WINTER NEWSLETTER THEWREN January 2005 Thoreau on the Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers By Tom Blanding I think of no natural feature which is a greater ornament and treasure to Meadows, Ball’s Hill, and the Carlisle Reach, tomorrow up the Library Public Free courtesy of Concord Rock photo of Egg this town than the river. It is one of the things which determine whether Sudbury to Cardinal Shore, Fair Haven Bay, and Clematis Brook, a man will live here or in another place, and it is one of the first objects the next day up the Assabet to the Leaning Hemlocks, Tarbell’s which we show to a stranger. I think that not only the channel but Spring, and the Ministerial Swamp. one or both banks of Ellery Channing, every river should be a Thoreau’s most fre- public highway—for a quent boating com- river is not useful mere- panion, says best: ly to float on. Perhaps the river was —Thoreau, his great blessing in the “Huckleberries” landscape. No better o one speaks stream for boating in a better New England,–“the Nword for sluggish artery of the nature than Henry Concord,” as he names Thoreau. His writings it. By this, he could go have become the to other points; as a trip watchwords of conser- up the river rarely vation groups like ended with the water, Sudbury Valley but the shore was sought Tr ustees. This is partly for some special purpose, because Thoreau to examine an animal writes in universal or a plant, or get a symbols: The pond is wider view, or collect Egg Rock, where the Sudbury and Assabet meet to form the spring of springs, the some novelty or crop. the Concord River, photographed by Herbert W. Gleason, 1899. mountain the place The study of the river- where the Great Spirit dwells, the sea the great mystery into which plants never ended, and, like themselves, floated for ever with the sweet everything subsides–and the river the passage of all things in time, waves; the birds and insects peculiarly attracted to the shores, the fish from individual lives to whole civilizations. and musquash, the sun and wind, were interesting. The first spring days smile softest on the river, and the fleet of withered leaves sailing down the Thoreau considered himself blessed to live by the Concord, stream in autumn give a stately finish to the commerce of the seasons. Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers, and he thanked the river gods for his good fortune. The rivers carried him conveniently to where he want- Thoreau fathomed in his own being an internal harmony with the ed to go, and, as he voyaged, he could watch in timely sweeps the river. The lapse of the water’s current became “an emblem of all progress of the seasons. Today it was down the Concord to the Great progress, following the same law with (continued on page 6) Board of Directors Marylynn Gentry, Wayland, President Thoreau’s Stephen Winthrop, Wayland, Vice President Bruce Osterling, Sudbury, Treasurer Rivers and Ours Susan Crane, Sudbury, Clerk mits federal, state, and local governments Colin Anderson, Sudbury n this issue of The Wren Thoreau Robert Anderson, Wayland scholar Thomas Blanding salutes our to protecting the unique ecological, recre- Brian Clew, Framingham local rivers: the Sudbury, the Assabet, ational, scenic, historic, and literary Richard Dinjian, Southborough I resources of our rivers. and the Concord. In its history, function, Lucille Hicks, Wayland Richard Johnson, Concord and professional capacities, Sudbury Valley SVT does most of its river conserva- Ruth Kennedy, Stow Tr ustees serves as a regional land trust. tion work through participation in the Bernard McHugh, Lincoln Our goal is the protection of land defined SuAsCo Watershed Community Council, Eric Menoyo, Sudbury by the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord and through supporting citizens’ groups David Moore, Framingham river valleys. We put most of our efforts Sigrid Pickering, Sudbury primarily concerned with water resources. into keeping natural places available to all Iryna Priester, Wayland Sudbury Valley Trustees’ mission is to the forms of life that need them. Our protect wildlife habitat and ecological STAFF area’s water resource groups such as the integrity. Because healthy rivers and Ron McAdow Hop Brook Protection Association and the streams are essential to the well-being of Executive Director Organization for the Assabet River focus the landscape they help to define, they will Christa Hawryluk Collins on the quality and quantity of water in always be important to us. While we focus Land Protection Specialist their streams. Although SVT is defined as our efforts on land protection, we will Brandon Kibbe a land trust rather than a watershed organ- never lose sight of the three rivers—the Land Protection Specialist ization, we’ve always had an interest in Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord—flowing Sandy Lower river conservation, which began in the through our valleys on this fascinating Office Manager days when Allen Morgan and our found- patch of the planet that Thoreau—and Laura Mattei ing fathers’ initial conservation priority Director of Stewardship each of us—calls home. was the rich wildlife habitat that fringes Rachel Sagan the Sudbury River. Director of Membership and Development Michael Sanders My personal history with the organiza- Assistant Director of Development tion also has a river-related slant. Back in Dan Stimson 1989 I authored a paddlers’ guide to the Land Steward Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet. Later I As this issue of The Wren goes to press, I Ellen Sturgis represented SVT on the Wild and Scenic am saddened by the recent death of Millie Director of Operations River Study Committee, which was initi- Tu renne. Millie was a great friend of Chris Wilson ated by Allen Morgan. After segments of Sudbury Valley Trustees for a long time Caretaker all three of our rivers achieved this status, and a lovely person. I will miss her. The Wren I was appointed to the National Park Sandy Lower and Ron McAdow, Editors Service’s River Stewardship Council, Gordon Morrison & Joyce Dwyer, which administers the river conservation Line Illustrations Rachel Wolff Lander, Designer plan. Wild and Scenic designation com- Ron McAdow is Executive Director of Sudbury Valley Trustees Sudbury Valley Trustees Sudbury Valley Trustees is a voluntary association of indi- 18 Wolbach Road viduals, families, and businesses committed to protecting wildlife habitat and the Sudbury, MA 01776 ecological integrity of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord River watershed for the Tel: 978/443-5588 benefit of present and future generations. SVT carries out its mission through land Fax: 978/443-2333 conservation and stewardship, advocacy, and education, working in partnership E-mail: [email protected] with the towns, watershed associations, and other environmental organizations Website: www.sudburyvalleytrustees.org within the greater Concord Basin. Founded in 1953, SVT is supported by a mem- bership that today stands at over 3,100 individuals, families, and corporations. The organization cur- rently owns, through gift and purchase, more than 2,100 acres in 15 communities. In addition it holds conservation restrictions on nearly 900 acres and has been instrumental in preserving several thousand acres now protected by public agencies. 2 / SUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES / WINTER 2005 Notes from the field Youth in Action at SVT Reservations By Laura Mattei, Director of Stewardship udbury Valley Trustees has had an incredible influx of stewardship assistance from the younger generation of our communities. The projects that these young people work on provide them with valuable skills as well as the rewarding experience of volunteer- Sing for their community. Youth groups and individuals may be participating as part of Scout, religious, or school programs. SVT will be involving an even greater number of young people in the stewardship of our reservations with a new program– Youth Conservation Stewards. If you know of a youth group that is interested in working on conservation with us, please contact Laura Mattei, Director of Stewardship at 978-443-5588, ext. 34 or [email protected]. Below are just a few examples of the conservation projects that these groups have been working on. See more photos on our website www.sudburyvalleytrustees.org. SVT Staff As part of the Loring School’s Social Action Project (Sudbury), students were invited to go wildlife watching in their backyards or at an SVT reservation near their home. The students recorded all of the wildlife that they observed. As part of the same program, a group of fifth graders, their families, and teachers volunteered to clear brush and invasive plants along the front of agricultural fields at SVT’s Baiting Brook/Welch Reservation in Framingham. SVT Staff At the Lyons-Cutler Reservation in Sudbury, SVT was able to complete major trail improvements over the course of the last two years thanks to a series of local Eagle Scouts and their youth volunteers. This past October, the last remaining phase of the project was completed by Jeff Wurm, Eagle Scout. Jeff organized a workday to install a boardwalk and some stepping stones over wet sections of trail. Other portions of the project included additional boardwalks, three new bridges, and one trail reroute. SVT could not have done this without the assistance of these enthusiastic young people. SVT Staff Mike Koshko, of Northboro, designed and built a bridge crossing a channel as part of his Eagle Scout project. Mike also worked through all of the wetlands permitting with the town in order to complete the project for SVT on our Cedar Hill Reservation. Mike is one of many Eagle Scout candidates that conduct leader- ship projects for SVT. These Scouts have done a multitude of good service projects including habitat restoration, rerouting and blazing trails, installing educational signage, and removing invasive plants.