Call for Submissions: Volunteer of The Year

Do you know a MyRWA volunteer who goes above and beyond? Here at MyRWA, we rely upon the gracious efforts of our volunteers throughout the year and for a variety of projects. Each year, we select one volunteer to honor at our annual meeting (October 2013).

Who is your volunteer extraordinaire of 2013? Please submit your nomination of someone who has performed significant work towards protecting and restoring the Mystic River Watershed. This person could be a volunteer at MyRWA or another organization, but must be working to improve environmental conditions in the Mystic River Watershed.

Submit your proposals to Beth@MysticRiver.org or by calling Beth at 781-316-3438.

Please include:

• Your full name, email address and phone number.

• Full name, email address and phone number (if you have it) of your suggestion for Volunteer of the Year. Include a short explanation of this person’s contribution to a healthier Mystic River Watershed.

• Volunteer of the Year nominations are due by Monday, September 16, 2013.

An Act Promoting Awareness For Safe Recreation In Public Waterways

MyRWA is happy to support this proposed bill, as it ties in with the Mystic River Clean Water Campaign. This bill would institute a statewide sewage discharge notification system so that MA residents will know when their rivers are safe for recreation and when Combined Sewer Overflow discharges make them unsafe. Stay tuned for upcoming action alerts to support this initiative!

Read more here: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~nsanders/cso/

National stormwater calculator helps manage stormwater runoff

The US EPA’s new calculator will help property owners, developers, landscapers, and urban planners make informed land-use decisions to protect local waterways from pollution caused by stormwater runoff. Preventing stormwater runoff, which can impact drinking water resources and local ecosystems, protects people’s health and the environment.

Read the full press release here.

More information about the National Stormwater Calculator: http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/wq/models/swc/

Clean Harbors Releases Oil Spill Immediate Response Action Plan Report

In response to the May 31st oil spill in Arlington, MA, Clean Harbors has released Oil Spill Immediate Response Action Plan Report.

IMMEDIATE RESPONSE ACTION PLAN

No. 2 Fuel Oil Release

188 Medford Street (at Mystic Valley Parkway)

Arlington, Massachusetts

DEP Release Tracking Number: 3-31576

CHES Job No.: EO5401971

Download the report here (282 pages).

Mystic Photo Contest Seeking Submissions

Give us your best shot! The Mystic River Watershed Association is seeking photographs that illustrate the beauty and challenges of the Mystic River Watershed. Contest categories include Wildlife, Landscape, Recreation and Best Overall. The photo contest is open to all photographers of any age. Submissions are due by September 6, 2013.

Vote for MyRWA at Blue State Coffee!

Head to Blue State Coffee in Boston to vote for MyRWA now through December as part of their donation program. Blue State Coffee donates 2% of sales to local non-profits and MyRWA is one of four beneficiaries. Get a token when you purchase a drink or food, and vote for one of the four causes.

Vote here: 957 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

New Mystic River Guide Coming This Fall

Suffolk Professor and MyRWA member Rick Beinecke will publish a new book, The Mystic River: A Natural & Human History this fall. The book is approximately 280 pages long, and includes detailed historical and recreational information for the towns of Winchester, Arlington, Cambridge, Medford, Malden, Somerville, Everett, Charlestown & Chelsea. MyRWA is happy to support Ricks' efforts in bringing attention to the Mystic!

Email rickhbeinecke@comcast.net for information on the book’s publication and visit: www.mysticriverrick.com.

New Fish Project Needs Your Help

Do you fish or know someone that fishes in Boston Harbor or the Mystic River?  

Have you ever fished on either side of the Amelia Earhart Dam?

Would you be willing to participate in a short survey about your experience?

MyRWA is a partner on a project to learn more about what species of fish are caught and consumed in the saltwater section of the Mystic River and Boston Harbor. The outcome of the project will be an improved fish advisory for the Lower Mystic area. 

Partners on the project include Conservation Law Foundation, Chelsea Collaborative, Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, and University of Massachusetts-Boston.

To participate in the survey or if you can offer any assistance, please contact Patrick Herron by email at patrick@mysticriver.org or by telephone at (781)-316-3438. 

Come hear from EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow
cordially invite you to an address by  EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy

Tuesday - July 30, 2013 at 11 a.m.

Harvard Law School
2036 Milstein East
Wasserstein Hall
(Large white marble building with arches at each of the main entrances on Mass Ave)
1585 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02138

Please RSVP to
abrams.dan@epa.gov
617-918-1067

Please share this invitation with your colleagues; prompt responses are encouraged as seating capacity is limited.

Driving Directions to Harvard Law School

Harvard T-Stop on the Red line Subway Directions

We encourage public transportation. If that is not possible there is General Visitor Parking.
Limited visitor parking is available in the 10 Everett Street garage, located beneath Wasserstein Hall.  Purchase a daily visitor parking pass here.  (You will be prompted to register – under Department, please choose “Harvard Law School” from the drop-down menu; please call the Harvard Parking Office to obtain the Department Code.)  

Contact the Harvard Parking Office at 617-495-3772 or email parking@harvard.edu if you have other questions.

This event is co-hosted by Harvard Law School’s Environmental Law Program (ELP).  At the ELP, students have the opportunity to explore cutting-edge environmental issues in the classroom, engage with experts and policymakers at special events and programs, and practice environmental law on behalf of clients in clinical classes – a comprehensive approach to environmental problem-solving.

Lots of Eels this year!

The Mystic River Watershed Association and the MA Division of Marine Fisheries have been counting American eels at the Upper Mystic Lake dam in Medford since April 1st. The eels wiggle up the eel-way next to the fish ladder and remain in a box until MyRWA removes them to count them. The eels are then released into the Upper Mystic Lake. The eels are born in the Sargasso Sea, and are typically just two to four inches long by the time they reach the Mystic Lakes. In 2013, 13,019 eels were recorded at the Upper Mystic Lake dam, whereas in 2012 2,784 eels were counted.