On October 1st, MyRWA will be joined by Nigel Pickering of the Horsley Witten Group to learn about how a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) was put in place for the Charles River Watershed. A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still safely meet water quality standards, and may greatly help improve water quality in the Mystic River Watershed. Please attend the Oct. 1st Committee Meeting, Tufts University, Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room, Medford. Free and open to the public!
Citizen Scientist Training Workshop Announced
Please join MyRWA on Saturday, October 5th for a Citizen Scientist Training Workshop. This Workshop allows interested volunteers to learn about water quality monitoring methods and concepts. By completing this workshop, you’ll be prepared to join MyRWA’s Baseline Monitoring Program. The Baseline Monitoring Program requires a monthly commitment between 6am and 8am. No experience is necessary - all are welcome!
When: Saturday, Oct. 5, 9:00am-11:00am
Where: MyRWA office building - 20 Academy Street, Arlington, MA
Space is limited! Please register today by emailing Beth@Mysticriver.org.
Learn more about MyRWA's water quality monitoring programs here.
Special Meeting with Wynn Resorts and Suffolk Downs
Please join the Mystic River Watershed Steering Committee on Wednesday, September 25th to hear presentations on the environmental impacts of both proposed Mystic River casinos – Wynn Resorts in Everett and Suffolk Downs in East Boston. The public is encouraged to attend this meeting and take advantage of the opportunity to ask questions of each proponent. The meeting is hosted by the Mystic River Watershed Association; meeting room and light refreshments provided by Preotle, Lane & Associates.
When: Wednesday, September 25th, 2013 9:30AM – 11:45AM
Where: Preotle, Lane & Associates, 200 River's Edge Drive, Medford, MA (www.riversedgema.com)
The US EPA convened Mystic River Watershed Steering Committee includes 22 organizations from various sectors that address the issues and needs of the communities and natural resources of the Mystic River Watershed.
For more information see: http://epa.gov/region1/mysticriver/meetingsandevents.html
Friends of the Mystic River 19th Annual Fall Cleanup
Friends of the Mystic River 19th Annual Fall Cleanup
Saturday September 28
9:30AM - 1:00PM
Meet at the Condon Band Shell, on Route 16, near Winthrop St., Medford. Cleanup supplies are
provided. Clean up areas of your choosing from Lower Mystic Lake to MacDonald Park
Google Map: http://goo.gl/maps/6vha1
Morning snacks and a lunch are provided.
Friends of the Mystic River, Medford, Mass.
Working for the enjoyment, protection and enhancement of the Mystic River in Medford.
For more information, call 781-396-0920 or e-mail Mystic02155 at hotmail dot com
Http://www.fomr.org
Come learn about the Mystic River and Arlington History!
Please join the Mystic River Watershed Association for a book sale, signing and free presentation by Arlington author Rick Beinecke on Monday, October 7th at the Robbins Library. The Suffolk professor’s new book, The Mystic River: A Natural & Human History, includes detailed historical and recreational information for the towns of Winchester, Arlington, Cambridge, Medford, Malden, Somerville, Everett, Charlestown and Chelsea. Come learn about the Mystic and Arlington history!
For information on Rick Beinecke’s book visit: www.MysticRiverRick.com.
For more information about this event and the Mystic River Watershed Association please see: www.MysticRiver.org.
Mystic River Watershed Association, State and Local Communities Partner to Battle Invasive Plant in Mystic River
During the past four years, the Mystic River Watershed Association and local community groups have been battling water chestnut, an invasive plant that impedes recreation and hurts habitat quality, in the Mystic River. Over the years this program has grown in size and now includes support from the Cities of Medford and Somerville, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Tufts University, area boat and yacht clubs, and local businesses. Recently, the Mystic River Watershed Association obtained $125,000 of funding from the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to support removal efforts over the next two years. $50,000 of funding was provided through the DCR Partnership Program and $75,000 was provided through the larger DCR budget process. This funding pays for mechanical harvesting of water chestnuts from the Mystic River in Medford and Somerville. The mechanical work in 2013 cleared significant areas of the Blessing of the Bay area and we expect 2014 will be even more successful.
“Our work has steadily reduced the water chestnut population at the upper sections of the river and now we are working to stop the spread at the bottom of the river near Blessing of the Bay in Somerville,” stated Patrick Herron, Mystic Monitoring Network Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association. “This work benefits all of the rowers and boaters who use the river, as well as the wildlife. Managing this plant requires sustained attention over a period of years. We are grateful for the support our legislators have provided to this project – including Senator Jehlen and Representative Provost – and thrilled to have DCR’s support for continuing this important project.”
Volunteers from the community, local businesses, and community organizations have also participated by hand-pulling water chestnuts from canoes. As of August 12th, 2013, over 3,500 baskets of water chestnuts have been removed by 380 volunteers with the Mystic River Watershed Association. To find out more about the Mystic River Water Chestnut Removal Program go to: www.mysticriver.org/water-chestnut-removal-project/
The Mystic River Watershed Association would like to thank everyone who has supported this program in 2013, including:
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
City of Medford
City of Somerville
Tufts University
Riverside Yacht Club
Mystic Wellington Yacht Club
Medford Boat Club
ERM Foundation
FedEx Corporation
Building Impact
IBM
Millennium Pharmaceutical
Citizens Bank
Google
Groundwork Somerville
Friends of the Mystic River
Eagle Eye Institute
Mystic Mural Project
Gentle Giant Rowing Club
Team GreenSense, City of Cambridge
Whole Foods Market Medford
Flatbread Pizza
Regina’s Pizzeria
About Water Chestnuts
Water chestnut (Trapa natans) is native to Asia, Europe and Africa. These floating-leaved plants form dense, continuous mats over the water surface of lakes, ponds and slow-moving waters. The mats impede boating, fishing, and swimming, and crowd out native plants. Decomposition of large quantities of water chestnuts may result in lower dissolved oxygen levels, which can lead to fish kills. The plant’s growth is propelled by high levels of nutrients, such as phosphorus, in the Mystic River. And here is why the time is now to act: one acre of water chestnut can produce enough seeds to cover 100 acres the following year. Each seed can give rise to 10-15 rosettes and each rosette can produce as many as 20 seeds. And if that wasn’t enough, seeds can remain viable for up to 12 years!
Read more about the Water Chestnut Removal Project here.
Save The Date for the 2013 Annual Meeting!
Join MyRWA along the Aberjona River at Winchester Town Hall, 71 Mt Vernon Street, Winchester, MA for the 2013 Mystic River Watershed Association Annual Meeting! We will be joined by keynote speaker Julie Wormser, Executive Director of The Boston Harbor Association, who will speak about climate change in the Boston area. Free and open to the public!
Mystic River Oil Spill Update #2 - Aug. 26, 2013
Click here for the #2 Fuel Oil Release – Mystic River Cleanup Update #2 pertaining to the incident at the intersection of Mystic Valley Parkway and Medford Street in Arlington/Medford, Massachusetts. This report is from Clean Harbors Environmental Services.
Friends of the Malden River To Huddle with River Protection Partners
The Friends of the Malden River – a new citizens group committed to drawing the Malden River back to vibrant, civic life – will meet on Tuesday, September 10, 6:30-8 p.m. in the Keverian Room of Everett City Hall, 484 Broadway, with Everett city planner James Errickson and riverfront developer John Preotle to discuss their vision for a riverfront that is attractive, safe, environmentally sustainable and accessible to the public.
A particular focus of the meeting will be to consider the effect that plans for protecting and preserving key riverfront parcels, accompanied by broad public access – on foot, by bicycle and by public transit – can have on people’s perception of the Malden River and one of the next great urban spaces for preservation and recreation. In addition, the Friends of the Malden River’s four committees – which focus on water quality, public access, outreach, and youth involvement – will begin to formulate specific agendas to implement over the coming year.
“This meeting is happening at an important time, given that the fourth annual Malden River Festival, which attracts hundreds and hundreds of people of all ages, will take place on Saturday, September 21, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and bring into closer focus the possibilities for transforming the entire riverfront into an urban oasis,” said Beth MacBlane, outreach coordinator for the Mystic River Watershed Association.
Friends of the Malden met four times this spring and summer in both Everett and Malden, which, along with Medford, are the three cities that ring the Malden River. In May, aided by a team of graduate students studying water policy at Tufts University, the group inaugurated a website dedicated to all things Malden River – including environmental remediation, public access, local history, resource improvement strategies, and citizen activism. The site, at www.maldenriver.wordpress.com, includes videos about the river and interviews with community members. The Malden River group is working closely with the Tri-City Community Action Program (Tri-CAP) in Malden, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), environmental and urban justice advocates, and Tufts University’s interdisciplinary graduate program in Water: Systems, Science & Society (WSSS). An extensive report compiled by the seven Tufts graduate students who worked intensively on this project over the spring is also posted on the web: http://ase.tufts.edu/uep/degrees/field_project_reports/2013/Team_WSSS_Malden_Final_Report_2013.pdf.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our active and growing group of interested residents to hear from two individuals – one from the public sector and the other from the private sector – who are playing complementary, key roles in our river’s future, and to express their initial views on ways that river access can be enhanced,” said Philip Bronder-Giroux, Executive Director of Tri-CAP, which serves Malden, Everett and Medford.
Learn about De-Paving Efforts!
On Tuesday, September 3rd Lenni Armstrong from Somerville Climate Action will join MyRWA to talk about their successful De-Paving Program. Come learn the why and how of de-paving, and the challenges and successes they've had in Somerville. MyRWA Committee Meeting, Sept. 3rd, 7-9pm, Tufts University, Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room, Medford.
