President's Letter
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Photo by Andy Gold President's Letter Richard Seltzer, SBA President As a senior litigating attorney who practiced law for over In fact, over a quarter of a century ago, the Massachusetts forty years. I am very familiar with the frustrations of judicial state legislature “clarified the Legislature’s intent to make process. I have seen how parties can abuse the legal the state [pesticide] statute and the regulations adopted system by ignoring plain law and requiring others to endure thereunder the ‘exclusive authority in regulating the...use lengthy and expensive litigation to achieve a lawful end. and application...of pesticides in the commonwealth.’” This has been the case for the Stockbridge Bowl As one Massachusetts Superior Court justice recently Association in its efforts to use a widely accepted held in rejecting another town’s attempt to control a herbicide to control the invasive milfoil on the Bowl. pesticide: “The amended language of the Pesticide Control Act [which explicitly includes herbicides] provides In Massachusetts, the law has been clear for over three the clear legislative intent to bar local regulation...” decades that it is unlawful for any town, such as (emphasis added). Stockbridge, whether by a vote at an annual town meeting or by the ruling of a town board, such as its Conservation Unfortunately, none of this clear law, both statutory and Commission, to regulate the use of judicial, prevented the Town of Stockbridge Conservation an herbicide. Commission (ConComm) from unanimously denying the Notice of Intent (NOI) filed by the Stockbridge Bowl Association to control Eurasian Watermilfoil by applying a state-approved herbicide. President's Letter continued on Page 2 President's Letter continued Furthermore, the Stockbridge ConComm was not deterred by New Board Members the prior endorsement which the SBA had obtained from the Phyllis (Patti) Klein, Chair, Governance (Nominating) Committee Massachusetts Natural Heritage Endangered Species Board and Officer Changes Program to apply the herbicide fluridone. Even more dramatically, the ConComm was not persuaded when its own At the Annual Meeting on July 28, 2018, Joan Cohen and Marie Raftery, who had previously filled Individual hired expert strongly supported the SBA’s application by Director vacancies, were elected as full-fledged Individual Directors, Joan to a two-year term in the Class of 2021, testifying that “The NOI presents a good approach to invasive and Marie to a two-year term in the Class of 2022. To add to their biographies from last year’s newsletter, Joan plant management at Stockbridge Bowl.” and Marie have continued as invaluable and active board members, with Joan becoming the Editor-in-Chief of our newsletter and Marie as a member of the Nominating Committee and the newsletter staff. Undeterred by the law or the facts, the Stockbridge ConComm refused, on February 5, 2019, to permit us to Ira Golub, Joanna Woolf and I were reelected to three-year terms as Individual Directors and became members of apply an herbicide that has been safely used on over 10,000 the Class of 2021 along with Joan Cohen. The SBA membership also reelected three Organization Directors to lakes and reservoirs across the country for over thirty years. the Class of 2021. All of these organizations have long served on the board: Laurel Hill Association (then- representative Lionel Delevingne), Mahkeenac Boating Club (then-representative Sally Underwood-Miller), Upon hearing of this ConComm decision, the Massachusetts Mahkeenac Heights (representative Lorraine Abraham), and Mahkeenac Shores (representative Ron Kaprov). Department of Environmental Protection encouraged the Organizations designate their respective representatives. President Richard Seltzer and Clerk Matthew Mandel parties to try to settle their differences. The SBA promptly were reelected to two-year terms (expiring in 2020). agreed to meet with the Town, but four months later, as of late June, we were still waiting for the Town to propose any dates We had several board changes in the spring of 2019. Patrick White replaced Lionel Delevingne as the Laurel Hill to meet. Photo by Jamie Chadwin Association representative and has been actively involved with the Town’s access to appropriate equipment for dealing with weeds in the Bowl this summer. Jamie Chadwin, Director of Camp Mah-Kee-Nac, became the Represented by the local firm of Cain, Hibbard and Myers, the SBA has appealed to the Massachusetts Superior Court Camp’s primary representative, with a back-up team including Kevin Lilley to assure that the Camp can attend our to overturn the ruling of the ConComm. Our counsel has submitted the “record on appeal” and will shortly file our brief meetings. In June, Bruce Peeples, Tanglewood Grounds Manager, took over from long-time BSO/Tanglewood in support of our motion for judgment on the pleadings. representative Peter Socha, whom we particularly thank for his many years on our board. Sally Underwood-Miller “Justice delayed is justice denied,” as an old saying goes. Even if we win our judicial appeal, we shall have already lost is no longer the Mahkeenac Boating Club’s representative; that position remains unfilled at this time.Patrick’s, this year’s opportunity to use fluridone to control the milfoil on the Bowl. Additionally, both we and the Town will have Jamie’s and Bruce’s biographies are on the following page. We look forward to working with them. spent valuable financial resources during that intervening year. Both the delay and the expense would have been The full list of board members and officers can be found on the back page of this Newsletter. This year, as in the obviated if counsel for the Town had done its job by advising the Town how clear the Massachusetts law is in past, the energy with which our volunteer Board provides the “people power” for the many projects undertaken by preempting and forbidding all local control of herbicides. the SBA remains strong. Their contributions include support (financial and other) to the Town in its various lake- related projects, including the Invasive Species/Zebra Mussel boat wash at the Stockbridge Bowl Boat Ramp on Not a Member? Come Join Us Anyway! Start with a Smile Rte. 183, as well as the SBA’s stewardship of the properties it owns on the lake: Bullard Woods and Kwuniikwat Island. Annual Meeting Did you know that by shopping at Amazon, you can support the SBA? We seek Board members who can assist our organization in a variety of ways, attend our mainly spring-fall Stockbridge Association You need only to begin your Amazon monthly meetings and hold a position as an officer, chair, or member of at least one of our various committees. online shopping by going to smile. Now more than ever, with the many challenges we face in keeping our lake and properties safe and healthy, the amazon.com. There you can select personal commitment of time by board members, and the willingness of our member organizations to support our Saturday, August 3, 2019 “Stockbridge Bowl Association” as activities, are essential for a volunteer not-for-profit organization like the SBA. your charity-of-choice. Amazon 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm One does not need to be a board member to join our committees and otherwise help us with whatever task is at always will recall your preferred hand, including organizing our Annual Meeting each summer. If you want to contribute your time in any way, TANGLEWOOD charity choice. please be sure to contact me (see my email address below)! We are always in need of helping hands and new ideas. Shop as you would normally, and the The Hawthorne Tent Phyllis (Patti) Klein, Chair Amazon Smile Foundation will Governance Committee 297 West Street, Lenox automatically donate 0.5% of your [email protected] 1:00 pm: Registration and Refreshments purchase price to the SBA! 1:30 pm: Annual Meeting It’s easy to do and it’s free, so please Key Note Speaker: Shannon Holsey, the President and Sachem of the remember the SBA when you shop, Stockbridge-Munsee Indian Tribe and don’t forget to start with a smile! Theme: Enduring Values Come...Celebrate Progress! [2] New Board Members' Biographies are continued on Page 4 STOCKBRIDGE BOWL ASSOCIATION | SUMMER 2019 [3] Jamie Chadwin, a native of suburban Philadelphia, is a graduate of The University of Delaware. He has been in camping his entire life, as his family is one of teachers and coaches. He has been a college basketball coach, still continues to Report from the Lake Committee coach at the high school level and feels fortunate to be directing Camp Mah-Kee-Nac with his wife Rachel. He enjoys Gary Kleinerman, Chair and Town of Stockbridge Harbormaster being a father to his three daughters. "The lake is one of the defining elements of Camp Mah-Kee-Nac. We cherish it and are excited to be a part of maintaining its beauty and enjoying all that it has to offer.” The Stockbridge Zebra Mussel washing station is open from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm until Columbus Day weekend. Last year we had a little over 6,000 launches. The intent is to prevent invasives such as the zebra mussel from Bruce Peeples, born and raised in Hinsdale, MA, graduated from St. Joseph High School and The Stockbridge School of entering the Bowl. So far we have been successful and plan to keep it that way. Agriculture at The University of Massachusetts with an Associate Degree of Science in Turf Management. After graduating, in 1978, he became an Assistant Golf Course Superintendent in Colts Neck, NJ. After a few more career We do need the public’s help. No boats are to be launched from the causeway.