Watershed News June 2015

President’s Message Watershed awareness and education are valuable on We have worked hard as a community over the past many levels. Our dependence on water resources is 50 years—with considerable success— to clean our so complete that being conscious of our use, conser- rivers, reducing harmful pollutants, sanctioning trans- vation and protection of them is fundamental to the gressors, and remaining vigilant for new sources of resilience of our cities and towns, and to our very pollution. This work continues but it is now joined by survival on this Earth. Ideally, watershed conscious- increasing attention to the patterns of drainage within ness enables us to visualize these connections from the cities, towns, subdivisions and yards of our wa- tiny mountain rivulets and streams, to our faucets and tershed. Designing landscapes that can ‘slow, spread all the way to the sea. and sink’ rainfall using bioswales, retention areas, and The drought in California appears to be so thorough- rain gardens is important work that is expanding to going at this point that the viability of one of our support the natural functions of our wetlands. Keep key food supply chains is being called into question. your eyes out for such features in your own com- Our own recent spring drought, while certainly not munity and consider how you might develop similar unheard of, none-the-less has challenged local farm- processes in your own yard. ers, nurseries and landscapers to think more about Well, summer’s here and we look forward to seeing the systems that support our local economy. What you on the river for the Canoe Cruise! Enjoy! types of land use practices do we need in order to face Brian W. Conz the likely prospect of worsening droughts and more WRWA President intense rainfall events?

Upcoming events…

Westfield River Canoe/Kayak Cruise – June 20, 2015 by Fran Siska Great River Bridges in Westfield (accessible from The WRWA annual canoe/kayak paddle on the West- Meadow St). After registration canoes & kayaks will field River is scheduled for Saturday June 20, 2015. It be dropped off at the end of Hanover St. where we is of course dependent on the weather and river condi- will arrange a shuttle for participants to park their cars tions, although the recent rains have helped the water at the end of the cruise in and flow so everything should be fine. be returned to the launch area. Due to the increasing popularity of this event, we’re planning on using a The Cruise runs from downtown Westfield to Rob- larger Bus to improve transportation and reduce wait- inson State Park – in conjunction with Robinson ing times. We will start the cruise at 11:00 am. State Park Day, hosted by the Friends of Robinson State Park. Registration will take place from 10:00 This 6-7 mile paddle is mostly flat water, with a to 11:00 a.m. at the parking area just east of the couple of quick water sections, and usually takes over 3 hours to complete. We will have personnel on the river to help paddlers negotiate difficult ar- The cost is $10.00 per paddler and $20.00 per fam- eas. You may be asked to portage your craft around ily to cover insurance cost and snacks at the end of difficult areas. the cruise. Please call Fran Siska 413-562-4998 for The cruise is always very enjoyable and you will additional information. likely see many birds, fish and wild animals in and around the river.

Storm Drain Labeling in Southwick by Mike Young Over the past several years WRWA has labeled several thousand storm drains in Westfield, Russell, Huntington, Worthington, and Chester – with the goal of making sure that people know that the storm drains lead to local streams and rivers, not to the water treat- ment plant; so, ideally only rainwater should be going down those drains! This year we’ve worked with the Southwick Department of Public Works to finalize a labeling program for that town, with the goal of placing 1000 labels this summer. The first ~100 have already been installed along the Rt. 10/202 corridor through the center of town, and the remaining labels will be installed in residential areas throughout town. The labels are attached to curbing or pavement with an asphalt adhesive, which can be messy if you’re Southwick has opted for a slightly different label than not careful, so wear older clothes and bring a rag for the ones we’ve used in the past – reading “No Dump- cleaning off any adhesive that ends up on you. Bring- ing, Drains to Waterways” – and has agreed to allow ing water and sunscreen would also be a good idea. the inclusion of a QR code on the labels that will We’ll provide a map of the area to be labeled, wire direct people to the WRWA website, where they can brushes for cleaning off the site of application, the read about storm water management. labels and adhesive. You can assist with this effort by volunteering some Contact Mike Young (562-8498) the evening before time on the morning of Saturday, July 11 or Saturday, to confirm that the event will be happening – the July 18. We’ll meet at the Gristmill Plaza in South- adhesive can’t be used on wet pavement, so a likeli- wick at the northern intersection of Rt. 10/202 and hood of rain overnight or on the morning of the event Rt. 57 (across from the Mobil station) at 9:00 a.m. will mean a cancellation. Additional dates may be each morning, then we’ll fan out to work in different scheduled as needed – check the WRWA website parts of town until around noon. (westfieldriver.org) for updates.

Westfield River Watershed Association News 2 Recent events… Spring River Cleanup by Mark Damon The Westfield group collected over 70 bags of trash, On Saturday April 25, in celebration of Earth Day along with 6 tires and many other large items. earlier that week, 36 volunteers gathered in Westfield As always, Lane Construction sent a big contingent. and fanned out to collect trash from nine different sites Other groups included students from UMass and – seven on the Westfield River itself, and one each on Westfield State, along with several local dedicated the Little River and Powder Mill Brook (both tribu- stewards of the river. Thanks to all who showed up taries of the Westfield). Additional volunteers met at (Our volunteers hailed from 18 different cities and Pynchon Point in Agawam and worked near the mouth towns!). We couldn’t do it without you! of the Westfield, where it flows into the Connecticut.

Trout in the Classroom by Mike Young years since the program switched from Atlantic In late May half a dozen third graders at Berkshire salmon to brook trout. The trout, though not as char- Trails Elementary in Cummington gleefully ven- ismatic as the salmon, do have some advantages – for tured out to the East Branch of the Westfield River, starters they grow more quickly and so are as much conveniently located just 100 yards in back of the as 3-4 inches long and much more active at the time school. Their mission was to release several dozen they’re released. young brook trout, which they’d raised in a 30-gal- With Berkshire Trails leaving the program next year, lon aquarium tank in the classroom over the past we’ll likely have a tank and chiller that could be placed several months, and to complete some activities at the in another school – if you know of a school that might site. Volunteers from WRWA and Americorps helped be interested, please have them contact me, prefer- the students measure the flow of water in the river ably via email. Most of the other tanks are currently in (roughly 250 gallons per second) and identify macro- middle schools: Westfield North, Westfield South (2 invertebrates (possible fish food) in the water. tanks), Powder Mill (2 tanks), Gateway Regional, but Sadly, this is the last time (for now) that this will the program can work at the elementary level as well. happen in Cummington as that school is being closed We’ll be helping out with a couple more releases in at the end of the year. WRWA has been providing the early June and continue to see the trout program, like equipment needed to raise fish to a number of schools the earlier salmon project, as a great way to get kids in the watershed over the past 15 years, though the into the outdoors and thinking about the health of our number has dwindled a bit over the past couple of local waterways.

Internship by Brian Conz the watershed for presentation on our website. Check The WRWA was pleased to be able to graduate it’s out the maps Kane made on the home page. These first intern from our newly created internship pro- maps will be further developed in the direction of a gram. Kane Hardaker, a Westfield state Regional clearing house for watershed data. Thanks for your Planning and Environmental Science double major, work Kane! assisted the WRWA in our efforts to gather data on Westfield River Watershed Association News 3 “Outdoor Fun in Your Watershed” – WRWA’s 21st Annual River Symposium by Brian Conz, Aaron Reyes, Bill Rose, and birding – which occurred while he was writing a dis- Mike Young sertation on poet William Blake’s “re-creations” of the Our annual symposium was held in Scanlon Banquet Book of Genesis. That work also introduced him to the Hall on the campus of Westfield State University Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye, whose work he on Saturday, April 11. This year’s theme focused on recommends highly! Seth described the yearly cycle recreational opportunities in the watershed and was of the birder, with the northward spring migration of attended by about 150 people, including speakers and many songbirds being a highlight, talked a bit about exhibitors, WRWA Board members and the public. the newly recognized Little River Important Bird- ing Area, and answered many questions from a very Our keynote address this year was given by Joe interested audience. Giffune of the Friends of the Columbia Greenway. Joe provided us with an update of the developments of the Leanda Fontaine-Gagnon, a biologist for the MA Di- greenway, which extends from the Southwick line to vision of Fisheries and Wildlife highlighted the many Silver Street complete with spacious parking lots and fishing opportunities available within the Westfield ‘on-ramps’. Giffune explained to an enthusiastic crowd River watershed. She began by describing the DFW’s that the next phases of the rail trail development will Angler Education Program, which is designed to take it to the Westfield River, affording users the op- educate both adults and children in safe sport-fishing portunity to take in views of the city and the river from practices and serves as encouragement for recreational elevated locations, and linking to existing trails along fishing by providing awards via their Sports Fishing the levee. The promise of increased recreational oppor- Program. She also discussed the hatchery program and tunities along the waterfront coupled with the visible access points to the Westfield River. Finally, Leanda growth in downtown visitors left many in attendance provided information about licensing and fishing with a sense of excitement for Westfield’s future. regulations and talked briefly about the variety of fish that are found in the watershed – 38 different species, Waite Award including four different types of trout! Also at the Symposium we honored T. Scott Cook with the WRWA’s Waite Award. The Waite Award, Jim Caffrey, of The Trustees of Reservations, noted established in 1981 on the death of Richard A. Waite that the Trustees group was formed in 1891 for the (long-time executive director of WRWA), honors those purpose of “protecting and preserving beautiful and who have made a substantial contribution to the West- historic places in the Commonwealth”. He provided an field River Watershed. Through his youth and adult overview of several properties in the upper watershed, outdoor recreation programs as well as his ownership including Glendale Falls (where a kiosk and stairs of one of the area’s important water sports outfitters, have been added in recent years), Chesterfield Gorge Cook has been a powerful presence in the watershed (which provides opportunities for fishing, hiking and for some 30 years. He has been a key partner of our birding), the William Cullen Bryant homestead with organization and it was an honor to recognize his its majestic house and famous red barn (the interior of rd achievements and contributions at the symposium. the house is under repair, but opens on the 3 Saturday of each month), and the reservation, a very Following the keynote, a trio of speakers gave presen- popular spot for cross-country skiing. tations during the first set of concurrent sessions. After a short break, two additional talks were given , who has been the weekly column writer Seth Kellogg during the second set of concurrent sessions. on birds for the Springfield Republican since 1997 and is very active with the Allen Bird Club, began his Wayne Rodrigues, then the chair of the Berkshire talk by describing his own discovery of the world of Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC,

Westfield River Watershed Association News 4 the chair is rotating every 3 months this year), gave Mountain State Forest. His talk also included some an overview of AMC’s activities in New England safety tips and information on fees and the availability and within the watershed. AMC is the oldest outdoor of year-round passes. club in the United States, having been formed more Following lunch, which was provided for exhibitors than 125 years ago! The club has 12 chapters in 10 and speakers, two field trips were offered, each draw- states and more than 100,000 members. They spon- ing about a dozen participants. sor more than 8000 activities each year and help to maintain 1800 miles of trails in the region. Locally, the Seth Kellogg led one group on the trails of the Frank Berkshire Chapter is particularly active in quiet-water Stanley Beveridge Memorial Sanctuary in Stanley paddling and rock-climbing, but sponsors a number of Park in search of birds. Despite breezy conditions, other activities as well. You can find out more at their Seth was able to attract a variety of species by pishing website: http://amcberkshire.org. (nobody knows why this works!). Among the birds seen or heard by the group were a pine warbler, black- Dominick Sacco, the District Manager for MassParks’ capped chicadee, song sparrow, dark-eyed junco, bald Department of Environmental Management, Con- eagle, downy woodpecker, belted kingfisher, robins, necticut River Valley District introduced his audience an osprey, and mallard ducks. The second group was to a variety of parks in or near the watershed – a total led by… of 17 properties. Recreational activities include swim- ming, hiking, camping (tents, yurts, and cabins are all Marijoan Bull, a professor of Geography & Regional possible!), picnicking, cross-country skiing, jet skiing, Planning at Westfield State, to the newly completed snowmobiling, biking, kayaking and canoeing, and section of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail between fishing. Among the sites he discussed were Robinson East Silver Street and the Little River in Westfield. State Park, Hampton Ponds State Park, DAR State Along the way she discussed some of the issues sur- Forest, Chester-Blandford State Forest, C.M. Gard- rounding construction, maintenance, and use of the ner State Park, , and October trail system and the plans for extending the trail north- ward to the Westfield River within the next few years.

Fish Ladder Open House An absolutely perfect day graced our annual Fish Ladder open house at the Westfield River Dam in West Springfield on Sunday, June 7th. While this is later in the season than usual, there was still much to take in, particularly Shad. They were moving both upstream to spawn and downstream post-spawning. A special Thank You to Tom Tarpey (owner of A&D Hydro) for opening the property and granting access to the ladder. He was very complimentary about the public service WRWA offers. Nice to see him and his family there each year. The official talley of visitors was 285, with 189 adults and 96 people under 18 years of age. Many were repeat visitors from previous years, expressing how Shad moving through the canal; part of the fish ladder much they enjoyed this free event. transport sequence.

Westfield River Watershed Association News 5 The dam, fish ladder and canal.

WRWA member Mike Young explains the workings of the fish ladder to visitors.

Westfield River Watershed Association News 6 Officers and directors for 2014-2015.

Officers: President: 53 Balfour Drive Springfield 01118 572-8084 Brian Conz First Vice President: 100 Park Drive Westfield 01085 572-8380 Aaron Reyes Second Vice President: 101 Regency Park Dr. Agawam 01001 821-0818 Sheryl Becker Secretary: 54 Pleasant Street Westfield 01085 572-9991 Mark Damon Treasurer: 47 Salvatore Drive Westfield 01085 562-4998 Fran Siska Directors: Allan Guagliardo 72 Colony Circle Westfield 01085 568-4770 Timblin Judy 37 Mountain Rd. Holyoke 01040 569-9018 Allan Ouimet 16 Russell Rd. Westfield 01085 539-0964 John A. Pelli Westfield 562-0182 George Reichert 75 Blair Road Blandford 01008 848-2074 Bill Rose 39 Sunset Terrace Feeding Hills 01030 786-0195 Phillip Sousa 29 Yankee Circle Westfield 01085 568-3982 Samantha Via 16 Crowhill Road, Monson, MA 01057 668-7746 Henry Warchol 2 Sackville Road Westfield 01085 562-3467 Mike Young 721 West Rd. Westfield 01085 562-8498 Honorary Directors: Dan Call 777 College Highway Southwick 01077 569-9677 For more information on WRWA’s activities, check our website at www.westfieldriver.org

Westfield River Watershed Association News 7 Westfield State University The Westfield River Watershed Association P.O. Box 1630 Westfield, MA 01086-1630

The Westfield River Watershed Association Newsletter June 2015 In This Issue President’s Message...... 1 Westfield River Canoe/Kayak Cruise...... 1 Storm Drain Labeling in Southwick...... 2 Spring River Cleanup ...... 3 Trout in the Classroom...... 3 Internship...... 3 “Outdoor Fun in Your Watershed” WRWA’s 21st Annual River Symposium ...... 4 Fish Ladder Open House...... 5 Officers and directors for 2014-2015...... 7