volunteer to count fish!

The Mystic River Watershed Association will launch the fourth year of the Herring Monitoring Program on April 1st. Volunteer herring monitors are needed to count fish for a ten minute slot at the DCR Upper Mystic Lake Dam in Medford. Training will be held on Saturday, March 21st from 10am until noon at the Medford Boat Club. All herring monitors MUST REGISTER for this training (if you can’t make it on March 21st we’ll find another date to train you. If you have participated as a herring monitor in the past and would like to participate again in 2015 please register as well.)

Mystic River Watershed Initiative Science Forum - April 9th

The Mystic River Watershed Initiative Science Forum will be held on Thursday, April 9th in Court Room 6, on the 15th floor at EPA New England: 5 Post Office Square, Boston. We recommend arriving early to leave time for EPA's airport style security. Coffee and snacks are available for sale on the 3rd floor. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by emailing glivinski.elizabeth@epa.gov.

MYSTIC RIVER WATERSHED INITIATIVE SCIENCE FORUM AGENDA

Thursday, April 9, 2015
8:30 am to 1:00 pm
EPA Region 1
5 Post Office Square, Boston
Court Room 6

8:30      Sign-in

8:45      Welcome and Introduction, The EPA and the Consensus Building Institute

9:15      Conditions in Alewife Brook, Mystic River mouth and update on basin overenrichment, Kelly Coughlin and David Taylor, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA)

10:00    Modeling storm event phosphorus in Alewife Brook with respect to climate change, Kate Munson, Tufts University

10:30    State of the Mystic in 2014: Current conditions, trends, and new insights, Andy Hrycyna and Patrick Herron, Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA)

11:00    Break 

11:15    The Mystic River Watershed: CEHS and MIT Engineering field lab experiences for students past and present, Harry Hemond, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

11:45    Alewife Constructed Wetland: stormwater attenuation, water quality improvements, ecological enhancements and recreational opportunities, Catherine Woodbury, City of Cambridge

12:15    Opportunities for Coordination and Collaboration in 2015

 Consensus Building Institute

• Briefly share planned activities in 2015 - EPA, MyWRA, and Forum Participants

• Discuss opportunities to collaborate or coordinate efforts to better understand the conditions of the Mystic Watershed - All

• Feedback on Forum/Input for next year

12:55    Closing Comments, Patrick Herron, MyRWA

1:00      Adjourn

Summer 2015: Water Quality Monitoring Internship

Summer Internship with the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA)

The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) seeks two Water Quality Monitoring Interns to assist in a water quality monitoring program from late May through August.  Since 1972, MyRWA has played a unique role in the whole of the watershed by its science, advocacy, and outreach efforts. Among these efforts MyRWA characterizes water quality problems in the Mystic River Watershed, informing stakeholder efforts to reduce pollutant inputs and thereby improve water quality.

Water Quality Interns will conduct water quality monitoring at several sites across the watershed, collecting data on a variety of parameters, including bacteria. Interns will also collect data on cyanobacteria populations from several recreational sites to safeguard the public health of residents who live in the watershed. Data is shared with stakeholders including the public, municipalities, Department of Public Health and the US Environmental Protection Agency.  (Learn more about MyRWA’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program here.)

Interns will work both in and out of the office, and must be able to work independently and as a team. This is a part-time position that requires a commitment of two days a week during the Monday through Friday work week that are agreed upon between the interns (14-16 hours/week).  Start times of 7AM will be necessary, because of sampling protocols. Primary duties include monitoring local water bodies, collecting water samples (training provided), analysis of samples, and data entry.  Additional duties may include assisting with database and data reporting.  Interns will learn about the scientific tools applied to monitor water quality and the efforts that a watershed association undertakes to advocate for water quality improvements based on this information. 

Qualifications:

• An interest in science, the environment and advocacy is encouraged.

• Experience with Microsoft Excel preferred, Microsoft Access considered an asset.

• Having reliable transportation is strongly preferred, and mileage will be reimbursed.

Exact dates can be flexible depending on the candidate. These are unpaid positions.

The Mystic River Watershed Association is based in Arlington, MA and is accessible via several bus routes. 

The Mystic River Watershed Association is an equal opportunity employer.

Deadline to apply is March 15 but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting February 15, 2015.  To apply send your cover letter and resume to WQInternship@MysticRiver.org.  No phone calls please.

2014 Year In Review Now Available

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.

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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.