|
This tour has opened in a new window, to return to the map close this window.
Turners Falls Page 4 of 4 Visiting naturalists will also have an opportunity to observe rare wildlife including a families of bald eagles, which have taken up residence in the Barton Cove area, as part of a State environmental initiative which initially included the relocation of eagles to Massachusetts from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Bald eagles may be viewed live as they fly overhead, or on the Eagle cam, a video broadcast that offers both live and tape delayed, close up video coverage of an eagles nest located in the Cove area. This may be seen on the town’s public access, television channel, which is also available for public viewing at the Great Falls Discovery Center. Educational attractions , at or near Turners Falls, include the Great Falls Discovery Center (below), the Northeast Utilities Fish ladder (left), the Bitzer Fish Hatchery and the Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center. A common theme of all of these facilities is the promotion of a greater awareness of and appreciation for the Connecticut River, its tributaries and its watershed. Planning for the Great Falls Discovery Center, a partnership between Town of Montague, Mass. Department of Environmental Management, U.S Fisheries and Wildlife, Northeast Utilities and other non-profit organizations, began in 1995. The visitor’s center, consists of more than $1 million in interpretive exhibits and environmental educational programs on the Connecticut River and watershed, from its source near the Canadian border to the Long Island Sound, 400 miles to the south.  Admission to the center is free of charge to the visiting and resident public. The Fish Ladder and Fish Viewing Facility, operated by Northeast Utilities Company, was built in the early 1980’s to facilitate fish passage by Turners Falls Dam and generating facilities on the power canal. The Fish Viewing Facility gives viewers a chance to observe anadromous fish (shad and occasional salmon), through an aquarium like viewing window, as they make their way up the Connecticut River each spring. Located at the Turners Falls dam, the viewing facility is open Wednesday through Sunday, mid-May through June. Parking is available behind the Town Hall. Admission is free. The Bitzer Fish Hatchery is operated by the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and raises trout for stocking throughout the state. Located on Hatchery Road, the facility is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The primary mission of the Anadromous Fish Research Center is to provide innovative and in-depth research on the various species of anadromous fish native to the East Coast. The intention of this research is to develop the most effective system possible for allowing fish to pass man-made obstacles, primarily hydroelectric dams, during their annual migration upstream and downstream. Turners Falls Page 4 of 4
|
