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	The President's Message Dear Westfield River Watershed members and supporters: Thanks for your support of WRWA through your annual membership dues. Those dues cover the basic operating expenses of our Association, and give us the resources to take on a variety of local projects. The new year is looking like a particularly busy one for WRWA, with both old and new programs on the horizon. As we have for the past several years, WRWA is providing equipment and support for the Atlantic Salmon Egg Rearing Program (ASERP) in several local schools this winter/spring. If you'd like to see a tank in operation, stop by the Elementary Science Education classroom at Westfield State College during our 10th Annual River Symposium on March 27. The theme of this year's symposium is "habitat" and the keynote speaker will be Wayne McCallum, director of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. A variety of talks in the morning will be followed by one or two local field trips in the afternoon. We're hoping to exceed the turnouts of approximately 150 that the last two symposia have attracted. We also anticipate continuing our tradition of offering volunteer assistance for the state salmon fry stocking program in April and May. The schedule of local stocking days should be available on our website by early April, and WRWA usually plays a primary role in recruiting volunteers for one or two weekend days. Other spring events include our Annual Dinner meeting on May 6, the open house at the fishway in West Springfield (date to be arranged), and the canoe cruise on the lower Westfield River on June 5. Several newer initiatives are also slated to begin in the next few months. The most ambitious of those projects is a storm drain stenciling program, for which WRWA has received a grant of $950 from Northeast Utilities. During the summer months, with the help of local scouting groups, we are planning to stencil hundreds of storm drains in the towns of West Springfield (supported by the NU grant) and Westfield (supported by general operating funds of WRWA). There will definitely be opportunities for WRWA members to get involved in this project - keep an eye on the website for details, or contact Joan Pearsons, who's taking the lead on this project. Gabe Khatchadourian is working on putting together a fly-fishing derby in early April - an event that we hope will become an annual spring ritual and may even raise a little money for the Association. Finally, the Education Committee, under the guidance of Carl Grobe, is working to find and archive stories and photographs of the 1955 floods along the Westfield River. We're planning to hold a commemorative event in August, 2005 - marking the 50th anniversary of those floods. If you have, or know of some one who has, personal stories or materials relating to the floods, please contact Eileen Rannenberg, who's agreed to compile a list of potential sources for this project. Again, thank you for your support. We hope that you'll find time to become personally involved in one or more of these projects during the coming months - they provide wonderful opportunities for connecting to your watershed! Best, Mike Young President