WARREN -- It has been more than a century since herring swam up the Kickemuit River to spawn in freshwater before going back out to sea.

The Kickemuit Reservoir Dam, built in the late 1800s, blocked the passage of migrating herring, preventing them from spawning in the upper portions of the river. But through the work of a host of federal, state and local groups, the historic fish run has been restored.

Yesterday, officials announced the completion of a $340,000 fish ladder that will allow herring to swim into the reservoir from the river below. About 75 people gathered at the headquarters of the Bristol County Water Authority, which owns the Kickemuit Reservoir, to celebrate the restoration of what many called a crucial fish habitat.

"It's nice to see all these organizations here and see there's still a fight for Mother Earth," said Ed Page, a member of the Pocasset Indian tribe, which once fished the waters of the Kickemuit. "It's a beautiful thing."

Later this week or early next week, up to 300 adult alewife and blueback herring collected from the Pawcatuck River will be released into the reservoir above the dam.

They'll spawn and then head down the 35-foot-long fish ladder, into the Kickemuit and then swim to the ocean, according to Phil Edwards, staff biologist with the state Department of Environmental Management. Their young will stay in the reservoir until they grow old enough to leave, probably by September or October.

The young fish will stay in the ocean until they're ready to breed. For males, that will be in three or four years. For females, it could take a little longer, up to four or five years. The location of the reservoir will be imprinted in their brains, and in the springtime they'll swim back up the Kickemuit to the place where they were born.

The DEM will continue to stock the pond over the next three or four years until the young fish start returning.

The idea for the fish ladder was first discussed in the late 1980s. Ann Morrill, head of the Kickemuit River Council, started talking to the Bristol County Water Authority and the Warren Conservation Commission about building one. The first meeting with the DEM took place in 1994.

But proponents of the project had to wait until 1999 when the water authority completed building the East Bay Pipeline across Narragansett Bay before they could start fundraising and working on detailed plans.

During that long wait, more grants be came available for fish ladders and similar endeavors, said Jane Harrison, secretary of the Warren Conservation Commission.

"The environmental atmosphere changed," she said. "Habitat restoration had become very popular."

Tom Ardito, of the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, said the construction of the new fish ladder on the Kickemuit is part of "a much larger effort to reconnect all the river systems of Narragansett Bay."

There are plans to restore herring runs throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut and southeastern Massachusetts, and projects are under way on the Wood-Pawcatuck, Blackstone, Pawtuxet, Palmer and Taunton rivers, according to Ardito.

Curt Spalding, executive director of Save the Bay, said, "This bay had fish running up it and going down. We're restoring the Bay as a living estuary."

Henry "The Hawk" Edmonds, chief of the Pokanoket Wampanoag tribe, said his ancestors used to fish for herring in the Kickemuit. He said they would be proud of the restoration of the marine habitat.

"We're all committed in this universe," he said. "When you break the circle of life, you eventually die."

The project was done with contributions from the Town of Warren, the Warren Conservation Commission, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the DEM, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Center, the Kickemuit River Council, Save the Bay, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, the Bristol County Water Authority, the Narragansett Bay Shellfish Restoration Foundation, the Narragansett Estuary Program, Power Generation and Electric, the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association and the United State Fish and Wildlife Service.

Charter Environmental built the ladder under the direction of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Construction started in September and was completed by Thanksgiving.

"I guess our job is well-done," John Jannitto, chairman of the water authority board, said. "Now it's up to the fish."

akuffner@projo.com / (401) 277-7457