Millers River Watershed Council

Nov. 29 2017 Annual Meeting The Year in Review

Healthy waters for healthy communities Connecting People & Rivers

•Expanding River Access: Recreational Blue Trails

• Protecting the Watershed: Water Monitoring & Volunteer Stewardship

• Art & Education

Millers River Blue Trail: Athol-Orange Segment (2012)

 2nd edition of Blue Trail Map/Guide printed October, 2017

 Accessible Dock installation @ Cass Meadow

 Solstice paddle

Upper Otter and Upper Millers-Lower Otter Blue Trails and Map/Guide

Upper Millers- Lower Otter BT Upper Otter BT Upper Millers-Lower Otter BT: Inaugural Paddle Upper Millers-Lower Otter BT: Signage installed @ 9 road sites Upper Otter BT: Cummings Conservation Area Signage - Gardner Water Monitoring: A multi-year summary Water Monitoring: List of water bodies tested

Millers River Watershed Council

Water Quality Monitoring Activities: 2010-17

Water Body: Bacteria Temp: Temp: Benthic Flow 1-2 3+ River, Brook, etc. Probe Volunteer Macro- years years invert Millers-Winchendon X X • 2010-17 Millers-Lake Mono. X X Millers-Rt. 12 X X Millers-ORSF X X Millers-Athol (3) X X Millers-Orange (2) X X Millers-Erving X X Millers- Millers Falls X X X Otter-Rt. 2A X X Otter-Rt. 101 X X Otter-Bridge St. X X • 52 water bodies Otter-Baldwinville X X Otter-Millers X X confluence Otter-Hamlett Mill X X Otter-Whitney Pond X X tested Otter headwater X X Priest Brook X X Tarbell Brook X X X X Templeton Brook X X X Foster Brook X X Pond Brook X X Hubbardston Brook X X Bailey Brook X X X X Wilder Brook X X Trout Brook (2) X X • Millers R.: 11 sites Bluefield Brook X X Bear Meadow Brook X X Dunn Brook X X Kendall Brook X X Beaver Brook (2) X X Rich Brook X X Thousand Acre Bk. X X X Lawrence Brook X X E. Branch Tully R. (2) X X • Otter R.: 8 sites Boyce Brook X X Collar Brook X X W. Branch Tully R. X X Mill Brook-Athol X X X Ellinwood Brook X X X Riceville Brook X X Lake Rohunta outfall X X West Brook X X Orcott Brook X X Moss Brook X X X • Tributaries: 36 Darling Brook X X Laurel Lake outfall X X Whetstone Brook X X X X Osgood Brook X X X Keyup Brook (2) X X X X sites Jacks Brook X X Briggs Brook X X X Mormon Hollow Bk. X X X

(#) denotes number of sites tested

Water Monitoring 2017: Bacteria – 9 watershed sites Water Monitoring 2017: Benthic Macro-Invertebrates (bugs!) Water Monitoring 2017: Benthic Macro-Invertebrates (bugs!)

Millers River Watershed Council, Inc.

MRWC Stream BMI Monitoring Program 2017 Summary

MRWC visited (3) streams in the late summer of 2017 to add to its BMI program data. Monitoring the bottom dwelling (benthic) aquatic insects of a stream is a useful indicator of stream health.

Volunteers were an integral part of this program, particularly in the colection and sorting of samples.

MRWC sampled the following (3) streams: o Thousand Acre Brook, Phillipston o Bailey Brook, Gardner o Mill Brook, Athol

(6) points on each stream were sampled by a “kick” method, then samples were sorted by insect type for detailed identification by an aquatic biologist. The type and quanity of each species help to identify the relative health of the stream.

Results were: Thousand Acre Brook – very good/excellent Bailey brook – very good (high iron?) Mill Brook – good/very good (for an urban stream)

A full report will be prepared over the Winter.

Water Monitoring 2017: Temperature/Adopt-a-Stream

MRWC 2017 Adopt-a-StreamMonitoring: Weekly Stream Temperature/pH Survey Waterbodies Sampled June-September, 2017 (East to West)

: Keyup Brook, Erving Jacks Brook, Erving Briggs Brook, Farley/Erving

Moss Brook, Warwick Darling Brook, Warwick

West Brook, Athol Mill Brook, Athol

Lawrence Brook, Royalston Lower Beaver Brook, S. Royalston Rich Bk, S. Royalston

Bailey Brook, Gardner Wilder Brook, Gardner Tarbell Brook, Winchendon

Templeton Brook, Hubbardston/Templeton Otter headwaters, Hubbardston

Foster Brook, Gardner Pond Brook, Gardner Hubbardston Brook, Gardner

18 Streams Monitored

Art: Capturing the watershed’s beauty and ability to inspire!

• Plein-Air (outdoor) Painting Contest & Exhibition

• More painting and photography activities in 2018!

• Painting by Bruce Dean Blue Trail Stewardship

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• Stewardship Guide for Trail Stewardship Guide volunteers 2017 • Seeking volunteers for Contents: The Trails 2018 and beyond! What needs maintaining Stewardship Teams Schedule(s) Maintenance & Ecological Balance Safety Considerations Appendices

Please Support MRWC!

• Help protect the Millers River watershed: its rivers, streams, forests and wildlife—and keep them healthy.

• Healthy waters for healthy communities!

• Donate online at www.millerswatershed.org, or send check to MRWC at 100 Main Street, Athol MA 01331. Thank you!