Annual Report 2017

Annual Report 2017 Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife 135 Annual Report 2017 Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife Jack Buckley Director Susan Sacco Assistant to the Director Mark S. Tisa, Ph.D. Michael Huguenin Deputy Director Assistant Director Administration Field Operations Jim Burnham Debbie McGrath Administrative Assistant to the Administrative Assistant to the Deputy Director, Administration Deputy Director, Field Operations 137 Table of Contents 2 The Board Reports 6 Fisheries 43 Wildlife 67 Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program 78 Information & Education 92 Hunter Education 94 District Reports 113 Wildlife Lands 123 Federal Aid 125 Personnel Report 128 Financial Report 132 Appendix A About the Cover: Interagency Cooperation – MassWildlife Biologists and Environmental Analysts from MassDOT evaluate rare and common freshwater mussels prior to a bridge replacement project. Staff from both agencies relocated >1000 mussels out of the construction area to avoid impacts to the resource. Through the Linking Landscapes partnership, both agencies work together to promote conservation of fish, wildlife, plants and the habitats they depend on. Photo by Troy Gipps/MassWildlife Back Cover: A Monarch butterfly on Common Milkweed in Grafton. Photo © Troy Gipps Printed on Recycled Paper. 1 The Board Reports Joseph S. Larson, Ph.D. Chairperson Overview ing chair until the Board held its elections and chose a per- manent chair, which it did the following month. The Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board consists of seven persons appointed by the Governor to 5-year Over the course of the fiscal year, the Board examined the terms. By law, the individuals appointed to the Board are details of a Timber Rattlesnake Restoration Project that had volunteers, receiving no remuneration for their service to been first introduced in January 2014. One detail of the the Commonwealth. Five of the seven are selected on a project that received a lot of scrutiny this fiscal year was the regional basis, with one member, by statute, representing planned creation of a rattlesnake population on an island in agricultural interests. The two remaining seats are held by the Quabbin Reservoir that has a potentially suitable hiber- a professional wildlife biologist or wildlife manager and one naculum in which the snakes could overwinter and is closed representative with a specific interest in the management to the public. Subsequent to the Board’s own discussions, and restoration of wildlife populations not classified as Dr. Larson (who became Chair in December) and a subcom- game species. The Board oversees operations of the Mas- mittee of the Board created a process that involved a group sachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), of stakeholders from the region around the Quabbin and reviews the agency’s programs, and sets policy and regula- from various statewide conservation and recreation groups tions pertinent to wildlife in the Commonwealth. in an extended discussion about the proposal. After a se- ries of public meetings of this stakeholder group and over The Board has continued its tradition this year of holding 200 comments from the public, the Fisheries and Wildlife monthly meetings at locations around the state, holding Board voted unanimously at its April meeting to suspend public hearings on proposed regulatory changes, and ad- the Quabbin portion of the larger Timber Rattlesnake Res- dressing many issues of specific concern. While many dif- toration Project. ferent matters and issues are brought before the Board each year, most of its meeting time is spent in review and Administrative Matters scrutiny of proposals for regulatory changes and of agency programs. The Board also incorporates brief reports or com- Update on the Final Piping Plover Habitat Conservation Per- ments from the Commissioner of the Department of Fish mit and Game and from a representative of the Massachusetts Environmental Police in the agenda of every meeting. At the July 2016 meeting, Chief of Conservation Science Jon This report is organized topically, then roughly chronolog- Regosin reported that the Piping Plover Habitat Conserva- ically within each topic. This predictable structure allows tion Permit (HCP) had received approval on July 8, 2016. relatively easy searching and comparison of the Board’s an- He gave the Board an overview of the HCP, including why nual reports year over year. MassWildlife needs it, how it works, and what it will mean for 2016 and beyond. Longtime Chair George Darey stepped off the Fisheries and Wildlife Board at the end of the November meeting of Fiscal Board Elections Year 2017. By his own reckoning, Mr. Darey had missed only five meetings in 38 years, having served as Chair for 34 of The Board held its annual election of officers at the Decem- those years. He told the meeting he had enjoyed watching ber Board meeting, electing Dr. Joseph Larson to be the MassWildlife grow, with all the new staff over the years. Not- Chair, Mr. Michael Roche as the Vice Chair, and Ms. Bonnie ing that he served with four different directors, Mr. Darey Booth as the Secretary of the Board. stated that they were all great people who brought different qualities to a difficult job. He expressed his admiration that Update on the 14th Edition of the Natural Heritage Atlas Director Buckley was working so well and so closely with his staff and on so many different projects, stating that it was Chief of Regulatory Review Eve Schlüter gave the Board an truly impressive and that he would greatly miss being part update in March on the progress toward publication of the of it. But he also said he believed it is important to know 14th Edition of the NHESP Atlas. It was estimated that the when to walk away. Mr. Darey appointed Mr. Roche as act- 14th Edition of the NHESP Atlas would be published in July 2 2017. Dr. Schlüter returned to the Board in June to report Chief of Wildlife Lands Craig MacDonnell returned to the that the 60-day public-comment period had ended and the Board at the start of the fiscal year with amended drafts of agency was finalizing the maps. She reminded the Board a walking trails policy and a related wildlife lands policy that that staff would be printing and sending three maps to each had been initially developed by staff the previous year, -af town, as is usual. ter which the Board members had discussed the policies in some detail and had offered written edits to both. The final Review of the Revised MassWildlife Organization and policies were adopted by the Board by unanimous vote at Chart its August meeting. In May, Director Buckley reviewed the changes that were Vote: to amend the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s rules made in 2015 to the MassWildlife organizational chart and and regulations at 321 CMR 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 11.0 governing how it is working so far. He reported that the lack of some Miscellaneous Regulations Relating to Fisheries and Wild- key managerial staff positions – the Assistant Director of life, Hunting, Fishing, and Nature Preserves; and to rescind Wildlife and the Office Manager for the Boston office, in the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s regulations at 321 particular – has prevented the full implementation of the CMR 6.0, the Dog Restraining Order, and at 321 CMR 8.0, plan because the Assistant Director of Operations and the which is a placeholder regulation that specifies the location Associate Director, respectively, were still doing two jobs to of the State List of Endangered Wildlife and Wild Plants at fill those personnel gaps. He also reported that, despite the 321 CMR 10.0 lack of full-time managers, the staff has generally increased coordination across sections with remarkable results, partic- As had been reported to the Board in fiscal year 2016, Gov- ularly in the Forestry/Habitat Management/ Prescribed Fire ernor Baker’s Executive Order 562 had charged state agen- functions. The Director reported that the focus at year’s end cies with reviewing every regulation published in the Code was on filling the vacant positions and supporting the work of Massachusetts Regulations. For each of its regulations, of the acting managers, and that there would be changes in the Division had to recommend keeping the regulation in focus as managers are hired and more can be done. its then-current form, modifying/amending the regulation, or rescinding the regulation. In July, the Board voted unan- Staff-Board Working Committee imously to keep, amend, and rescind the respective regulations as recommended by staff. Also at the May meeting, the Board created an ongoing working subcommittee of Board members and staff that Adoption of Remote Participation would coordinate to move forward productively on big issues that the public may have questions or issues with. The At the October meeting of the Board, the Director report- subcommittee was conceived as an in-house group to de- ed that if a state public body wanted to be able to have its velop a strategy to present information on issues, policies, members participate remotely in a meeting, it must by vote or new regulations, including when to engage the public adopt remote participation first, and then it can use it as and stakeholders, and how to introduce potentially contro- needed going forward. After a brief discussion, the Board versial new policies, with the members reporting back to voted unanimously to adopt remote participation. and advising the entire Board in open discussion. Vote: Acceptance of Letter of Support to the Massachusetts Update on LART and the Bear-attack Protocol delegation for the Blue Ribbon Panel’s recommendations Acting Assistant Director for Wildlife Mike Huguenin report- Also at the October meeting, Director Buckley presented a ed to the Board near the year’s end that the MOUs were draft and requested that the Board adopt a letter of support being drafted by a team from both MassWildlife and OLE.

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