TREMENDOUS FISHERY HERE.

AND IN THE CASE WITH SALMON, MOST CERTAINLY WORKED.

IT WAS AT THAT SAME -- IN THAT SAME PERIOD OF TIME THAT WHAT WE KNOW AS HISTORIC, HUGE HISTORIC LENS OF SALMON ON THE LOWER CLYDE, FISH THAT WERE RUNNING FROM 10 TO 20 POUNDS, THAT THOSE FISH DISAPPEARED.

NOW, WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEMISE OF THE SALMON IN THE LOWER CLYDE?

THE STATE HAD THEIR HANDS IN IT AS WELL.

WHEN WE DID DEVELOP A HEALTHY SALMON FISHERY, THEY WERE OUT STRIPPING, STRIPPING THE EGGS OUT OF THEM, NETTING THEM AND WHAT WE CALLED GROWING UP THE HAUL RIGHT OFF THE CLYDE RIVER AND ACTUALLY I WAS ABLE TO FORTUNATELY FIND A COPY OF THE STRIPPING OPERATION.

AND WHEN I INTERVIEWED DICK CHAFEY, HE WAS THRILLED TO SEE IT BECAUSE HE WORKED THERE FOR A FEW YEARS DURING THE LATE 1930s AND EARLY 1940'S AND ALTHOUGH IT WAS -- ALTHOUGH IT WAS A SILENT PICTURE, HE WAS ABLE TO NARRATE IT.

UNFORTUNATELY, I DIDN'T HAVE -- MY BIG REGRET IS I DIDN'T RECORD HIM NARRATING IT FOR ME BECAUSE HE KNEW ALL OF THE PEOPLE.

BUT IN HINDSIGHT, HE SAID THAT WAS ONE OF HIS BIG REGRETS IN LIFE WAS WORKING AT THE STRIPPING STATION BECAUSE HE DID SAY HE BELIEVES THAT IT PLAYED A ROLE IN THE DEMISE OF THE SALMON BECAUSE HE SAID THE NEXT DAY AS GENTLY AS THEY TRIED TO HANDLE THEM, HE SAID YOU MASSAGED THE EGGS OUT OF THEM OR THE SPERM OUT OF THE MALES AND YOU MIXED IT, YOU DID FIND DEAD SALMON.

THE STRIPPING RECORDS, WHICH I HAVE AND I THINK IT WAS 1920'S TO 1940s SHOW A STEADY -- WELL, STEADY DECLINE WITH OCCASIONAL PEAKS.

BETWEEN THE 1920s AND THE 1940S, THERE IS A DOWN -- SLOW DOWNHILL IN THE NUMBER OF SALMON BEING STRIPPED.

WAS THAT BY DESIGN, IS THAT WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO?

OR WAS THERE A LESSENING OF THE NUMBER OF SALMON.

ACCORDING TO DICK, HE FELT THAT IT WAS INCREASINGLY MORE DIFFICULT TO GET A LARGE NUMBER OF SALMON.

BUT BACK THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF SALMON BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THAT SILENT FILM, YOU CAN SEE THEM COMING IN BY THESE HUGE NETS.

SO THEY WERE THERE.

AND A LOT OF PEOPLE AT THAT TIME EVEN IF THEY OVERFISHED, I DON'T THINK THEY DID NEARLY THE DAMAGE AS THE EVOLVING UTILITY AND THE STATE DID.

>> YOU START OUT WITH MILL DEVELOPMENT AT ARNOLD FALLS ON THE REAL STEEP DROPS IN THE RIVER.

I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE 195 FEET OF ELEVATION CHANGE FROM WHAT'S NOW CLYDE POND, YOU KNOW, DOWN TO WESTERN AVENUE.

BUT THERE WERE A SERIES OF DAMS, SMALL DAMS, AS YOU WENT UP TO THE RIVER.

THEY WERE ALL, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY RUN OF THE RIVER.

THEY WEREN'T LARGE STORAGE CAPACITY DAMS, SO I MEAN, THEY RAN WHEN THERE WAS WATER COMING DOWN THE RIVER.

IT WASN'T UNTIL, I THINK IT WAS 1918 THAT CLYDE POND DAM WAS CONSTRUCTED.

NOW, THAT'S A DAM THAT'S ON THE ORDER OF 18 TO 20 FEET HIGH AND CREATED CLYDE POND WHICH IS THE SUBSTANTIAL 180 ACRE IMPOUNDMENT.

THAT DAM ACTUALLY LED TO THE ADDITION OF TURBINES DOWN WHERE THE SO-CALLED -- WHERE THE FISH WEIGH IS NOW.

SO-CALLED ONE, TWO, THREE STATION IS.

IF THE NAIL, FINAL NAIL WASN'T ALREADY DRIVEN IN THE COFFIN WITH THE GRADUAL EVOLUTION OF THE ONE, TWO, THREE FACILITY AND CONVERTING TO PEAK POWER, WHAT THE NUMBER 11 SYSTEM DID, THE DIVERSION DAM AND THE ACTUAL GENERATION COMPONENT WAS IT ELIMINATED ANOTHER 1,000 FEET OF THE LOWER CLYDE AND CONVERTED IT FROM RIVER INTO POND.

SO NOT ONLY COULD FISH NOT REACH IT, THEY HAD NO REASON TO USE IT BECAUSE IT WAS NOW IMPOUNDMENT AS OPPOSED TO VIABLE RIVER.

WHEN THE 1960s LICENSE WAS ISSUED RETROACTIVELY FOR THE 1957 CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEWPORT NUMBER 11 SYSTEM, THE MINIMUM FLOWS WERE FIVE CUBIC FEET PER SECOND THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE YEAR AND 10 CUBIC FEET PER SECOND IN THE SPRING.

>> THE COURTS ULTIMATE LY IN WHT WAS THE FEDERAL POWER COMMISSION, FEDERAL REGULATORY COMMISSION AT THE TIME OF THE RELICENSING DETERMINED THAT THE NUMBER 11 DAM HAD BEEN LAWFULLY CONSTRUCTED.

SO IT'S NOT TECHNICALLY ACCURATE TO SAY THAT IT WAS BUILT ILLEGALLY.

I WOULD ARGUE AT THE TIME THAT IT WAS BUILT IT WAS BUILT ILLEGALLY.

AND THAT WAS THE STATE OF VERMONT'S POSITION, ATTORNEY GENERAL JAMES JEFFORDS WHO WENT ON TO BECOME OUR U.S.

SENATOR FOR MANY YEARS, TOOK A CASE ALL THE WAY TO THE VERMONT SUPREME COURT ARGUING JUST THAT.

THAT THE DAM WAS BUILT ILLEGALLY.

>> IN THE EARLY 1990s, A LOT OF HYDROELECTRIC DAMS IN VERMONT WERE GOING THROUGH A RELICENSING BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WHICH MEANS THAT THEY GOT A 20 TO 25 YEAR LICENSE TO OPERATE AND USED THE PUBLIC'S RESOURCE TO GENERATE POWER.

AND IT BECAME AN ISSUE OF PUBLIC INTEREST BECAUSE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SAW THAT AS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY OR AT LEAST ONCE IN A GENERATION OPPORTUNITY TO CALL FOR MORE FLOWS IN THE RIVER, BETTER CONDITIONS FOR THE AQUATIC LIFE AND SO THAT I HAD COVERED RELICENSING OF DAMS ALONG THE CONNECTICUT AND THE CLYDE, I FORGET QUITE HOW IT CAME TO MY ATTENTION, BUT, PERHAPS THROUGH ONE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS IN VERMONT THAT I FOLLOWED, THEY WERE INVOLVED IN THE RELICENSING EFFORT AS WAS THE VERMONT FISH AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT.

AND IT BECAME A TUG OF WAR WITH THE UTILITIES BECAUSE THE FISH AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS INCLUDING CHILD UNLIMITED, VERMONT NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL WERE CALLING FOR EVENTUALLY DAM REMOVAL BUT BASICALLY, TO ENHANCE THE STREAM FLOW, THE WATER FLOW IN THE RIVER TO SUPPORT THE FISH.

SO IT WAS A GREAT STORY.

THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY BEHIND IT.

AND I WAS WRITING ABOUT THE RELICENSING FIGHT IN THE BEGINNING.

AND THAT AS AN ISSUE GENERALLY AND THEN THAT BROUGHT ME TO THE CLYDE SPECIFICALLY.

>> I WORKED ON HYDROELECTRIC RELICENSINGS AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF VERMONT ON THE CLYDE RIVER, IT WAS CITIZENS UTILITIES COMPANY AT THAT TIME.

I KNOW THE STREAM WAS IN TROUBLE AT THE TIME THAT I STARTED.

SOMETIMES THERE WAS ZERO FLOW, AND A LOT OF FISH KILLS AND JUST HEY, WE GOT TO DO SOMETHING BETTER THAN THIS SO WE GOT TOGETHER, A FEW OF US AND STARTED ANOTHER CHAPTER UP HERE.

AND WENT UP AGAINST A BIG, TOUGH INDUSTRY, ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY AND WE BEAT THEM AND WE DID IT HONESTLY.

THERE WAS NO FANAGLING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

>> EARLY IN THE MORNING ON MAY 1, 1994, I GOT A CALL FROM ONE OF THESE GUYS AT MY HOUSE.

AND HE SAID THE DAM HAS BEEN BREACHED.

AND I WAS, YOU KNOW, I WAS AMAZED.

AND I THINK I SAID TO HIM, HOW FORTUITOUS, AND HE LAUGHED BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE STATE HAD BEEN CALLING FOR ALL ALONG.

AND HERE WAS MOTHER NATURE WITH A HIGH RAIN EVENT COUPLED WITH POOR MAINTENANCE BY THE UTILITY COMPANY LEADING TO THE BREACHING OF ONE SIDE OF THE DAM.

AND THE WATER RUSHING THROUGH BACK INTO ITS OLD CHANNEL.

>> BUT THAT SET OFF MAYBE WHAT WAS THE MOST HARD FOUGHT ROUGH AND TUMBLE STREET BRAWL OF A REGULATORY BATTLE THAT I'VE EVER BEEN IN IN MY NOW 30-YEAR CAREER IN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.

THE UTILITY RESPONDED JUST AS THEY HAD WHEN THEY CONSTRUCTED THE DAM.

THEY DIDN'T ASK FOR ANY REGULATORY APPROVALS.

THEY WERE TRYING TO RELY ON VARIOUS EMERGENCY LOOPHOLES IN THE FEDERAL POWER ACT AND THE FEDERAL CLEAN WATER ACT.

AND THEY JUST STARTED RECONSTRUCTING THE DAM.

WE ULTIMATELY GOT USPCA ISSUE A STOP WORK ORDER AND AN ENFORCEMENT ORDER THAT WAS INTENDED TO FREEZE THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UTILITY COMPANY IN PLACE.

AND STOP THE MADNESS, STOP THE EFFORT TO RECONSTRUCT THE DAM.

I WOULD ALSO MENTION THAT VERMONT'S OWN MOLLY BEATTY WHO DIED TRAGICALLY AT A YOUNG AGE, WAS THE DIRECTOR OF THE U.S.

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AT THAT TIME.

BUT SHE WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION.

>> WELL, I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THE ISSUE A LOT FOR THE NEWSPAPER AND WRITING ABOUT IT ON A DAILY BASIS.

AND I REALLY WANTED TO EXPLORE THE STORY IN MORE DEPTH.

SO I QUERIED THE EDITOR AND SAID, HEY, I'VE BEEN COVERING THIS AND THEY ASSIGNED ME THE PIECE.

AND I WENT BACK AND GOT SOME OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE RIVER BACK THEN AND THE AMAZING FISHERY THAT IT HAD BEEN.

I GOT A LOT OF THE RECORDS AND PUT TOGETHER THE ARTICLE.

AND THEN INTERVIEWED ALL THE PLAYERS.

AND THEN I ALSO WAS ABLE TO USE MY NOTES AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF STUFF THAT I HAD COVERED THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS INCLUDING THE COURT HEARINGS, THE REGULATORY ISSUES BEFORE THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, AND THE PUBLIC HEARING WHERE PEOPLE -- THEY ACTUALLY HELD A PUBLIC HEARING UP IN THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM, I BELIEVE IN NEWPORT WHERE PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE TESTIFIED THAT THEY WANTED THE RIVER BACK.

AND I THINK THAT TESTIMONY LED TO ULTIMATELY, THEM SUPPORTING THAT AND THE LEGAL ARGUMENTS THAT THE POSITION THAT THE DAM SHOULD STAY REMOVED.

>> SO THERE WE WERE IN A MATTER OF, PERHAPS, THREE MONTHS GOING FROM THE NEWPORT NUMBER 11 DAM BEING PRESENT AND OPERATING IN THE RIVER TO BEING ERODED AWAY, THE ATTEMPT AT RECONSTRUCTION, THE STOP WORK ORDER, YOU KNOW, THE SERIOUSNESS OF THAT STOP WORK ORDER AND THEN NEGOTIATION LEADING TO AN AGREEMENT THAT THE REMNANTS OF THE STRUCTURE WOULD BE RAPIDLY REMOVED AND THEREBY OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT TWO OR THREE MONTHS, THE DAM WAS REMOVED FROM THE RIVER AND THINGS WERE RESTORED TO THE CONDITION AND THE STATE THAT THEY'RE IN TODAY.

>> THE HATCHERY WAS STARTED IN THE EARLY 1940s.

WITH SOME PONDS THAT WERE DUG BY HAND, BY THE C.C.C.

THE PONDS WERE ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO RAISE LAND LOCKED SALMON FOR STOCKING IN THE NORTHEAST PART OF VERMONT.

THE WAR KIND OF INTERRUPTED THAT EFFORT.

AND THEN A FEW YEARS LATER, ANOTHER POND WAS DUG AND THEN THE HATCHERY IN THE 1950'S AND 1960s WENT THROUGH A PRETTY LARGE EXPANSION WITH THE INCREASE OF CONCRETE RACEWAYS WHICH WAS KIND OF STATE OF THE ART AT THAT TIME FOR RAISING SALMON AND TROUT.

IN THE 1970'S AND 1980s, MORE RACEWAYS WERE ADDED.

THE BUILDING WE'RE IN NOW WAS BUILT FOR REARING FINGERLING SALMON.

SOME WELLS WERE BUILT ON SITE TO SUPPLEMENT THE SURFACE WATER SUPPLY THAT WE HAVE AND NOW WE RAISE LAND LOCKED SALMON, RAINBOW TROUT, BROWN TROUT, STEELHEAD AND WALLEYE.

SO WE HAVE TWO STRAINS OF SALMON BROODSTOCK.

WE HAVE THE MAGOG STREAM WHICH WAS FOUND IN THE LAKE UP IN NEWPORT, VERMONT.

THOSE FISH WERE COLLECTED FROM WILD STOCK BACK IN THE 1960s, AND HAVE BEEN IN THE HATCHERY SYSTEM SINCE THEN.

BUT IN THE YEAR 2000, WE STARTED A LAKE BROODSTOCK STRAIN.

THOSE FISH WERE ALSO LAND LOCKED SALMON AND THEY ORIGINATE FROM THE STATE OF MAINE.

>> THE MAGOG STRAIN MAYBE IMPLIES THERE WAS SOME HISTORICAL NATIVE STRAIN TO THE LAKE AND THAT'S NOT THE CASE.

THE MAGOG STRAIN IS TRULY A FISH THAT CAME FROM MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE STOCKINGS RANGING FROM SABAGO LAKE, GRAND LAKE, THOSE ARE LANDLOCKED SALMON LAKES IN MAINE.

BUT ALSO FROM FISH THAT WERE STOCKED FROM WILD OCEAN GOING RIVERS LIKE THAT SO WE WERE TAKING FISH, THE VARIOUS ITERATIONS OF VERMONT FISH AND WILDLIFE, WE'RE TAKING FISH FROM ALL SORTS OF PLACES IN AN EFFORT TO ESTABLISH THEM IN THE BASIN.

THE MAGOG STRAIN THAT WE KNOW THEM TODAY IS A RESULT OF ALL THOSE DIFFERENT STOCKINGS.

>> THE STRAIN IS USED PRIMARILY FOR SUPPLYING EGGS TO THE LAKE CHAMPLAIGN EFFORT AND THE MAGOG STRAIN IS USED IN THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM OF VERMONT IN THE LAKE WATERSHED.

OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN A COMPARISON STUDY ON THE LAKE AND IN THE CLYDE RIVER TO SEE WHICH OF THOSE TWO STRAINS PERFORMS THE BEST IN THE RIVER AND IN THE LAKE.

EVERY FISH THAT LEAVES THE HATCHERY HAS A UNIQUE THIN CLIP.

AND THAT THIN CLIP ALLOWS US AND THE BIOLOGISTS TO DETERMINE WHICH STRAIN OF SALMON THAT FISH IS AND HOW OLD IT IS.

SO THE LIFE CYCLE STARTS IN NOVEMBER.

WE HAVE THE BROOD STOCK SALMON HERE THAT WE TAKE THE EGGS AND MILK FROM IN NOVEMBER.

BOTH STRAINS, THE LANDLOCKED ATLANTIC MAGOG AND THE SABAGO STRAINS.

THE EGGS ARE FERTILIZED ON SITE AND THEN THEY'RE INCUBATED HERE IN WELL WATER FOR ABOUT 60 DAYS.

AFTER THAT 60-DAY PERIOD, THE EGGS WILL BEGIN TO HATCH.

AT THAT POINT, THE EGGS WILL LIVE OFF THEIR YOLK SAC FOR APPROXIMATELY SIX WEEKS AND PUT INTO THE TANKS TO BEGIN FIRST FEEDING.

THAT'S USUALLY ABOUT THE FIRST WEEK OR SO OF FEBRUARY.

SO FROM FEBRUARY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF MAY, THE FISH ARE FED IN THIS BUILDING ON WELL WATER WHERE THEY'LL GROW TO A COUPLE OF INCHES LONG.

AT THAT POINT, WE CALLED THEM FINGERLINGS AND THEN THEY KIND OF OUTGROW THEIR HOMES HERE AND WE NEED TO MOVE THEM TO BIGGER TANKS WHICH WE HAVE OUTSIDE.

IN MAY, WE'LL MOVE THE FINGERLINGS TO OUTDOOR REARING UNITS CONCRETE RACEWAYS WHERE THEY WILL GO FOR AN ADDITIONAL YEAR AND THEN THEY'LL BE STOCKED THE FOLLOWING SPRING.

SO IT'S BASICALLY ABOUT A 14 OR 15 MONTH CYCLE FROM EGG TO STOCKED FISH.

SO WE HAVE STOCKED THE CLYDE RIVER WITH APPROXIMATELY 30,000 SALMON SMOLTZ THAT WERE GROWING HERE.

SOME OF THE FISH WERE ALSO GROWN AT A FEDERAL HATCHERY IN VERMONT.

AND WE TRY TO STOCK EQUAL NUMBERS OF MAGOG AND SABAGO SALMON FOR THE COMPARISON STUDY.

WE CAN HAUL APPROXIMATELY 8,000 TO 10,000 SALMON ON OUR TRUCK.

SO IT TAKES THREE TO FOUR TRIPS TO GET ALL THE FISH INTO THE RIVER.

WE'VE BEEN STOCKING THE FISH LATE AFTERNOON, EARLY EVENING, TO TRY TO MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF CRUDATION THAT CAN OCCUR ON THE FISH IN THE RIVER.

THEY ARE STOCKED AT THE LOWER RIVER IN NEWPORT WHERE THEY'LL SPEND MOST LIKELY A NIGHT OR TWO IN THE RIVER AND OUT INTO THE LAKE MEFPHREMAGOG.

>> THERE'S BEEN A FOCUS ON THE UPPER RIVER, STOCKING THE FISH, EARLY FINGERLINGS TO MIMIC NATURAL REPRODUCTION, AND THEN STOCKING LARGER FISH THAT WE CALL A STAGE AT WHICH THEY'RE READY TO MIGRATE TO THE LAKE IN THE LOWER RIVER.

WHAT WE FOUND IS WHAT WE WERE STOCKING IN THE LOWER RIVER WEREN'T QUITE BIG ENOUGH, AND THEY WEREN'T GETTING THE QUEUE TO MIGRATE OUT.

THEY WEREN'T LARGE ENOUGH PHYSIOLOGICALLY.

BY GROWING THOSE A LITTLE BIT LARGER AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY TRULY WERE AT THAT STAGE, THEY MIGRATED OUT BETTER AND WE ENDED UP HAVING MUCH BETTER RETURNS OF ADULT FISH A FEW YEARS LATER.

>> WE STOCKED THE CLYDE BASICALLY FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.

ONE OF THEM IS TO INCREASE ANGLER OPPORTUNITIES FOR LANDLOCKED SALMON.

AND THE SECOND IS TO BRING THAT SPECIES BACK TO THE THRIVING POPULATION IN THE LAKE AND THE RIVER.

THERE'S A LIMITED AMOUNT OF SPAWNING HABITAT AVAILABLE.

THERE'S ALSO A DAM ON THE LOWER CLYDE RIVER WHICH PREVENTS SALMON FROM NATURALLY MIGRATING TO THEIR TRADITIONAL SPAWNING GROUNDS.

SO THE SALMON PROVIDE A FISHERY AND ACTUALLY AN INTERNATIONAL FISHERY, BOTH ON THE CANADIAN SIDE OF THE LAKE, AND THE U.S. SIDE.

>> FISHING IS REALLY THE BEST WAY TO SAMPLE THE FISH THEMSELVES.

IT'S GENTLE ON THEM, BELIEVE IT OR NOT.

WE CAN RETURN THEM TO THE RIVER IN GOOD SHAPE ALIVE, MORTALITY IS VERY LOW, YOU KNOW, USUALLY SINGLE DIGITS OR EVEN AS LOW AS 1%.

SO FOR THESE ADULTS, IN ORDER FOR US TO HANDLE THEM, WE NEED TO CATCH THEM.

SAFEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE WAY IS TO USE THE ELECTRIC BACKPACKS.

BACKPACK ELECTROFISHERS RUN OFF A BATTERY.

AND THEY PUT AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT THROUGH A WAND AND THEN THE WAND PUTS THE ELECTRICAL CURRENT INTO THE STREAM.

AND IT USES THE SALTS IN THE WATER TO CARRY THE CURRENT, IN THIS CASE THE SALTS IN THE WATER ARE CALCIUM SO THE IONS ARE CALCIUM.

IT'S GOING TO TRAVEL THROUGH THOSE CALCIUM IONS, GO INTO THE GROUND.

WE HAVE ANOTHER WORD FOR GROUND.

WE CALL IT THE SUBSTRATE, THE STUFF OUT OF THE WATER.

AND IT COMES BACK OUT INTO THIS END AND GOES INTO THE BACKPACK TO COMPLETE THE CIRCUIT.

SO TODAY, WE CAUGHT 13 FISH AND WE RELEASED THEM ALL WITH TAGS INSIDE OF THEM IN THE RIVER ALIVE AND WELL.

AND WE SHOULD SEE THOSE FISH AGAIN SOME DAY.

WE ALSO ELECTROFISH IN THE LATE SUMMER, EARLY AUTUMN FOR OUR JUVENILE COMMUNITY MONITORING AND WE HAVE A LONG DATA SET.

WE DO THE SAME SITES YEAR AFTER YEAR.

SO WE DO THAT USING ELECTRICITY AND WE CAN ASSESS THE LENGTH, THE WEIGHT, THE NUMBER OF THE FISH ANNUALLY.

WE'VE HAD REALLY GOOD LUCK SINCE 2007 COLLECTING ADULT FISH AT THE FISH LADDER.

THIS YEAR, WE HAD A BIT OF A CATASTROPHE WITH THE FAILURE AND BECAUSE THE PENSTOCK FED THE LADDER, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE WATER FOR A WEEK OR SO.

ONCE THE LADDER WAS RUNNING AGAIN, WE WERE REUSING PUMPS BUT THERE WAS NO WATER GOING THROUGH THE HYDRO FACILITY AND WHERE THAT WATER COMES OUT IS WHERE THE LADDER ENTRANCE IS SO THE WATER IS COMING DOWN THE RIVER BUT IT'S GOING THROUGH A DIFFERENT STRETCH OF THE RIVER VERY CLOSE TO WHERE THE LADDER ENTRANCE IS BUT NOT RIGHT AT THAT SAME LOCATION.

AND AS A RESULT, THE FISH ARE NOT ATTRACTED TO THE LADDER AND THEY'RE HANGING OUT IN NEAR PROXIMITY AND TRYING TO MOVE UP INTO THE BYPASS BUT THEY ARE NOT GOING UP THE LADDER.

SO WE WERE FORCED TO TRY ANOTHER METHOD, AND THIS IS OUR THIRD ELECTROFISHING EVENT, AND WE HAVE HANDLED NOW A LOW NUMBER.

ONLY ABOUT 35 FISH.

BUT IT'S STILL BETTER THAN NOTHING WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE HAD WITH THE LADDER.

WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE RIVER SO FAR OUT OF THOSE 35 FISH IS MORE OF THE SABAGO STRAIN THAN THE MAGOG STRAIN.

TODAY, AS IT WAS, WE CAPTURED ONE OR TWO MORE MAGOG THAN SABAGO.

I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT NUMBERS.

I THINK IT WAS FIVE AND SEVEN.

FIVE SABAGO AND SEVEN MAGOG.

OVER THE COURSE OF THE ENTIRE EVALUATION, WE'RE SEEING A MUCH HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF SABAGO THAN MAGOG.

WHILE TODAY IT DIDN'T WORK OUT THAT WAY, OVERALL, WE'RE STILL SEEING WHAT WE EXPECTED AFTER THE FIRST YEAR.

I THINK A STRAIN EVALUATION IS INTENDED TO PUT THE BEST STRAIN OF FISH IN THE RIVER.

SO THAT'S WHAT THE EVALUATION IS ABOUT.

THE EVALUATION TURNS OUT MORE SABAGOS, WE'LL PUT ONLY SABAGO IN.

THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY CHANGE.

FROM THE ANGLER'S PERSPECTIVE, THEY'RE GOING TO SEE MORE FISH IS WHAT WE BELIEVE.

FROM A CONVERSATIONALIST PERSPECTIVE, WE WOULD SEE A FISH THAT WE BELIEVE HAS A BETTER CHANCE OF REPRODUCING IN THE RIVER AND FROM AN ECONOMIC STANDPOINT, MORE FISH AND HIGHER PROPORTION OF WILD FISH IN THE RIVER WILL BRING MORE PEOPLE FISHING TO THIS PLACE AND THEREFORE, THE LOCAL ECONOMY SHOULD BENEFIT.

SO WHAT WE SEE IS THAT THERE IS WILD REPRODUCTION BACK BELOW THE DAM IN THIS STRETCH WE'RE ON RIGHT NOW.

SADLY, IT'S NOT A LONG STRETCH.

THERE'S NOT A LOT OF HABITAT.

WILD REPRODUCING FISH AND CAN - BUILD A LOT OF REDS OR SPAWNING NESTS, BUT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH HABITAT TO SUPPORT A LARGE NUMBER OF JUVENILE FISH SO THEY CAN GO INTO THE LAKE AND GROW INTO ADULTS.

IF THE DAM WAS 20 MILES UP RIVER, SURE, WE'D BE ALL SET AND SAY YEAH, WE HAVE PLENTY OF HABITAT TO HAVE A WILD FISHERY.

MOST OF THE SPAWNING AND REARING SUBSTRATE OR HABITAT IS ABOVE THE DAM.

SO BY MOVING THE FISH ABOVE, WE HOPE TO RE-ESTABLISH A WILD FISHERY UP THERE AS WELL.

TO DATE, WE'VE HAD VERY POOR RETURNS.

FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE FISH ARE ABLE TO REPRODUCE DOWN HERE AND WE'RE SEEING SOME SMALL PROPORTION OF WILD FISH.

WHEN WE SAMPLE ABOVE, WE'RE SEEING VERY LOW, ALMOST NONE IN SOME INSTANCES.

>> SALMON IN THE CLASSROOM IS A PROGRAM THAT IS -- IT'S STATEWIDE AND I BELIEVE NATIONWIDE.

VERY OFTEN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE TROUT UNLIMITED CHAPTER.

IN VERMONT, THE PRIMARY FISH THAT'S RAISED ARE BROOK TROUT.

BEING UP HERE NEAR THE CLYDE RIVER WITH OUR LANDLOCKED SALMON POPULATION, WE RAISE LANDLOCKED SALMON.

I TOOK THE PROGRAM OVER IN 2015 FROM DAVE SMITH.

DAVE HAD DONE THE PROGRAM FOR YEARS BEFOREHAND.

AND THEN WHEN HE RETIRED, KIND OF LEARNED THE ROPES FROM HIM AND TOOK OVER THE PROGRAM AND WE'VE GOT A FEW SCHOOLS WHO ARE RAISING SALMON AND WE GET THE EGGS IN DECEMBER, AND THE EGGS HATCH.

WE RAISE THE FISH.

WE TEST FOR WATER QUALITY.

WE DO WATER CHANGES.

WE ADD BACTERIA TO DIFFERENT WAYS THAT COME FROM FISH WASTE, INTERACTIVE PROGRAM THAT THE STUDENTS HAVE.

AND THEN COME LATE APRIL, EARLY MAY, DEPENDING ON WATER TEMPERATURE AND THE SEASON, WE GO OUT AND AS WE DID TODAY, WE STOCK THEM IN THE CLYDE RIVER WITH A PERMIT, OF COURSE.

AND THEN LET THEM GO AND KIND OF THE ENDING CELEBRATION OF THE SALMON RAISING.

IN A PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE HERE AT NORTH COUNTRY WHICH HAS BEEN RECENTLY DEVELOPED CALLED THE KINGDOM COURSE, WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF THINGS WITH THE CLYDE RIVER THIS YEAR.

MOST CONNECTED TO SALMON BUT NOT ALL.

WE WENT OUT WITH PETE EMERSON AND DID SOME ELECTROSHOCKING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.

WE'VE DONE WATER QUALITY TESTING.

WE'VE DONE MACRO INVERTBRATE SAMPLING AND WE LOOKED FOR FISH REDS AS THE SALMONS WERE SPAWNING.

WE'VE WORKED ON FLY CASTING WITH ALL THE STUDENTS WHICH FOR ME HAS BEEN A HOOT GETTING THEM OUT THERE AND DOING A LITTLE BIT OF FLYFISHING AND REALLY TAKING SOME TIME AND LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, SOME INFORMATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THIS HISTORICAL SALMON RUN AND THIS SPECIAL RESOURCE THAT WE HAVE RIGHT HERE IN TOWN.

IT'S REALLY FUN FOR ME TO TEACH ABOUT IT.

WE'RE DOING SOME TRAILWORK AND RESTORATION AROUND THE CLYDE AND TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS AND RECOGNIZING THE HISTORY THAT'S HAPPENED HERE.

SPENT A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS, HIKING TO THE SITE OF THE OLD NUMBER 11 DAM, READING AND RESEARCHING THE HISTORY AROUND THAT.

SO THE CLYDE HAS BEEN ONE OF OUR MAIN FOCUSES AND WE'VE BEEN SO LUCKY HERE AT NORTH COUNTRY TO BE, AS YOU SAW TODAY, WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF THE RIVER.

AND WE'VE REALLY BEEN ABLE TO DO A LOT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, LEARNING ABOUT NOT ONLY THE HISTORY BUT THE CURRENT NATURAL STATE OF THE RIVER AS WELL AS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT IT FACES.

SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT THE FISHERIES FACE AND IT'S REALLY BEEN A GREAT WAY FOR THESE STUDENTS TO CONNECT, AND A GREAT MOMENT FOR ME WAS THIS YEAR DURING ONE OF OUR FALL SALMON RUN DAYS, GETTING OUT THERE AND SEEING A FEW OF MY STUDENTS AFTER SCHOOL THERE LOOKING FOR FISH, YOU KNOW, WITH THEIR RODS.

AND THAT'S A PRETTY COOL FULL CIRCLE MOMENT THAT THAT'S THE GOAL TO GET THESE KIDS ENGAGED AND INTERESTED AND RECOGNIZING WHAT A SPECIAL PLACE THE CLYDE IS AND, YOU KNOW, HOW WE NEED PEOPLE TO CARE ABOUT IT AND ADVOCATE FOR IT, AND THAT'S BEEN A GREAT REWARD OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE THROUGH THE KINGDOM COURSE THIS YEAR.

>> WELL, I HAVE BEEN PAINTING AND DRAWING MY ENTIRE LIFE.

STARTED VERY YOUNG.

I WAS ALWAYS INTERESTED IN ART AND HAVING MY HANDS IN WOOD PROJECTS REALLY ANYTHING THAT I COULD GET MY HANDS ON, I ALWAYS LOVED.

AND JUNIOR HIGH, I HAD A WONDERFUL TEACHER WHO SAW SOMETHING IN MY WORK AND STARTED PAYING A LITTLE CLOSER ATTENTION TO ME AND GIVING ME OPPORTUNITIES TO FOCUS ON MY ARTWORK.

I REALLY STARTED GETTING INTO PAINTING FLIES AND FISH AROUND EIGHT YEARS AGO WHEN IRENE CAME THROUGH AND RAVAGED OUR STATE.

AND SOMEONE WHO FLYFISHED AND KNEW I WAS AN ILLUSTRATOR ASKED IF I WOULD PAINT SOME FLIES FOR RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT.

AND I IMMEDIATELY SAID YES, IT WAS A NO BRAINER, AND PAINTED A FEW FLIES.

AND ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.

COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT I HADN'T DONE IT BEFORE.

THAT I HADN'T THOUGHT OF IT MYSELF.

AND JUST KIND OF HAS TAKEN OFF FROM THERE.

AND GOT REALLY INTO THE HISTORY OF THE MATERIALS AND I HAVEN'T SLOWED DOWN WITH IT.

IT'S REALLY TAKEN OFF IN A WAY THAT I NEVER IMAGINED THAT IT WOULD.

AND I'VE NOW MANAGED TO BUILD A BUSINESS.

>> GENTLEMAN FROM NEW JERSEY WHO FOUND ME AT THE FLYFISHING SHOW, THE TRADE SHOW THAT HAPPENS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

AND HE FOUND ME IN EDISON AND HE'S BEEN ASKING ME TO PAINT -- COMMISSIONING TO PAINT FLIES AND FISH FOR HIM FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.

AND IN THE LAST YEAR, HE CAME TO HIS IDEA OF THE LANDLOCKED SALMON AND IT WAS ONE THAT I WANTED TO DO FOR A WHILE.

SO YEAH, IT'S OBVIOUSLY VERY NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART AS WELL.

AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVED PAINTING IT AND NOW, IT'S HANGING ON HIS WALL IN NEW JERSEY.

BECAUSE I PAINT IN A VERY SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION AND STYLE, I REALLY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS AS ANATOMICALLY CORRECT AS POSSIBLE.

AND HAVING, YOU KNOW, FISH ARE SO PARTICULAR AND WHERE THEIR PLATES, THEIR EYES, HOW EVERYTHING IS LINED UP AND IF YOU DON'T GET IT JUST RIGHT, THEN IT'S NOT THAT FISH.

AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME THAT IT IS EXACTLY CORRECT TO THE SPECIES, AND AS ANATOMICALLY PERFECT AS I CAN GET IT.

SO THAT'S ALWAYS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE BUT NOT CHALLENGE, I GET TO BE VERY INTIMATE WITH THE SPECIES THAT I LOVE THE MOST.

SO IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT.

MOST OF MY EXPERIENCE IS IN NORTHERN VERMONT ON THE CLYDE RIVER.

I GREW UP IN DERBY LINE RIGHT ON THE CANADIAN BORDER, AND GREW UP FISHING IN THAT AREA.

AND NOW, I AM VERY FORTUNATE TO STILL HAVE FAMILY THERE AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY TWO HOURS FROM WHERE WE ARE.

SO WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THE SPRING AND THE FALL GOING BACK AND FORTH.

AND YEAH, LANDLOCKED SALMON IS DEFINITELY THE SPECIES THAT WE ARE MOST EXCITED TO CATCH AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AND PROTECTING IT AND CATCHING THEM.

>> IN TERMS OF BENEFITS FOR FISH COMPARED TO HOW THE SYSTEM USED TO OPERATE, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF CHANGES.

ONE WAS THE REMOVAL OF THE NUMBER 11 DIVERSION DAM FOR THAT HABITAT.

AND NOT ONLY DID THE DAM ITSELF BLOCK FISH BUT ALSO DIVERTED WATER QUITE A WAYS DOWN RIVER TO THE NUMBER 11 POWERHOUSE.

SO THE REMOVAL OF THAT DAM FIRST BY NATURE AND THEN EVENTUALLY BY ORDER HAD REAL BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON THE LOWER RIVER.

SOME OF THE OTHER CHANGES WERE UPSTREAM FISH PASSAGE, PUT IN ONE, TWO, THREE POWERHOUSE AND IMPROVEMENTS IN DOWNSTREAM FISH PASSAGE SO WHEN FISH WERE READY TO COME BACK DOWN RIVER, THEY COULD HOPEFULLY EITHER SPILL OVER THE DAM OR IF THEY DID GO INTO THE PEN STOCK, HOPEFULLY SURVIVE COMING DOWN THROUGH THE TURBINES WHICH IS THE LESS PREFERRED.

>> THE FISH PASSAGE UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM FISH PASSAGE COMPONENT OF THE RELICENSING WAS KIND OF A LONG SUFFERING AND SOMEWHAT CONTROVERSIAL MATTER.

WE WERE SAYING, BOY, WE THINK THE BEST DEAL THAT WE CAN GET FOR THE CLYDE WOULD BE THAT.

LOOK ABOVE CLYDE POND DAM, THERE'S FOUR MILES OF WONDERFUL SPAWNING AND NURSERY HABITAT.

WE HAVE MADE A CASE AND WE HAVE DONE ALL THE STUDIES AND IN FISH WILDLIFE'S MIND, THE AMOUNT OF FLOW THAT WE HAD DEMONSTRATED YOU WOULD NEED FOR FISH TO PHYSICALLY BE ABLE TO GET UP TO CLYDE POND DAM, LET'S SAY IF ALL WE HAD WERE SMALL LADDERS AT COLLIDE POND DAM, TO GET THEM UP TO THE BASE OF CLYDE POND DAM, THERE WAS A LOT OF WATER.

AND THE POWER COMPANY SUPPORTED PROBABLY BY FIRST ITS COMMISSION TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY, WEREN'T EXACTLY READY TO ENDORSE THAT.

AND THAT IS PRETTY MUCH HOW THE AGREEMENT TO PUT IN A LADDER AND TRUCK BYPASS THE UPPER BYPASS, EVOLVED.

THROUGH MY INVOLVEMENT WITH THE OPERATION OF THE FISH WAY AND ALSO MONITORING ALL OF THE CLYDE FISH FOR FISHING AND FOR FISH PRODUCTION, THERE WAS A CONCERN ABOUT WHETHER SALMON WERE MAKING IT INTO THE FISH LANE AND UP TO THE HOLDING TANK.

SO WE LOOKED AT NUMBERS OF FISH COMING IN AND ONE OF THE BEST FALL SEASONS THAT WE OPERATE IN THAT WE MIGHT HAVE HAD 150 SALMON IN.

PROPORTION OF MALE TO FEMALE WAS ALWAYS HEAVILY SKEWED TOWARDS THE MALE.

>> THE SALMON POPULATION, I'M NOT SURE WE'RE SEEING ANY IMPROVEMENT TO THE POPULATION OF SALMON PER SE.

WE'RE NOT SEEING INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY OF WILD REPRODUCTION HAPPENING ABOVE THE LADDER.

BUT WE ARE SEEING A DISPERSAL OF THE WILD FISH, OF THE STOCKED FISH AS THEY RETURN TO THE RIVER, THE ADULTS, INSTEAD OF HAVING THEM ALL PACKED INTO A VERY SMALL REGION BELOW THE DAM, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE OVER A MILE, WE'RE NOW BEING ABLE TO PUT THEM INTO THE UPPER, WHAT WE CALL THE MIDDLE REACH OF THE CLYDE RIVER ABOVE THE DAM AND THEY CAN SWIM A LONG WAY, ALL THE WAY INTO SALEM LAKE AND THAT'S A FISHERY THAT'S OCCURRING BECAUSE OF THE LADDER.

WE NO LONGER STOCK ABOVE THE DAM.

SO WE DO SEE SOME POTENTIAL FOR AN INCREASED FISHERY UP THERE.

BUT WE ARE PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THE SALMON THAT WE ARE MOVING ABOVE THE DAM ARE ABLE TO RETURN DOWNSTREAM.

SO WE'RE NOT REALLY SEEING ANY IMPACT NEGATIVELY.

BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE KIND OF RESPONSE WE WANTED TO SEE BY MOVING THESE ADULTS THAT WERE FULL OF EGGS AND FULL OF WHAT WOULD BE REPRODUCING UPSTREAM, WE'RE SEEING THE EFFORT AND NOT SEEING THE RESULT IN THE EGGS PRODUCING THE YOUNG.

>> THEN YOU HAD THE ARRIVAL OF THE MEAT FISHERMEN AND SOME OF THEM WERE PEOPLE FROM QUEBEC.

NOT ALL OF THEM.

AND THEY CAME HERE WITH THESE MEAT FISHERMEN CAME HERE WITH A TOTALLY DIFFERENT MINDSET ON HOW MANY COULD BE CAUGHT AND, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART, I DIDN'T FIND EVEN GROWING UP THAT IF PEOPLE CAUGHT TOO MANY, AT LEAST THEY WERE EIGHT AND THEY WEREN'T, YOU KNOW, THEY WEREN'T -- AND IT REALLY HELPED STRUGGLING FAMILIES.

AND I SHOULD NOTE THAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO I FEEL BACK IN MY ERA MAY BE OVERFISHED, MAYBE EVEN POUCHED, THEY'RE SOME OF THE STRONGEST CHAMPIONS OF THE RIVER TODAY.

>> LOT OF PEOPLE COMPLAIN IT'S THE CANADIANS THAT ARE DOING IT.

I DON'T KNOW IF THEY ARE OR NOT.

THEY HAVE DIFFERENT RULES.

IT'S A DIFFERENT COUNTRY AND WE GOT TO LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THOSE FOLKS.

WE GOT A PROBLEM, YEAH.

WE PUT THE FISH IN.

AND THEY'RE TAKING THE FISH SUPPOSEDLY.

HOW ABOUT IF THEY SEND SOME OF THEM BACK HERE TO SPAWN AND THEN WE WON'T HAVE TO PUT SO MANY IN?

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF FAIRNESS.

THIS IS NOT 1900.

WE DON'T NEED THESE THINGS FOR SUSTENANCE.

WHAT WE NEED THEM FOR IS MOSTLY FUN.

CATCH AND RELEASE.

>> I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE LAKE THAT WOULD BE AGREED UPON BY QUEBEC AND VERMONT.

SOMETHING WHERE WE COULD LOOK AT THE REGULATIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER AND MATCH THEM OR AT LEAST MAKE THEM CLOSER.

RIGHT NOW IN VERMONT YOU'RE ALLOWED TWO PER PERSON PER DAY VS. REALISTICALLY LET'S SAY 20.

THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK FOR VERMONTERS WHEN THEY HEAR THAT THEY'RE ALLOWED 10 TIMES MORE FISH A DAY IN QUEBEC.

ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE'S THREE OR FOUR TIMES AS MANY ANGLERS IN QUEBEC.

SO WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS HAVE AN AGREEMENT ON TWO THINGS.

WELL, MAYBE THREE THINGS, THAT THE SEASONS ARE MORE CLOSELY ALIGNED.

THAT THE HARVEST ALLOTMENT OR WHAT WE CALL THE LIMIT IS MORE CLOSELY ALIGNED AND THAT WOULD ALSO INCLUDE LENGTHS, YOU KNOW.

RIGHT NOW, VERMONT CAN KEEP AN 18 INCH LAKE TROUT WHEREAS IF YOU'RE IN QUEBEC, IT HAS TO BE 24 INCHES.

MAYBE WE SHOULD MAKE THOSE NUMBERS CLOSER.

AND THE THIRD THING WOULD BE THE STOCKING.

RIGHT NOW, STOCKING FLUCTUATES.

THE NUMBERS OF FISH THAT ARE STOCKED ANNUALLY FLUCTUATES.

WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T DO THE LAKE A DISSERVICE BY OVERSTOCKING THE LAKE.

BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STOCKING ENOUGH SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE WILD FLUCTUATIONS IN THE ADULT FISHERY.

COLLECTIVELY WE CAN SOLVE THIS AND WE CAN BRING SOME STABILITY TO A FISHERY THAT COULD USE SOME STABILITY.

I'M A FISH BIOLOGIST, SO I'M NOT A CLIMATEOLOGIST, BUT WE ALL PAY ATTENTION.

AND YOU CAN'T DENY THAT THE WEATHER IS GETTING WARMER.

AND WE'VE SEEN EARLIER SPRINGS, WINTERS ARRIVING LATER, AND WATER TEMPERATURES INCREASING.

WE DO HAVE TEMPERATURE DATA FROM THE RIVERS TO BACK THAT UP.

THESE ARE COLD WATER FISH.

THE JUVENILES REQUIRE COLD WATER IN THE STREAMS.

THEY NEED THE REFUGIA DURING THOSE HOT SPELLS.

AND LOW WATER IS GOING TO BE WARMER WHEN WE HAVE AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF DROUGHT DURING THE SUMMER, THAT WATER WILL WARM UP AND IT'S GOING TO BE HIGHER AND THE COMPETITION WITH OTHER FISH THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENT FOR A VERY LONG TIME LIKE BATS IN THE RIVER IS GOING TO INCREASE.

SO I'M SEEING ALL OF THESE THINGS KIND OF PLAY OUT IN OUR HOPES FOR WILD REPRODUCTION.

WE DO HAVE A REALLY STRONG FISHERY.

IF WE CAN DEAL WITH SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE CAN HANDLE LIKE HARVEST AND STOCKING NUMBERS, THEN I THINK WE'LL HAVE A SALMON FISHERY FOR A GOOD, LONG TIME TO COME.

>> ON A GOOD YEAR, WE FISH FOR SALMON ALMOST ALL SUMMER LONG.

INTO THE FALL, EXCELLENT SPRING RUNS, AND ON A GOOD YEAR, WE HAVE SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING SALMON FISHING IN THE WHOLE EAST COAST.

IT DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVE OUT HERE ON THE CLYDE.

ANY DAY COULD BE A GOOD DAY.

SOME DAYS ARE GREAT DAYS.

IN THOSE NINE YEARS THAT I'VE FISHED THIS RIVER, I'VE SEEN A FEW CHANGES.

OBVIOUSLY, YOU HAVE THOSE SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS.

BUT RECENTLY, MYSELF AND SOME OF MY FRIENDS WHO I FISH ALMOST DAILY WITH ESPECIALLY IN THE FALL, HAVE SEEN A CHANGE IN BOTH THE NUMBER OF FISH AS WELL AS THE SIZE OF THE RETURNING FISH.

IN THE FALL OF 2020, WE HAD A LITTLE BIT BETTER RUN IN TERMS OF QUANTITY.

HOWEVER, QUALITY OF FISH, YOU KNOW, THE SIZE WAS CERTAINLY DOWN FROM WHERE WE HAD SEEN IT EVEN FIVE OR SIX YEARS AGO WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE CATCHING FISH PRETTY CONSISTENTLY IN THE MID 20'S AND LAST YEAR, TO CATCH A FISH IN THE MID 20'S WAS A SURPRISE.

AND WAS A VERY LARGE FISH.

THE FISHING HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.

I'D SAY THE LAST FOUR OR SO.

WE'VE WATCHED A DECLINE IN THE FISH.

WE DON'T SEE AS MANY FISH ENTERING THE RIVER, AND THE FISH HAVE NOT BEEN AS BIG AS WE'VE SEEN THEM IN THE PAST.

I THINK THERE'S HISTORICAL JUST KIND OF EBB AND FLOW TO THE SPECIES.

SOME YEARS ARE GOOD.

SOME YEARS ARE NOT SO GOOD.

THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF CHANGES ON THE RIVER, I GUESS, THAT WE COULD POINT A FINGER AT.

BUT I CAN'T BE SURE EITHER ONE OF THEM ARE THE CULPRIT.

>> WE HAVEN'T FISHED IT LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW.

WE'VE ONLY BEEN FISHING IT FOR A FEW YEARS.

BUT WE'VE FOUND THAT THE QUALITY IS PRETTY GOOD.

>> I CAN'T SAY FOR LIKE A LONG TERM TREND, YOU KNOW, BUT I MEAN, IF IT'S REALLY VARIABLE, THE YEAR THAT I STARTED IN 2019 WAS ABYSMAL.

LIKE REFLECTED BY FISH LADDER NUMBERS AND I MEAN, MY OWN ANGLING SUCCESS.

I ONLY GOT ONE TO THE NET THE ENTIRE YEAR WHICH WAS JUST BAD.

I MEAN, THE NUMBER OF FISH IN THE RIVER WAS JUST REALLY LOW.

AND THEN LAST YEAR IN 2020, IT WAS PRETTY GOOD I HAVE TO SAY.

LIKE I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED AT ALL.

IT WAS JUST HIGHER NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T SAY I SEE A LONG TERM DECLINE BECAUSE I WASN'T HERE, YOU KNOW.

BUT I MEAN, IN MY TIME HERE, IT'S BEEN VARIABLE.

>> I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS MAYBE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE FISH THAT WE USED TO.

BUT WITHOUT THE STATE OF VERMONT PUTTING IN THEIR 40,000, WE WOULD HAVE NO FISHERY.

SO I CAN ONLY PAT THEM ON THE BACK AND SAY GOOD JOB.

>> THIS LITTLE LOWER SECTION OF THE RIVER HOLDS AN AWFUL LOT OF FISH WHEN IT HOLDS FISH.

AND LATELY, IT'S BEEN CRAZY WITH THE WAY EVERYTHING IS HEATING UP AND SEEMS LIKE WE'VE LOST A SEASON SOMEWHERE.

IT JUST GOES FROM WINTER, END OF WINTER INTO SPRING.

I'VE GUIDED UP HERE WHEN IT WAS 90 DEGREES ON OPENING DAY AND IT'S RIDICULOUS.

AND I DON'T KNOW.

JUST THE WAY IT IS, I GUESS.

BUT WE NEED HELP ON THIS RIVER.

AND WE SHOULD GET IT.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS HANDING OUT SOME MONEY NOW, THEY OUGHT TO COME DOWN AND TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT REALLY IS HAPPENING.

>> ♪ SALMON ON THE CLYDE RIVER ONCE UPON A TIME ♪ ♪ TELL ME WHO TELL ME WHEN TELL ME WHY, WHY, WHY ♪ ♪ SALMON ON THE CLYDE RIVER ♪ ONCE AGAIN WILL RISE ♪ RUN SALMON RUN ♪ BECAUSE YOU'RE SWIMMING FOR YOUR LIFE ♪ ♪ FOR YOUR LIFE YOU'VE GONE UPSTREAM ♪ ♪ AGAINST THE ODDS BUT IN YOUR SIGHTS ♪ ♪ TENACIOUS BY ANY MEANS ♪ YOU DON'T GIVE UP SO WE WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ WE WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ WE WON'T FORGET THE ♪ SALMON IN THE CLYDE RIVER ♪ ONCE UPON A TIME TELL ME WHO, TELL ME WHEN ♪ ♪ TELL ME WHY, WHY, WHY ♪ SALMON ON THE CLYDE RIVER ONCE AGAIN WILL RISE ♪ ♪ RUN SALMON RUN BECAUSE YOU'RE SWIMMING FOR YOUR LIFE ♪ ♪ FOR YOUR LIFE YOU'VE GONE UPSTREAM ♪ ♪ AGAINST THE ODDS BUT IN YOUR SIGHTS ♪ ♪ TENACIOUS BY ANY MEANS ♪ YOU DON'T GIVE UP ♪ SO WE WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ NO, WE WON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT ♪ ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ SWIM ON ♪ WE WON'T FORGET >> VERMONT PUBLIC, PARTNERING WITH LOCAL FILMMAKERS TO BRING YOU STORIES MADE HERE.

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