NFC Restores Wild Native Fish to the Headwaters of Laundry Brook in Newton, Massachusetts...
MA NFC Secretary Jason Reyes, MA NFC Vice Chair Ben Heinze, MA NFC Chair Shane Johnson, Mass Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Project Leader Jason Stolarski, NFC Executive Director Bob Mallard, NFC National Chair Emily Bastian, Newton Conservators, President Katherine Howard, and volunteer Julie Hadley (photo: Mitra Farmand)
In 2025, MA NFC performed a Holistic Stream Assessment/Restoration project on the headwaters of Laundry Brook at Newton City Hall. In addition to identifying fish passage issues between Bullough’s Pond downstream and the impounded stream at City Hall, NFC confirmed that the latter was nearly devoid of fish and other aquatic life.
During nearly 900 hours of trapping with non-lethal minnow traps, NFC was only able to collect 13 pumpkinseed sunfish of varying sizes, 4 small crayfish, and a single green frog. This was in contrast to the multiple species of fish found in high abundance by NFC just upstream in Cold Spring brook in Newton Cemetery and Arboretum.
While NFC initially assumed that Laundry Brook at Newton City Hall had suffered some sort of catastrophic failure related to non-point source pollution or possibly a deep freeze, we learned that the impoundments had been drained and dredged a year earlier to address sedimentation. This explained the near complete loss of fish and other aquatic life.
Courtesy Jennifer Steele
As part of NFC’s recommendations resulting from our stream assessment, we proposed a project to repopulate the City Hall ponds with wild native fish. When the ponds were drained, the fish were flushed roughly 400 feet downstream into Bullough’s Pond. NFC felt that we could capture fish from Bullough’s Pond to repopulate the City Hall ponds.
could something be done?
NFC first went to MassWildlife to determine if they felt the project was viable, and whether they would issue the the permits necessary to make it happen. Not only did MassWildlife issue NFC a permit to move fish from Bullough’s Pond to the City Hall ponds, but they also offered to send someone out to help when we are ready to do so. In addition they offered to bring a state truck with a live well to transport the fish.
“The interest is really in trying to reestablish a healthy aquatic ecosystem in City Hall ponds. We have worked to manage invasive species around the edges and started dredging to allow a more consistent flow. With the reintroduction of these fish, we will help rebalance the whole ecosystem...”
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Once NFC had permission to move forward from MassWildlife, we approached Jennifer Steele, Chief Environmental Planner for the City of Newton. Recognizing the value of the project and comfortable with NFC due to our work elsewhere in the city, she brought it up for vote at a Newton Conservation Commission meeting. The group voted unanimously to approve the project…
Members of MA and National NFC, MassWildlife, and Newton Conservators, along with volunteers in front at the outlet of Bullough’s Pond ready to capture wild native fish for release in the headwaters of Laundry Brook at Newton City Hall…
NFC takes action
WILD NATIVE FISH RETURN TO THe HEADWATERS OF LAUNDRY BROOK AT NEWTON CITY HALL
In early May 2026, members of MA and National NFC, MassWildlife, Newton Conservators, and other volunteers met to capture wild native fish from Bullough’s Pond to be released in the headwaters of Laundry Brook at Newton City Hall.
While our intent was to use minnow traps to capture fish for transfer, the water was unseasonably cold and fish were not coming to the traps to feed. Fortunately, Jason Stolarski from MassWildlife brought along electro-fishing equipment which proved quite effective and ended up saving the day.
The group was able to capture and transfer 23 native pumpkinseed sunfish of varying sizes along with 7 American eels of various sizes. Nonnative fish, largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish, were left in Bullough’s Pond as moving them upstream would be ecologically detrimental, and dispatching them would serve no ecological purpose as they are already well established.
A wild native pumpkinseed sunfish captured from Bullough’s Pond…
more to come…
NFC will be returning to Bullough’s Pond to try to capture some more fish for transfer to Laundry brook at Newton City Hall. Our goal is to increase biodiversity to include golden shiners and yellow perch where are known to be upstream, and increase biomass to help bolster the population and expedite the recovery. We will be posting the results once we are able to get back in the field.
a milestone for nfc…
In roughly 9 years and across 21 states, this was the first time NFC translocated wild native fish from one water to another. This is not something NFC takes lightly, as moving fish around has caused a lot of problems in the past. However, the situation at Laundry Brook offered a rare opportunity to restore wild native fish to a water that had all but lost them.
The Bullough’s Pond/Newton City Hall restocking project also represented a unique opportunity for NFC to work with a state fish and game agency, a city government, and a local conservation group for the benefit of a locally important resource. It also shows the high level of trust that exists between these entities, something that is earned through hard work and fair play.
special thanks to ma nfc chair shane johnson, vice chair ben heinze, and secretary jason reyes, national nfc chair emily bastian and Executive Director Bob Mallard, jason STOLARSKI from masswildlife, katherine howard, barbara bates, and ken mallory from newton conservators, MA state rep Amy mah Sangiolo, Mitra Farmand from fig city news, and everyone else who took time out of their busy schedules to make this happen.
“Members of Massachusetts Native Fish Coalition, MassWildlife, and Newton Conservators joined forces on Saturday morning, May 9, to re-introduce native fish into the City Hall Ponds... ”
