Patapsco River Bloede's Dam leaves Daniels Dam, upstream, as the last remaining dam along the mainstem Patapsco River. Removal of Bloede's Dam in September, 2018 opened up of the Patapsco River watershed which will potentially restore spawning runs of at least six species of native anadromous fish: alewife ("Alosa pseudoharengus"), blueback herring ("Alosa aestivalis"), American shad ("Alosa sapidissima"), hickory shad ("Alosa mediocris"), striped bass ("Morone saxatilis"), sea lamprey ("Petromyzon marinus"), as only one species, sea lamprey, were found using the Bloede's Dam fish ladder in 2012. One catadromous species would likely also benefit, the American eel ("Anguilla rostrata"), a fish species which
Coonamesset River cranberry bogs that run to the rivers edge. Long ago nearly the entire river may have been bordered by red maple or white cedar swamp when the Wampanoag fished for herring. After European settlers arrived in 1660, the river was initially known as the Five Mile River. Philip Dexter located Falmouth's first grist mill at its mouth around 1700, and by 1795 there were three mills along the river with a corresponding decline in fisheries. A "herring war" began in 1798 with a bylaw giving an elected committee the right to remove any obstructions to allow fish free passage from