Volunteers are working to restore historic herring populations in the Acushnet River in Massachusetts, with Wampanoag tribal member and land manager Marcus Hendricks playing a key role. Hendricks recently removed a fallen tree 10 inches thick that had blocked the river, allowing both humans and fish access to the northern part of the waterway for the first time in decades. This effort is part of a long-term initiative to revive the river’s once-thriving herring population, which has cultural and ecological significance. Since 2002, scientists and local groups have been working to restore the Acushnet River’s herring population to historic levels. Their work has included clearing debris, building infrastructure, and improving conditions for the small fish to migrate upriver and spawn. While herring numbers increased to nearly 15,000 a decade ago, the population has since leveled off. This summer, Hendricks and his team at the Fairhaven Acushnet Land Preservation Trust launched a renewed cleanup, involving volunteers from New Bedford, Acushnet, Fairhaven, and beyond. Scientists from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Buzzards Bay Coalition have also joined the effort. John Sheppard, a marine fisheries research biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, has led cleanups for over 20 years. He noted that the increased number of volunteers has made the work more efficient and less isolating. A cleanup on August 22 involved over a dozen volunteers, working from the old White’s Factory on Hamlin Road downstream to Mill Pond. A core group has returned weekly for the past two months, continuing the work until Hendricks can kayak the full length of the river. Hendricks emphasized the cultural importance of the project, explaining that in Indigenous traditions, connecting with a species involves becoming part of it, which he interprets as getting in the water and swimming. Historically, hundreds of thousands of Atlantic herring traveled from the ocean to fresh water to spawn, with some estimates suggesting numbers as high as one million. However, the construction of dams by European settlers for agriculture and industry disrupted this migration. The lower Acushnet River, once a setting in "Moby-Dick," became one of the nation’s first EPA Superfund sites due to toxic PCB dumping. The river has long been affected by litter, fallen branches, and overgrowth, which would have been naturally managed by beavers in the past. However, beavers are no longer present, and reintroducing them would be challenging due to modern land use. In 2002, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Buzzards Bay Coalition built a "fish ladder" near the former saw mill, a tunnel designed to help small fish migrate upstream. Since then, efforts have included replacing two dams with tunnel-like fishways, which initially led to a significant increase in herring numbers from 2,000 to 14,000, but the population has since declined. State and federal efforts to restore herring populations have included moratoriums on commercial fishing enacted in 2006 and 2012. Hendricks successfully advocated for an exemption allowing Indigenous tribal members to continue ancestral fishing practices. Undamming has become a national trend, with over 100 dams removed across 30 states in the past year, reconnecting nearly 4,900 miles of waterways. Collaborations between local governments, nonprofits, and state agencies have been highlighted as a model for larger conservation goals. New Bedford conservation agent Chance Perks emphasized that modern conservation requires hands-on effort, with people getting into the river, getting muddy, and actively managing the environment.