Cleaning up the Mystic River – Water Chestnut Removal to Begin

Volunteers remove water chestnut from the Mystic River.

On Wednesday, June 15 the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) will launch the seventh year of water chestnut removal efforts. Native to Asia, Europe and Africa, water chestnut thrives in the nutrient rich waters of the Mystic River Watershed, including the Arlington Reservoir– in some places extending nearly shore to shore. This vegetative mat impedes boating, fishing, and swimming and crowds out native plants. Additionally, the decomposition of large quantities of water chestnuts lowers dissolved oxygen, which can lead to fish kills.

Volunteers from the local area will hand-pull this invasive plant from the Arlington Reservoir – an initiative funded through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Program. Bank of America, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FedEx, Southern Company and Alcoa participate in this conservation program in support of the environment and helping our local communities.

MyRWA partners with corporations, local businesses, and community groups throughout the summer to offer fun and rewarding group volunteer opportunities. Using canoes, volunteers pull water chestnuts out of the water by hand and collect the material on shore for composting.

Additional events are scheduled for the community to be involved on Saturdays, June 18th, July 16th and July 30th. Events run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All supplies are provided for these family-friendly events. The June 18th event will tackle water chestnut at the Arlington Reservoir on Lowell St. Check the website for locations of the July events. Boats are limited so please register in advance at www.mysticriver.org/water-chestnut-removal-project/.

If you have any questions contact the Water Chestnut Project Coordinator at waterchestnut@MysticRiver.org.

Mystic River Water Quality Grade Announced

US EPA Regional Administrator Curt Spalding, MyRWA Executive Director EkOngKar Singh Khalsa, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, US Congressman Michael Capuano

For the second year the US EPA issued localized water quality grades to provide information on how frequently Mystic waterbodies meet standards for swimming and boating. We are pleased to share that the Mystic River (fresh and salt water sections) received an A- , the Mystic Lakes an A+ and Chelsea Creek an A-. These water bodies meet bacteria standards for swimming and boating on average greater than 85% of the time. That's right -the Mystic River is a great place to go boating and the Mystic Lakes are a great place for a swim! The grade also shows that much work lies ahead in realizing the promise of the Clean Water Act in many of our water bodies. For example, the Malden River is a C, the Aberjona River is a C+ and Alewife Brook is a D. Please explore conditions and read the US EPA press release. View a map here.

DCR Recreational Advisory: Temporary Path Closures in Medford’s MacDonald Park

Press release from the MA DCR:

DCR Recreational Advisory: Temporary Path Closures in Medford’s MacDonald Park

WHAT:           On or about Wednesday, June 1, 2016, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will be closing segments of the MacDonald Park Pathway System for reconstruction and restoration.

Sections of this pathway are suffering from unsafe edges, pavement deterioration and root damage. The project will include reconstruction, rerouting, loam and seeding shoulders and erosion controls to protect the adjacent Mystic River. The DCR will also be removing one segment of overgrown and unsafe asphalt path.

Alternative routes will be open and available along Mystic Valley Parkway.

WHERE:         MacDonald Park, Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford
WHEN:           Expected, Wednesday, June 1 to June 30, 2016

Children's theater production about the Mystic!

Wild Tales presents “SONG OF THE RIVER” - a children’s theater production about the Mystic River. The play explores the effect that invasive water plants have on the river’s well-being, and it is filled with a fanciful collection of birds, fish, dragonflies, mermaids, people and a big orange harvester named Hannah. It is being performed at SCATV (Somerville Community Access TV) in Union Square on Saturday, June 11th at 2:00. It is free and funded by a grant from the Somerville Arts Council.

MyRWA speaks out in support of CLF lawsuit

Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) president Bradley Campbell announced a major lawsuit against ExxonMobil for its decades-long climate deceit on May 17th. This is the first lawsuit against ExxonMobil since revelations last September that the corporation has engaged in a deliberate cover-up of sound climate science for over thirty years. The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) and Chelsea Green Space joined Campbell at the press conference.

MyRWA's Executive Director, EkOngKar Singh Khalsa.

MyRWA's Executive Director EkOngKar Singh Khalsa gave the following comments:

The Mystic is a great river, a river of history. Mystic River communities are among the most diverse and densely developed in the Commonwealth and for the past forty years many people and many organizations including the Mystic River Watershed Association have fought to restore the river to good health. 

As a result, it is very disappointing to learn that ExxonMobil is violating its own Federal permit and regularly discharging pollution to the Mystic River. It is very disheartening to learn that ExxonMobil has done nothing at its Everett facility to protect the community from climate change impacts which it has apparently known are coming for quite some time. 

In the Mystic right now, one of New England’s largest migrations of river herring is underway. Hundreds of thousands of fish will pass up the Mystic River and through the Mystic Lakes dam to spawn in Upper Mystic Lake. This wonderful natural phenomena, which has continued without break for the last ten thousand years, needs to be protected. This river is a living system visited by striped bass and harbor seals - where wildlife seeks refuge and eagles fly overhead. 

In the City of Everett great effort is being made to reconnect the community to its waterfront at the Wynn Resorts site and elsewhere. Just one half-mile up river from where we are, the City of Somerville and Federal Realty are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to improve life on the river’s banks at Assembly Row. John Preotle is restoring the Malden River at River’s Edge and Tufts University has brought its rowing team to practice there. 

In Chelsea, Everett and East Boston, local community activists are finding ways to bring people to the river, inspire young students to learn more about the local environment and to provide outdoor recreation opportunities for Mystic River communities. 

It is tremendously unfair that one of the world’s largest corporations is putting all of this work in jeopardy. It is time for ExxonMobil to step up to the plate to address the ongoing harm it is causing our river and our community. 

We are very grateful that Conservation Law Foundation is holding ExxonMobil accountable for its actions and for CLF’s promise to help protect and restore the natural environment of the Mystic River.

--------------------------------

View a video of the press conference on CLF's Facebook page (you don't need to sign-in to Facebook or have an account to watch this.) 

Watch EK's WGBH interview.

Read the WBUR and Boston Globe coverage.

What is your vision for Macdonald Park?

Mystic River Watershed Association is collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to revitalize Macdonald Park, the Mystic River's largest parkland and open space amenity. This is an important project of MyRWA’s Mystic Greenway Initiative - a multi-year effort to revitalize the waterfront with a seamless network of paths and parks.

To make this park one that is used and treasured by the thousands of people that live, work and play in the area, we need to hear from you! Please fill out this survey or draft a letter to DCR by May 26th to share your ideas for this park revitalization project.

Survey
What is your vision for Macdonald Park? Give us feedback in the survey.

DCR Presentation
To see more information on the park improvement in the DCR’s presentation from May 11th. 

The public is invited to submit comments after the meeting either online or by U.S. mail addressed to the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Office of Public Outreach, 251 Causeway Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA. Comments must be received by DCR by the close-of-business on Thursday, May 26.

Swimming Upstream: Bringing Herring Back to Winchester

By John Kilborn, Winchester resident, with help from John Shawcross, Ann Storer, and Beth MacBlane

The Mystic River watershed, including the Aberjona River in Winchester, supports one of the largest upstream runs, or migrations, of river herring in Massachusetts. Efforts are underway to build a fish ladder in Winchester, which could increase the number of migrating herring, perhaps making the migration the largest in the Commonwealth.

Each spring, schools of river herring swim up the Mystic River from the Atlantic to spawn (lay eggs) in the fresh waters of the watershed.  The adults quickly return to the ocean after spawning, but the juvenile fish grow and migrate back to the ocean in late summer and fall.  Most herring spawn in the same river system where they were hatched. 

These small but numerous fish are an important part of the ecosystem.  They provide food for marine mammals like whales; land animals; fish, such as striped bass; and local birds, such as, herons and eagles. 

Historical records discovered by the Town Archivist from the 1870s confirm that there was an active herring run into Winchester, and “great numbers” of herring were taken for food and other purposes.  In 1870, Winchester built a fishway over the Central Falls dam in Winchester center at Main Street.  In 1872, it was reported that the herring “swarmed in our waters last spring.”  

But by the early 1900s, the herring migration was likely blocked by dams and other man-made obstructions, and water quality was poor.  In 2011, however, the state constructed a fish ladder in the Mystic Lakes dam that allows the herring to bypass the dam and swim farther upstream.  This ladder has opened up significant new habitat suitable for herring reproduction.  In 2015, the number of fish using the ladder almost doubled, perhaps as a result of the additional habitat.

Winchester's Central Falls Dam. © David Mussina.

The fish are now blocked by Winchester’s Central Falls dam.  (This is this semi-circular dam next to Lincoln School and across from the Library.)  Last June, thousands of fish were stuck in front of the dam, and observers said that it looked as if you could cross the river on the backs of the herring.  When the dam’s floodgates were opened, the fish quickly swam up river—all the way to Horn Pond in Woburn, which could provide significant new breeding habitat.     

Local volunteers, Town of Winchester officials, and the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) have been working to install a fish ladder in Winchester’s Central Falls dam.  This ladder will allow the herring to pass up and down river, while allowing the Town to control the water levels of the Mill Pond by the library.

With funding from the En Ka Society, MyRWA tested the quality of the Aberjona for two years to ensure that it was good enough for spawning and fish growth. Although the Aberjona has some water quality impairments, none are significant enough to stop the migration.

The good news is that construction of a fish ladder at Winchester’s Central Falls dam may begin this November. Agreements for the construction are not yet complete, but a final design is being prepared.  The performing parties at a Superfund cleanup site in Woburn have preliminarily agreed to fund construction of the ladder.  In addition, the state will make improvements to a spillway in Horn Pond to ease fish passage into Horn Pond.  If the fish can get up to Horn Pond, the Mystic River watershed has the potential to support the largest run of herring in Massachusetts.

This community effort to construct these fish ladders is a critical step in restoring the Aberjona and larger watershed.  The fish ladders will open new herring habitat that will help increase the herring population.  That, in turn, will support many other kinds of wildlife.  Winchester has a unique opportunity to restore the herring migration to its past glory.  The Aberjona can again become a living river, and we can all see the herring in their “great numbers.”

Massachusetts Organizations and Residents Recognized by EPA for Environmental Achievements

MyRWA is thrilled to share that Roger Frymire, long-time MyRWA volunteer and activist, received the US EPA Lifetime Merit Award! Additionally, former Mayor of the City of Medford Michael McGlynn and strong supporter of water chestnut removal efforts received the US EPA Lifetime Merit Award. MyRWA offers our deepest gratitude and congratulations to both awardees!

---- Courtesy US EPA Press Release -----

Sixteen winners from Massachusetts were recognized today at the 2016 Environmental Merit Awards ceremony of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s New England regional office. The environmental leaders were among three dozen recipients across New England honored for helping to improve New England’s environment.

Each year EPA New England recognizes individuals and groups in the six New England states who have worked to protect or improve the region’s environment in distinct ways. The merit awards, given out since 1970, honor individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts.

“We are proud to honor those citizens, businesses and organizations who have gone the extra mile to help protect and preserve our region’s natural resources,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “These New England award winners are committed to making our towns, cities and countryside of New England healthy, vibrant places with clean air, land and water.”

The Environmental Merit Awards, which are given to people who have already taken action, are awarded in the categories of individual; business (including professional organizations); local, state or federal government; and environmental, community, academia or nonprofit organization. Also, each year EPA presents lifetime achievement awards for individuals.

Roger Frymire

Mystic River Watershed Association
With his kayak strapped faithfully to the roof of his car, Roger Frymire is a reliable and resourceful volunteer for the Mystic River Watershed Association. For the past 20 years, Frymire has monitored water quality for the association. He helped design and put in place monitoring programs that illuminate environmental conditions in the watershed, and his work has brought attention to the Mystic River, Malden River, Aberjona River, Chelsea Creek, Alewife Brook and the Mystic Lakes. Beginning in 1999, Frymire helped the Mystic Monitoring Network develop into one of New England’s finest water quality monitoring programs. Frymire volunteered countless hours collecting water samples and, as part of the Mystic Monitoring team, shared his important insight into monitoring design and data control.

In addition, Frymire was a one-man “find it and fix it” team. In his own words, he is a “retired codger who enjoyed kayaking but didn’t think rivers should smell like cesspools.” On many kayak trips, Frymire took more than 2000 samples for fecal bacteria analysis to identify the sources of the problems, bring attention to water conditions and get the problems solved. His efforts helped the rivers and led to many victories in the Mystic. Frymire has received multiple awards from environmental groups and the city of Cambridge.

Frymire began sampling with the Charles River Watershed Association and soon after began working in the Mystic, Merrimac and Salem Sound watersheds. He worked in every kind of weather and in every season. He was a consultant to USGS, EPA, the Army Corp of Engineers, the US Geological Survey, the state and the Center for Watershed Protection, and has given expert testimony at countless public hearings and meetings. His work has been featured on TV; in the Boston Globe; on NPR’s Living on the Earth; and in Mother Jones magazine, as well as numerous other publications. In these stories, Frymire always turns attention from himself to focus on the environment and on local non-profit advocates. With this Lifetime Achievement Award, EPA and the environmental community offer sincere thanks to Roger Frymire for his dedicated stewardship.

The Honorable Michael J. McGlynn

Medford, Massachusetts

As the longest serving mayor in Massachusetts, Michael J. McGlynn was Mayor of Medford, Massachusetts from 1987 until his retirement last year. His progressive leadership on energy and environmental issues spanned almost 20 years of policies and programs. Under McGlynn’s leadership, the city saw a long list of achievements. Among the most notable was the 2009 construction of a wind turbine that provides 10 percent of the power for the McGlynn School, saving $25,000 a year in electric bills and providing enough energy to offset about 133 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, Medford was the first EPA Clean School Bus Project recipient in the country to not only manage the program for Medford, but also for 12 other regional communities served by the same bus company. The city had the first Municipal Climate Action Plan in the state, and received the 2004 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award for its innovations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under McGlynn’s leadership the city also put into place a solar program that resulted in Medford residents contracting 322 kilowatts of solar power. The city was recognized for its recycling and sustain¬ability practices, its energy and environmental initiatives, as well as its Go Green Medford initiative. During nearly three decades of leadership, Mayor McGlynn made a lifetime of difference for the city of Medford.

Welcome Amber!

MyRWA is happy to announce the start our newest employee, Amber Christoffersen. Amber will serve as the Mystic Greenways Director and will manage the new Mystic Greenways Initiative which aims to revitalize our waterfront parks. Prior to joining MyRWA, she launched and led the Emerald Network, a vision for 200 miles of seamless greenways in Metro Boston. She holds a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the College of William and Mary.

Please say hello to Amber at the May 11 DCR public meeting regarding Medford’s MacDonald Park or at the May 15 Herring Run and Paddle. If you're interested in getting involved with this initiative as it develops, please sign up here.

Witness the Herring Migration!

The return of the herring is a sure sign of spring for Mystic River communities, and the Mystic River Watershed Association is happy to offer the public an opportunity to view this annual migration. Join us for an open house at the DCR Upper Mystic Lake Dam on Mystic Valley Parkway in Medford to learn more about the Blueback and Alewife Herring.  If you would like to coordinate a group visit, please contact the Association at 781-316-3438.  Read more about the Herring Monitoring Program.

Fish Ladder Open House Dates:

• Sunday, May 15th, 12pm- 3pm

• Wednesday, May 18th, 3pm - 7pm

• Saturday, May 21st, 9:00 am - noon

We hope to see you there!