PIT Tag Study Swift River

The PIT Tag Study Swift River First Phase was approved by the Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation's Board in December of 2021.  We are now raising funds to bring this project to fruition.  Please consider making a donation below to fund this project through 2022 and beyond.

To securely donate online to the PIT Tag Study on the Swift River:

• Open the drop-down menu under the heading "How should this donation be applied?" and select "PIT Tag Study Swift River First Phase."

If you would like to mail a donation, please send us a check payable to Mass. Outdoor Heritage Foundation with the memo "PIT Tag Study" to:
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Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation
P.O. Box 47
Westborough, MA 01581

The Swift River in Belchertown 
​The main stem of the Swift River is formed from the outflow of Quabbin Reservoir below Windsor Dam.   The Catch and Release Area is located mostly within the boundaries of the Herman Covey Wildlife Management Area and DCR Quabbin Reservoir.

PIT Tag Study Swift River
Biologists from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) Connecticut Valley District and Westborough Field Headquarters have developed a field-based project to study the wild Brook Trout fishery in the Swift River tailwater between Quabbin Reservoir and the Swift River Impoundment in central Massachusetts. This project is designed to answer long-standing questions regarding 1) seasonal movement patterns and habitat use by adult Brook Trout using PIT tags in conjunction with a series of fixed PIT tag readers placed at important habitat and/or angling regulation boundaries within the tailwater, and 2) quantify population abundance, individual growth rates, and age and size structure of the wild Brook Trout population in the Swift River using mark-recapture methods. Continuous water temperature and water level loggers will also be deployed in conjunction with the PIT tag readers to assess movement and habitat use in association with environmental changes that are likely to influence coldwater fishes now and especially into the future under changing climate conditions.

PIT Tags are Passive Integrated Transponders and are tracking tags that do not require power.  Instead, they have an internal microchip that is activated when it passes close to a special antenna.