The Mystic River Watershed Association maintained its core water quality monitoring programs, water chestnut removal efforts, and outreach and education programs in 2014, while adding new and exciting projects and initiatives. We hope you'll enjoy reading about some of the highlights of the year in our Annual Report. Thanks to the many supporters that make this work possible!
RETURNING LIFE TO THE ABERJONA - special event 3/5/15
Please join MyRWA and Sustainable Winchester for an evening about blueback and alewife herring! We'll provide an update on the possibility of installing a fish ladder at the Center Falls dam and the results of a two-year herring habitat study of the Aberjona River conducted by the Mystic River Watershed Association and funded by En Ka. Also of discussion will be the possibility of day-lighting the Aberjona River. We'll conclude the evening by screening a short film, "The Mystic Herring Run: The Return of 2012 and Beyond" by Shervin A. Arya.
Find out more and register for this (free) event here - space is limited!
Registration open for “The Future of Water in Southeastern Massachusetts”
Press Release provided by the Watershed Action Alliance of Southeastern Massachusetts.
--------------
Registration is now open for The Future of Water in Southeastern Massachusetts, a one-day conference organized by Watershed Action Alliance in partnership with Plimoth Plantation. It will be held on Friday, April 24 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA. To register, click here. For more information, click here.
The conference will provide information and networking opportunities relevant to professionals and volunteers working or interested in water conservation, sustainable water management and river restoration. Sessions include the four big areas in water conservation: stormwater, drinking water, recreational water and wastewater, as well as three crucial topics in nonprofit endeavors: fundraising, outreach, and science and data collection. For session descriptions and panelist biographies, click here.
The plenary speaker, Eric Walberg, is the Senior Program Leader in Climate Services at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. He will discuss past trends and future projections in temperature, precipitation and sea level rise for New England and the ramifications for watershed management.
An exhibit hall will feature displays and posters from nonprofit organizations, government agencies, businesses and students illustrating successes and some of the latest work in research, conservation, river restoration projects and techniques, and more. To register your display or poster, click here.
Water, critical to all of us, requires prudent management, realistic planning and effective regulation for protection of waterways, recreational areas, aquatic wildlife and drinking water. Our water resources are threatened by Increasing population and development pressures in southeastern Massachusetts. It is imperative that we work now to plan for a future with clean and plentiful water, restored rivers with abundant wildlife, and safe and efficient ways to treat wastewater and stormwater. Join Watershed Action Alliance and others at “The Future of Water in Southeastern Massachusetts” in striving toward this end.
Conference sponsors: Island Foundation, Sheehan Family Foundation, MA Division of Ecological Restoration, Mass Audubon: Shaping the Future of Your Community, Duxbury Cultural Council, Herring Ponds Watershed Association, Horsley Witten Group, Plymouth Area League of Women Voters, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Massachusetts Bays Program, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Neponset River Watershed Association, North and South Rivers Watershed Association, Plymouth Cultural Council, Save the Bay, Six Ponds Improvement Association, Weir River Watershed Association, Wildlands Trust, and Halifax Cultural Council. To become a conference sponsor, click here.
For questions and comments, please email the conference coordinator: dorie.stolley@jhu.edu.
Mystic River Science Forum Feb. 23
Head to EPA Region 1 offices on Monday, February 23rd for the Mystic River Watershed Initiative Science Forum. The forum will include presentations and discussions on local water quality and related topics. The meeting will be held at 5 Post Office Square, Boston and begins at 8:30 a.m. More details forthcoming.
2015 Water Chestnut Strategy
Join MyRWA’s Patrick Herron for a presentation on the Association’s popular Water Chestnut Removal Program. Patrick will provide an overview of the program which began in 2010 and detail MyRWA’s approach to tackling this invasive plant for 2015.
Patrick’s presentation will be followed by the Policy and Clean Water Campaign meetings at 8:00 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.
Join us on Tuesday, February 17th, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., at Tufts University, Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room. (The Lincoln Filene Center is within the Tisch College building) (Note: Date rescheduled to 2/17!)
Update on 2015-02-25 14:49 by MyRWA
RESCHEDULED due to weather and travel concerns!
This meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 3rd at the same location and time. We hope you can join us!
MYSTIC WINTER BIRD OUTING with Paul Roberts
From the Friends of the Mystic River:
MYSTIC WINTER BIRD OUTING with Paul Roberts
Saturday, January 31, 2015
10:00 a.m. – Noon
Meet at 10 a.m. at the Mystic Lakes Dam. Park at the Medford Boat Club parking lot in Medford directly off the Mystic Valley Parkway. The parking lot is your first left about a half mile north of the Route 60 bridge crossing the Mystic.
Take a two-hour trip along the Mystic Lakes and the upper Mystic River to discover what birds can be found in the middle of winter, even an exceptionally cold one. Each year hundreds of birds winter on and around the Mystic River and Lakes as long as open water is available. We'll be looking for raptors, such as a possible Bald Eagle, Merlin or Red-tailed Hawk; waterfowl, including Common and Hooded Mergansers; and much more.
Dress appropriately for the weather. In very cold weather, this means in layers with hat or cap, gloves, water resistant boots with tread.
Canceled in persistent rain or icy conditions; will go in snow as long as parking is open at the Mystic Lakes. Bring a birding field guide and binoculars if possible; there will be car pooling and very limited walking from the cars.
Walk leader Paul Roberts, of Medford, conducts classes and field trips and is a frequent speaker on raptors. He is the founder of Eastern Massachusetts Hawk Watch, an organization whose mission is to promote the study and conservation of hawks locally and on a continental scale by monitoring migration in Massachusetts. He also is President of the Northeast Hawk Watch, and a director and former chair of the Hawk Migration Association of North America.
Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Mystic River and the Menotomy Bird Club.
For more info call Paul Roberts at 781-483-4263 or email phawk254[AT]comcast.net or mystic02155[AT]hotmail.com.
http://www.fomr.org
Mystic River Watershed Water Quality Commission Established By State Legislature
The Mystic River Watershed Association is inspired that the state legislature has acted to empanel a commission to investigate water quality conditions in the Mystic River Watershed and to determine the ways in which water quality can be improved to support a healthy ecosystem and recreational opportunities. The thirteen member commission will include one member appointed from the Mystic River Watershed Association, the US EPA, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, the Mass Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and members from the House and Senate, among others. The commission will submit a report, including its recommendations for legislation necessary to carry its recommendations into effect, by July 31, 2017. Read the Bill here.
The Association wants to thank the many members of the Mystic River legislative caucus and especially lead sponsors of the bill, Representative Denise Provost and Senator Pat Jehlen. Cosponsors of the legislation include local legislators Representative Paul Donato, Representative Sean Garballey, Representative Tim Toomey, Representative Dave Rogers, Representative Jon Hecht, and Representative Carlo Basile; and Senator Sal DiDomenico, Senator William Brownsberger, and Senator Jason Lewis.
The formation of this commission is timely as evidenced by the annual Mystic River Watershed Report Card grade recently issued by the US EPA. Unfortunately for the fourth year in a row Mystic River Watershed water quality earned a report card grade of “D” for calendar year 2013. This means that while the Mystic River Watershed met state water quality standards for boating 83 percent of the time, swimming standards were met only 49 percent of the time. Read the press release here.
“We are very encouraged that the legislature has through this initiative brought new focus and attention to water quality issues in the Mystic River Watershed,” stated EkOngKar Singh Khalsa, Executive Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association. “We look forward to working with the Commission to identify and implement the most effective ways to improve conditions in the Mystic River and its many tributaries.”
The Mystic River Watershed is a vital natural resource for the more than 500,000 people who live in 22 Mystic River communities. For more information about the Mystic River Watershed Association please see www.MysticRiver.org.
Regional Stormwater Utility Workshop Announced
New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) is excited to announce the Stormwater Utility Workshop taking place on March 25th, 2015 at the Radisson Hotel in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
The regional workshop will bring together practitioners in a variety of environmental and management fields to share their experiences and information regarding stormwater utility development and implementation in the New England states and New York. Workshop participants will include representatives from state, federal, and municipal governments; the private sector; academia; and water resources programs and organizations. For more information, please visit www.neiwpcc.org/stormwaterutilityworkshop.
The workshop will feature a keynote presentation from national stormwater utility expert, Keith Readling! Keith Readling, PE, Vice President & Director of Stormwater Management Consulting, Raftelis Financial Consultants
Mr. Readling has 29 years of experience in municipal stormwater management and civil engineering. As an executive and leader of the Raftelis Stormwater Management Consulting Division, he has broad responsibilities for service delivery to clients across the U.S., with a particular focus on program and financial planning, stormwater utility, and enterprise fund data and systems development for local governments and utilities. Mr. Readling has consulted with many of the largest and most complex stormwater utilities in the U.S. and is one of the foremost authorities in the country regarding stormwater management programs, data, systems, and business processes. He has assisted with the establishment of 41 stormwater utilities in 14 states, serving as the lead consultant for 19 of them.
Invasive Species Internship - June 15-Aug 14, 2015
June 15- Aug 14, 2015 (9 weeks)
Stipend provided ($2,500)
The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) seeks a motivated, well-organized and physically strong intern to assist in organizing an effort to remove the invasive species Water Chestnut (Trapa natans) from the Mystic River. This is part of the Water Chestnut Removal Project.
Responsibilities include organizing and leading water chestnut removal events with corporations, community groups and the general public and directing and managing teams of volunteers in canoes. The intern will also use a small powerboat to remove plants from the river. Event planning and organization begins in June; removal efforts will begin in late June with the majority of events occurring during the month of July and first week of August. This is a mostly outdoor, physically demanding internship that requires moving canoes and other gear and getting wet and dirty while remaining enthusiastic at events.
Interns will work both in and out of the office, and must be able to work independently and as a
member of a team. This is a full-time internship position with a stipend provided which requires a commitment of June 15 through August 14, 2015. This is a great opportunity to be involved with a small non-profit doing work on behalf of the community and environment. For more information about the Water Chestnut, visit our webpage here.
Qualifications:
Ability to navigate a canoe
Ability to lift 40 lbs.
Must be able to swim
Experience in public speaking
Organized and detail-oriented
Excellent interpersonal skills and great attitude
Applicants must be able to occasionally work evenings, early mornings, and weekends
Reliable transportation required (mileage reimbursed)
Candidates must be 18 years of age or older
Additional desirable skills: First aid and CPR certified, life guard certification, experience driving a 15 foot motor boat, familiarity with the Mystic River and experience in event planning.
The Mystic River Watershed Association is an equal opportunity employer.
Deadline to apply is March 1, 2015. Applications reviewed as received.
If interested, please send a cover letter and resume to WQInternship@MysticRiver.org with Invasive Species Internship in the subject line. No phone calls please.
Spring 2015: Paid Internship with the Mystic River Watershed Association
The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) seeks a motivated intern to assist in corporate and volunteer recruitment for the Water Chestnut Removal Program and the Herring Monitoring Program.
The intern will work in the office with staff on both programs as the Water Chestnut Removal Coordinator and the Herring Monitoring Program Coordinator. Primary duties for the water chestnut removal program include researching and recruiting area businesses, coordinating and scheduling volunteer groups, and developing outreach materials as needed. Primary duties for herring monitoring include development of outreach materials, coordinating and interacting with more than 70 volunteer monitors, and conducting public outreach and data entry.
Qualifications:
Strong organizational skills
Experience in public speaking
Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite
Experience recruiting and managing volunteers is a plus
Experience working with businesses is an asset
The intern will work both in and out of the office, and must be able to work independently and as a team.
The intern is expected to invest 15-20 hours per work week from Feb. 2nd – May 29th. An interest in science, environmental education, development and advocacy is encouraged.
Candidates must be 18 years of age or older. Exact dates can be flexible depending on the candidate.
This position will pay a $2,000 stipend.
If interested, please send your letter of interest and resume to internopps@mysticriver.org. No phone calls please. The Mystic River Watershed Association is an equal opportunity employer.
Deadline for application: January 18, 2015.
