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	WRWA Audit The WRWA Audit Committee of Robert Bristow, Gabe Khatchadourian, and Mike Young met twice in May to reconcile WRWA's accounts for 2002. In addition to balancing the books, the group tallied up expenditures by category to better assess where our money is being spent. An immediate result was the transfer of our long distance phone account to another carrier, saving about $100 per year. A special thanks goes to Laurie Padykula, a local CPA who volunteered several hours of her time to help us produce a much more professional audit. Members may request a copy of WRWA's financials from our treasurer Ken Taylor. Botany Walk On Saturday, May 31 about 15 people joined biologist Dave Lovejoy for a walk through Stanley Park. Despite a cold and the threat of impending rain, Dave shared his vast knowledge of the region's botany for more than 2 hours as we wandered toward the Little River section of the park. Dozens of plant species (including trees, shrubs and wildflowers) along with a few species of mammals and birds were tallied and the list was submitted to the Biodiversity Days data base. Thanks to Dave for leading the walk and fielding so many questions. Keystone Arches Bridges Walk Fifteen people enjoyed a fascinating walk along the Keystone Arches Bridges Trail led by David Pierce of Friends of the Keystone Arches on June 21. Dave is a local expert on the Bridges and helped build the trail that leads to these magnificent structures. The Arches Bridges are railroad bridges that were designed in 1836 by Maj. George Washington Whistler Whistler's Father - no kidding!) and are part of the first stretch of railroad crossing a mountain. Techniques developed here made crossing the Rocky Mountains possible 30 years later. The Keystone Arches Bridges are in amazingly good condition, considering that they are 170 years old. The Bridges cross a spectacular section of the West Branch of the Westfield River, a portion of the river that has "Wild & Scenic" status, so the scenery is awesome with some of the Bridges towering 80 feet over the river. If you missed this wonderful walk, you can get a map from Friends of Keystone Arches, PO Box 276, Huntington, MA 01050. (Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope) . Railroad lovers, local history buffs, and hikers would all enjoy this trail. The total round-trip distance is about 5.5 miles. Stream Connectivity Workshop Streams provide habitat for many organisms and also provide natural corridors for the movement of others. The construction of bridges and culverts may cause fragmentation of fish habitat, leading to the isolation of populations and, in some cases, local extinction of species. These barriers may also affect species that move along the stream corridor. On Saturday, June 21 about 15 people attended a morning workshop on surveying local bridges and culverts to assess their impact on wildlife. The workshop was led by F.M. Walk of the UMass Extension Office and involved instruction in the use of a survey instrument developed by researchers at UMass. Late in the morning the group went out to a site along Loomis Road in Westfield for a "hands-on" experience in filling out the form, and many of the participants spent much of the afternoon continuing the survey along Munn Brook and its tributaries. In all, about 50 structures were surveyed. Ultimately, WRWA and other groups, hope to survey the entire Westfield River watershed, with a view toward identifying those structures that produce the most significant fragmentation. With that knowledge, we plan to lobby town and state DPWs to replace or modify those structures - restoring much of the stream connectivity that originally existed within the watershed. Another surveying Saturday is planned for September 27, with initial assembly at Westfield State College. Contact Mike Young (572-5741) for information. Our thanks to Carrie Banks of the Westfield River Wild & Scenic Advisory Committee and to Alison Bowden of the Nature Conservancy, who helped to organize the event. Thanks also to WRWA members Thomas Eaton, James Jensen, Marj Lehan, Leon Polthier and Alex Trzasko who participated in the surveying. Finally, thanks to Amy Reifsnyder who reported on the project for the Country Journal.