The Wrack

More than 80 people gathered above the York River in June 2023 to celebrate its designation into the National Park Service Partnership Wild and Scenic River system.

Authorization to designate the York River as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by the 117th Congress and signed by President Biden on December 29, 2022.

In 2018, local towns decide whether to endorse Partnership Wild & Scenic designation for the York River as the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

We got lots of help over 10 weeks of fyke netting in the York River and added 3,759 fish records to our database. The results will be included in a report to the York River Wild and Scenic Committee.

Fyke netting in the York River in April and May 2017 resulted in well over 1,000 rainbow smelt caught and released, plus evidence of successful spawning in the river.

Restoring Streams and the Pulse of Tides

Three small projects with outsize impact have been focusing the reserve's attention in this latter half of 2015. Completing these minor feats of engineering will improve the ecology of local watersheds for generations to come. Our science and stewardship team planned for months and years to set up these moments of action on Goff Mill Brook, Branch Brook, and the York River.

Preliminary findings of the National Park Service validated the efforts of the Friends of the York River, which since 2009 has been working toward getting a law passed by the U.S. Congress that will allow a comprehensive study of the river.

The Friends of the York River received some excellent news last week: The Wild and Scenic Study Bill written and sponsored by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree was unanimously passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on June 5.

The bill calls for a multi-year study of the York River, done in conjunction with community input, that would determine if the river is eligible for designation as a Wild and Scenic Partnership River by the National Park Service. The bill still needs to pass in the Senate before it can become law.

Not long ago, we mentioned the York River Wild and Scenic study bill. Here's an update:

The Wells Reserve has studied fish habitat, identified pollution sources, educated residents about riverine and estuarine ecology, and helped protect land in the York River watershed.