Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife 2018 Annual Report 147 Annual Report 2018 Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife Jack Buckley Director (July 2017–May 2018) Mark S. Tisa, Ph.D., M.B.A. Acting Director (May–June 2018) 149 Table of Contents 2 The Board Reports 6 Fisheries 42 Wildlife 66 Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program 82 Information & Education 95 Archivist 96 Hunter Education 98 District Reports 124 Wildlife Lands 134 Federal Aid 136 Staff and Agency Recognition 137 Personnel Report 140 Financial Report Appendix A Appendix B About the Cover: MassWildlife staff prepare to stock trout at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester with the help of the public. Photo by Troy Gipps/MassWildlife Back Cover: A cow moose stands in a Massachusetts bog. Photo by Bill Byrne/MassWildlife Printed on Recycled Paper. ELECTRONIC VERSION 1 The Board Reports Joseph S. Larson, Ph.D. Chairperson Overview fective April 30, 2018, and the Board voted the appoint- ment of Deputy Director Mark Tisa as Acting Director, The Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board con- effective Mr. Buckley’s retirement. The Board -mem sists of seven persons appointed by the Governor to bers expressed their gratitude and admiration to the 5-year terms. By law, the individuals appointed to the outgoing Director for his close involvement in develop- Board are volunteers, receiving no remuneration for ing his staff and his many accomplishments during his their service to the Commonwealth. Five of the sev- tenure, not only as Director but over his many years as en are selected on a regional basis, with one member, Deputy Director in charge of Administration, primarily by statute, representing agricultural interests. The two responsible for personnel, legislative relations, and the remaining seats are held by a professional wildlife biol- Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. ogist or wildlife manager and one representative with a specific interest in the management and restoration Administrative Matters of wildlife populations not classified as game species. The Board oversees operations of the Massachusetts Board Elections Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, reviews the agency’s The Board held its annual election of officers during the programs, and sets policy and regulations pertinent to October Board meeting, reelecting Dr. Joseph Larson wildlife in the Commonwealth. to be the Chair, Mr. Michael Roche as the Vice Chair, and Ms. Bonnie Booth as the Secretary of the Board. The Board has continued its tradition this year of hold- ing monthly meetings at locations around the state, Review of MassWildlife’s Funding Mechanisms holding public hearings on proposed regulatory chang- Director Buckley reviewed MassWildlife’s major reve- es, and addressing many issues of specific concern. nue sources and discussed the agency’s finances in a While many different matters and issues are brought brief presentation during the January meeting. In the before the Board each year, most of its meeting time ensuing discussion, the Director was asked what he is spent in review and scrutiny of proposals for regula- thought the chances were of the Blue Ribbon Panel’s tory changes and of agency programs. The Board also recommendations [i.e., the federal Recovering Amer- incorporates brief reports or comments from the Com- ica’s Wildlife initiative] being passed into law. He said missioner of the Department of Fish and Game and about 50%-50%, given the fact that the act would man- from a representative of the Massachusetts Environ- date a reallocation of existing leases rather than new mental Police in the agenda of every meeting. Anyone federal revenue. interested in the details of the monthly meetings of the Board is referred to the archive of approved Board Adopted Regulations and Other Votes of the Board meeting minutes the staff maintains on MassWildlife’s website. 321 CMR 3.02(4)(o); Wildlife Management Zones Assistant Director for Wildlife Michael Huguenin pro- This report is organized topically, then roughly chrono- vided the staff justification for and specific details of logically within each topic. This predictable structure an exercise to clean up many of the boundaries of the allows relatively easy searching and comparison of the state’s Wildlife Management Zones in a public hear- Board’s annual reports year over year. ing during the September Board meeting. The Direc- tor then reported in December that no comments The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife began a new had been received in the public comment period and chapter toward the end of FY 18, when Director Jack reminded the Board that the changes were of a clar- Buckley formally announced his intention to retire, -ef ifying, ‘housekeeping’ nature. He asked whether the 2 Board required any additional information before tak- of dog waste on MassWildlife Wildlife Management ing its vote; none was required, and the vote in favor Areas. At the March meeting, Mr. Zimmer provided was unanimous. the Board with a detailed analysis of the comments received during the hearing and the written comment 2018–2019 Migratory Bird Hunting Seasons period. He reported that the agency had received a In February, the Board heard the staff’s proposals; in total of 229 public comments on the proposed regu- April, it held the public hearing; and, at the close of the lation, and stated that MassWildlife staff reviewed all hearing, during a discussion of the proposal, it voted to of the comments and had prepared a summary for the change the proposed opening day in the Central Wild- Board’s use and consideration. Based on a review of life District back to the day after the opening in the the public comments, MassWildlife staff offered rec- Western District, so that the two districts had different ommendations for the Board to consider amending opening days, as has been traditional. The Board then the proposed regulations to require all persons (includ- voted unanimously to adopt the regulation package. ing hunters and sporting dog trainers) to immediately For the final regulations, see the Waterfowl sub-report collect dog feces within designated parking areas and in the Wildlife Section of this Annual Report on page within 100 feet of designated parking areas for dispos- 47). al off-site, while maintaining the exemption from feces collection/removal for hunters and sporting dog train- Extended Archery Deer Season in Certain Zones ers on the wildlife management area greater than 100 A public hearing was held the evening of the day of feet from designated parking areas, to add the word the April meeting to hear a presentation from staff and physical before the word leash in Subsection (i) to fur- comments from the public on a proposal to extend the ther clarify that a physical leash (and not a “virtual or Archery Deer season to begin 2 weeks earlier in Wild- electronic leash”) is required, and to strike language life Management Zones 10-14, for a total season of 6 from Subsection (ii) that staff agreed was vague and weeks in those zones. In May, after a discussion and difficult to enforce. consideration of the comments received during the hearing and the written comment period, the Board After Mr. Zimmer’s discussion, the Board members vot- voted unanimously to accept the change as proposed. ed separately on each of three amendments (as above) For details of the final regulation, see the deer man- to the proposed regulations. During the first discussion agement sub-report in the Wildlife Section of this An- thereof, Mr. Foster disclosed that he was not voting nual Report on page 51). nor participating in any way in any aspect of the mat- ter because an advocacy group had used his name in 2017 Annual Deer Review and 2018 Antlerless Deer a letter in support of the regulations, though without Permit Allocation Recommendations his knowledge or permission. All three votes were five Deer and Moose Project Leader David Stainbrook pre- members in favor (Dr. Van Roo was not in attendance), sented the annual Deer Review to the Board at its June with a recusal from Mr. Foster. meeting. He also presented the staff recommendation for the 2018 Antlerless Deer Permit (ADP) allocations, Secretary Booth then moved that the entire regulatory which were unanimously approved by the Board. proposal be accepted as amended; Mr. Winthrop sec- Please refer to page 53 in the Wildlife Section of this onded the motion. Chair Larson stated in the ensuing Annual Report for the details of the review and of the discussion that, after the hearing, he had been given ADP allocations for 2018. a copy of the document used at Callahan State Park to establish a dog park as an example or model for Proposals for New, Updated, or Amended Regulations MassWildlife to follow. He cited the authority under Ch. 21, sec. 17D, which allows DCR to create these dog Leashing of Dogs and Restraint of Domesticated Ani- parks. He thought this was a lot of responsibility for mals on MassWildlife Wildlife Management Areas the DCR to have accepted, and, interested, he looked Southeast Wildlife District Manager Jason Zimmer at the DCR website and found that the DCR has 20 dog provided the Board with a detailed report during the parks distributed across the state, with opportunities January Board meeting on the staff’s recommenda- to create formal dog parks on all its other areas. He re- tion to require the leashing of dogs and the removal ported that each one entails a substantial commitment 3 from proponents to raise funds and provide volunteer extreme need. He stated that it provided experience support. The final vote to accept was five members in and training for MassWildlife and DCR firefighters for favor, with the recusal from Mr. Foster. prescribed burning, and helped improve the efficiency, safety, and other technical aspects of prescribed fire Agency Program Reviews on MassWildlife lands.