By Brooke Kushwaha/the New Bedford Light Submerged waist-deep in the Acushnet River, Marcus Hendricks let out a howl that echoed through the forest and brush. The Wampanoag tribal member and land manager had just sawed through a fallen tree 10 inches thick and stretched across the width of the waterway, spraying sawdust into the cloudy water. Two volunteers heaved the cut-up trunk aside, opening up the northern section of river to humans and fish for the first time in decades. “I’m trying not to get emotional,” Hendricks said, taking a step back. This summer, Hendricks began leading cleanups of the Acushnet River, to clear the way for herring to swim upstream to their spawning grounds at the old New Bedford Reservoir. Since 2002, state and local scientists have been working…
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