May 19, 2020
Shad used to swim in large numbers up the coastal rivers of Maine. This was before the heavy industrial pollution (prior to the Clean Water Act of 1972) and the building of large dams ended the large-scale seasonal migration of this anadromous fish. The rivers are cleaner now and efforts are being made to restore the runs, but dams still present a major barrier on most rivers. (Fish ladders don’t seem to offer the fish much help.)
But even while the shad are gone or scarce, the land remembers them. The shadbush (a.k.a serviceberry) is a tree that, in a variety of species, is native to North America. Here in Maine we mostly see the smooth shadbush whose leaves have a beautiful soft reddish color when they first unfold in spring. Native Americans of the eastern coastal areas knew that these small, graceful trees came into flower when the bountiful runs of fish were heading up the rivers.
For ten thousand springs
copper leaves, white breaths return—
shadbush trees in bloom.
A Maine Haiku Almanac 