Warren Conservation Commission - Public Open Space & Coastal Rights-of-way

Fish
Ladder
Construction
& Stocking

The Kickemuit River once supported a thriving herring run. These anadromous fish live in salt water but spawn in freshwater. Typically adults swim upriver to spawn during the months of April through June, and juveniles return to the ocean in late summer to early fall. For many decades, the Kickemuit Reservoir dam prevented passage of migrating river herring and decimated the herring population. A new Denil fish ladder and plunge pool, constructed in 1997,  facilitates upstream and downstream migration. In the spring of 1997 and for three more years, DEM will stock the reservoir with herring harvested from other runs. These adults will spawn in the Kickemuit and then return to their natal waters. The young herring will mature in ocean waters for four years and then return to the Kickemuit River to spawn, restoring the historic herring run to the Kickemuit River.    
 

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