January 11, 2009
To Everyone:
It's been an honor to serve as the Chairman of the Massachusetts/Rhode Island Council for the past three years. Over that time, I've had an opportunity to take a focused look and see firsthand the tremendous resources in our two states. I've met dedicated volunteers in every chapter who are committed to improving habitat for our coldwater species. My perspective, both personally, and in terms of understanding the river systems of our two states, has broadened significantly.
I believe TU in Massachusetts and Rhode Island is in good shape right now. The Council is functioning effectively; there is a spirit of camaraderie and purpose amongst our members. We've had great Council dinners each January, which have brought people together from across the region to share an evening of fellowship and renewed purpose.
This past year, TU has helped make the difference in getting another restoration project started on Hamant Brook in Sturbridge. We’ve continued with the historic restoration of Red Brook, and started work on another project in Wellfleet. Incoming Council Chairman Joe Overlock spearheaded projects which will lead to the removal of two dams in the Housic River watershed. With TU's support, the upper Housatonic River was declared by the state to be an area of critical environmental concern, adding another layer of protection to hundreds of stream miles on the mainstem and tributaries of that river.
Sadly, Lawson Cary, the force of nature from the Narragansett Chapter, is no longer with us. However, his spirit lives on as the members of his chapter continue work he started on identifying stream crossings and culverts that don't allow upstream and downstream migration of fish.
The Council also made significant contributions in 2008 and 2009 with regard to the impact of biomass plants on our rivers, streams and forests.
While the organization is stronger now than it was three years ago, I unfortunately did not accomplish all I had hoped. We still do not have a wild trout policy in Massachusetts. We still do not have good solid scientific data on where all the wild brook trout are in this state.
There are significant challenges facing TU in the coming years, organizationally and environmentally. We need to integrate the workings of the chapters and council better, so we function more effectively more consistently. We need to broaden our membership base, and reach out to younger people.
Flow rates in rivers --- making sure there is water in our rivers and streams and their tributaries --- is going to be a huge issue, and is unfolding quietly at this very moment.
The Massachusetts state DEP, and the regulatory system in place now, has compromised coldwater fisheries for the sake of economic development. There is a classification structure imbedded in state law which allows rivers such as the Westfield, to be classified as warm water fisheries in their lower reaches, despite the fact Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife has determined that trout live in these waters and despite the fact that the Westfield historically and currently has runs of Atlantic salmon.
The current administration in Massachusetts is perhaps the worst steward of our rivers and streams that I've seen in 20 years. Ironically, things were better under solidly Republican administrations, such as those of William Weld and Paul Cellucci. There is a push by Deval Patrick for "green" energy that is based more on a political agenda than on solid science, which is both sad and scary.
All of the large mainstem rivers in Massachusetts and countless tributaries are dammed, which breaks connectivity. Juvenile fish cannot traverse a river system to find the sustenance they need to grow larger. The dams facilitate thermal pollution, and create warmer temperatures on our rivers than would be there under a natural flow regime. And what's worse, the dams have been there so long, citizens now accept them as part of the way things are, and often times oppose restoration efforts because the ponds they've come to enjoy behind the dams will be gone.
There have been times in the past three years, as I've become more aware of some of these challenges, that I felt completely overwhelmed, and hopeless that things could ever be different. That has been the curse of my broadened perspective. I have found renewal though, when I visit a place like Red Brook, and see the stunning pictures of wild sea run brook trout, that have survived and prospered against all odds. I've found that same sense of renewal on a quiet late spring evening fishing the Nissitissit, watching the prolific sulphur hatch come off at dusk, and the tannic, smooth flowing snake of a stream gliding before me.
Renewal brings hope for me, and a sense of certainty that I cannot see into the future for sure. If I or we can clearly envision a future of free flowing rivers and wild trout, and the habitat to sustain these populations indefinitely, then it is just as likely we can live into this future vision as to accept the alternative --- broken rivers, degraded habitat, and an a numbing sense that the status quo is good enough.
Please continue your efforts to effect the change needed to bring our shared vision of wild trout and cold water to fruition.
Welcome Joe.
Thank you everyone for your commitment and support.
Sincerely,
Peter Schilling
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