Watch: Village Dedicates New Fish Ladder

Babylon Village officially dedicated the fish ladder at Argyle Lake during a ceremony on Thurs. May 2 at the park.

Officials from the village, Town of Babylon, Suffolk County and the Seatuck Environmental Association, which helped secure a grant for the village to build the ladder, attended an outdoor ceremony.

"We've heard folk lore around here about striped bass coming up the Carll's River and being caught here," said Ralph Scordino, Babylon Village mayor. "We want to try and make it a nicer place for my grandchildren to have the opportunity to fish here in Babylon Village."

Carll's River has been dammed up for fish looking to breed in the fresh water river for nearly 100 years, when the waterfalls at Argyle Lake were first built preventing fish from jumping its relatively large steps.

"For the first time in more than 100 years, migrating Alewives (river herring) returning from the sea to spawn have easy access beyond the falls and spillway at Argyle Park," said Enrico Nardone, Seatuck's executive director.

The fish ladder was completed nearly a month ago by village workers and paid for through a grant from NOAA and the National Association of Counties.