Marine Environment Awards Presented to Massachusetts Visionaries, Volunteers and Leaders

The late Susan Snow-Cotter memorialized with first annual leadership award

SALEM – The assistant director of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Office is one of four Massachusetts visionaries, volunteers, and leaders who were honored last night at the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment’s annual reception at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem.

This year’s ceremony paid tribute to Susan Snow-Cotter, the former director of CZM, who died of breast cancer in 2006. The Council’s first annual Susan Snow-Cotter Leadership Award was presented to CZM Assistant Director Bruce Carlisle. The Award is designed to honor an individual from one of the five states and provinces bordering the Gulf of Maine (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia) who exemplifies outstanding leadership or exceptional mentoring in the Gulf of Maine watershed.

Carlisle, who started working at CZM in 1993, played a critical role in developing the state’s Coastal Nonpoint Program—helping Massachusetts become one of the first four states in the country to receive federal approval for a comprehensive plan to deal with non-point source pollution of coastal waterways. He later stepped in and took over Snow-Cotter’s role on an interim basis when she grew too ill to continue working.

“Innovative work on coastal management issues and true commitment to the people he works with are what makes Bruce Carlisle exceptional and deserving of this recognition,” said CZM Director and Council Chair Leslie-Ann McGee, who presented Carlisle’s award. “Susan would have been very happy to know he is the first to receive this prestigious award for his loyalty to CZM and support to her and her family during a very difficult time.”

The Gulf of Maine Council is a US-Canadian partnership of government and non-government organizations that focuses on maintaining and enhancing environmental quality in the Gulf of Maine – a marine resource covering 36,000 square miles of ocean and 7,500 miles of coastline. Massachusetts – through the CZM Office - has chaired the Council this year. In addition to the Susan Snow-Cotter Award, the Council also handed out several other awards.

The Longard Volunteer Award honors Art Longard, a Nova Scotia resident and devoted conservationist who helped launch the Gulf of Maine Council. Recipients are outstanding volunteers within the Gulf of Maine watershed who have made significant contributions to conserving or managing the Gulf's resources through stewardship projects, educational programs, volunteer monitoring, and scientific research. The 2008 recipient, Lawry Reid, founded the Straits Pond Watershed Association (SPWA) in 2000 and serves as its President. Straits Pond is a critically impaired 100-acre coastal salt pond in Hull that is part of the Weir River Estuary, a state-designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Lawry and the 30 members of the SPWA have been a cornerstone partner in a regional wetland restoration project involving culvert enlargement and tide gate management that will restore critical estuarine fish and invertebrate habitat, provide improvements to intertidal habitat and bordering wetlands, and improve habitat and forage area for wading and diving birds.

Visionary Awards go to two individuals, businesses, or organizations within each state or province that border the Gulf of Maine. The awards recognize innovation, creativity, and commitment to protecting the marine environment.

Edward Thomas, Esquire, was selected this year for his extensive pro bono public assistance to CZM on the StormSmart Coasts Program. His dedication and expertise has significantly bolstered CZM’s ability to promote coastal community resiliency through the No Adverse Impact Approach. The second Massachusetts visionary, David Delaney, blends research and outreach in creative and innovative ways as the Director of Invasive Tracers, which brings together biologists and volunteers to monitor the Bay of Fundy, Massachusetts Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Long Island Sound for native and invasive species. For the last three years, he has recruited and supervised approximately 1,000 people to monitor more than 60 sites from New Jersey to Canada.

For additional information about the Gulf of Maine Council awards and other opportunities, visit www.gulfofmaine.org/council/opportunities.htm