Assabet River NWR Final CCP - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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Chapter 3: Refuge and Resource Descriptions
of the AEHA findings, Fort Devens issued a catch-and-release advisory for
Puffer Pond.
OHM Corporation - 1992
OHM Corporation (OHM) prepared a work plan (August 1992) for a Puffer
Pond fish study to be conducted under contract to USATHAMA. The work
plan incorporated a discussion of the methods and results of an ecological
survey of Puffer Pond fish conducted by OHM in the spring of 1992. Using
hook and line, on April 24 OHM caught and released 23 largemouth bass,
and on May 1 OHM caught and released three pickerel, three largemouth
bass, two black crappie, and two yellow perch. OHM visually inspected the
fish, looked for swimming eccentricities, and observed nesting patterns
along the shoreline. They found no deformities, behavioral problems, or
other indications of stress or disease. OHM concluded that Puffer Pond
contained a diverse and balanced fish population with no overt signs of
stress.
OHM’s work plan expanded the goals of the Puffer Pond fish studies to
address ecological risks as well as human health risks. The plan was to
make comparisons to background ponds, using fish data from the Service,
the MADEP, and the published literature. OHM presented criteria for
selecting background data from the identified sources.
The field program was conducted in October 1992. OHM collected fish
using a shrimp trawl instead of seines, because of flood conditions and
because of cold water and air temperatures. The flood conditions prevented
OHM from collecting largemouth bass or any other top predator species.
Black crappies were collected, and they were used to represent the
predator trophic level. Fish background data provided to OHM were
rejected as insufficient or inappropriate, on the basis of the selection
criteria established in the work plan. OHM concluded from its quantitative
human health and ecological risk assessments that the observed conditions
do not pose a risk to human receptors (OHM April 1994, p. 5-9) and that the
concentrations of analytes observed in the fish tissue “do not appear to be
affecting the ecological health of Puffer Pond” (OHM 1992, p. 6-5).
Ecology and Environment - 1993
E&E conducted a bioaccumulation study at Puffer Pond to evaluate the
extent of fish contamination and to fill data gaps in previous investigations.
Sampling of surface water, sediment, and fish was conducted in Puffer
Pond and in a background pond in November, 1993. Ministers Pond,
located northeast of the junction of Routes 117 and 62 near the center of
Stow, was selected as the background pond to use for comparing Puffer
Pond sampling results. It generally met the following criteria:
no or minimal potential site-related impacts;
Assabet River NWR