| President's Message | Recent Events | Atlantic Salmon | | New Board Members | Sea Lamprey | Upcoming Events |
	The President's Message Dear Westfield River Watershed members and supporters: In a year of generally dismal budgetary news, I was encouraged recently that the state legislature overrode Governor Romney's veto of funding for the Massachusetts Riverways program. This small program has been very successful in attracting grant monies for river protection and restoration programs in the state. They were instrumental in coordinating the removal of the Silk Mill and Ballou Dams on Yokum Brook in Becket this past winter/spring, and will be involved in a culvert replacement project (funded by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) in the East Branch watershed over the next couple of years. More information is available through their website at http://www.state.ma.us/dfwele/River/riv_toc.htm On a more local level, an issue was brought to our attention recently and nearly simultaneously by several sources. The problem is a dramatic increase in the accumulation of litter at several of the turnouts from Rt. 20 along the main stem of the Westfield River in Russell and Huntington. Although one of the turnouts has a gazebo and picnic tables, none of them have litter barrels at present. Kathy Meyer, our first Vice President, has taken the lead in doing some cleanup work and in contacting the Conservation Commissions in both towns. The situation is rather complicated since the MA Highway Department is responsible for the turnouts, while the MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is responsible for the land along the river. One suggestion has been to limit the parking time at the turnouts to 30 minutes, but this has the disadvantage of discouraging access to the river by fishermen and boaters. Among a number of other possible solutions, we've considered trying to institute an "Adopt a Turnout" program, similar to those being operated along many highway segments. The idea would be that a person or group would take responsibility for cleaning up trash at a particular turnout on a regular basis, at least during the spring-fall seasons. If you'd be interested in adopting a site, please contact me. In any case, we're planning to include some of those sites in our list of places to clean during the annual River Cleanup, which will be held on October 4 this year. The River Cleanup has traditionally been our major fall event, but you'll find opportunities for some other volunteer activities (stream connectivity surveying) and some chances to simply get out and enjoy the watershed in the pages of this newsletter. We hope that you'll be able to join us. And, as always, check our website www.westfieldriver.org for additional information and programs as they are scheduled. Best, Mike Young President