July 13, 2006
NewsNotes #21

In this issue:

Welcome Letter
Feature Story: What we can do for Rivers
Grants
Calendar
Online Resources
Publications
Last But Not Least

Citizen Action on Behalf of Rivers in Times of Flood or Drought

Dear River Advocates,

Our rivers have been flowing! and folks have been enjoying these rivers during Massachusetts Rivers Month (June) and beyond.  We always love to see the range and variety of your river events across the state (and, when possible, to attend your events.) The June Rivers Month Proclamation this year was read at the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Wild and Scenic Rivers’ “Riverfest” kickoff event.  Suggestions of possible locations for next year’s Proclamation are welcome!

We always appreciate receiving your newsletters, web pages and annual reports that keep us up to date on many of your actions and activities.  We are still planning ways of getting together informally in River Networking Meetings (resurrecting the ‘Brown Bag Suppers’ of the early 1990s) and in possibly having a Rivers Conference.  We will keep you informed of these developments throughout the year. 

In addition, Cindy Delpapa is proposing a task force on wastewater—a “cousin of the Massachusetts Instream Flow Task Force”—to deal with water pollution issues. If you are interested or have suggestions, please e-mail her at cindy.delpapa@state.ma.us.

Program and Staff Update: Because it has been such an exciting and busy spring, we have decided to summarize our recent activities to keep you informed and to invite your participation. Some of Riverways’ highlights include:

Restoration:

• In partnership with the Mass. Audubon Society, Riverways has participated in a dam removal on Galloway Brook in Barre to improve fish passage and river ecology. Removal of this failing dam was selected as one of Riverways Priority Projects.  Mass. Audubon developed engineering plans and prepared most of the permitting.  Riverways, under the leadership of Tim Purinton , helped with the remaining state permits and logistics and provided funding for construction.  Staff members Brian Graber, Erin Higbee and Amy Singler joined Tim and Mass. Audubon to oversee (and take part in) the deconstruction and riparian restoration. Native plants were provided by New England Wildflower Society’s Nasami Farm. According to Mass. Audubon’s Stu Weinreb, “If you go there today, it’s difficult to tell that a dam was ever there.  Looking at the newly formed pools and riffles, it’s as if nature never missed a beat.” For “before” and “after” pictures of this river reach, go to http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/river/programs/priorityprojects/gallowaybrook.htm.
• In partnership with Trout Unlimited, Riverways has participated in an instream habitat restoration project on the Swift River.  This particular Priority Project implemented a river assessment by Riverways’ Fluvial Geomorphologist, Brian Graber. Brian and TU members oversaw the removal of large concrete slabs from a collapsed bridge and the creation of riffles using the rock to improve habitat and fish passage.  Riparian restoration at the site continues.
• The majority of the remaining Riverways Priority Projects are in the feasibility study and design phases. Riverways staff are working with project partners to oversee these feasibility studies, write grant proposals and permit applications, and assist with project planning.  We will keep you apprised of future action on these projects. See http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/river/programs/priorityprojects/projectlist.htm for project descriptions/updates. In addition, Riverways is working on three pilot restoration projects in two watersheds; e-mail Eileen Goldberg (eileen.goldberg@state.ma.us) for more information.

Policy

This spring, Riverways provided input on several developing policies that will affect the ecological health of rivers in Massachusetts.  Riverways:

• Provided extensive comments on DEP’s proposed updates to the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/laws/regulati.htm#wqual), which are used by DEP to protect our waters from activities that would degrade them.  Two major suggestions to improve the ability of the Water Quality Standards to protect riverine ecology were quantitative limits on the addition of nutrients to rivers and specific protection of adequate stream flow. 
• Participated in several meetings and comment periods as the Water Resources Commission drafted an updated Massachusetts Water Conservation Standards document.  The new document will be voted on this month and includes some stricter Standards and up-to-date Recommendations for water conservation in Massachusetts . 
• Provided technical support to state agencies and advocates who are taking a new look at the stream flows released from the MWRA reservoir system. The issue of downstream releases on the Swift and Nashua Rivers has once again surfaced during these discussions and Riverways staff are working along with other state agencies and non-profits to ensure that the health of the donor rivers also benefits from the efficiency gains MWRA has made through water conservation and leak repair.
• Is working with the Massachusetts Instream Flow Task Force and other interested parties to prepare comments expressing concern about a new proposed federal rule exempting some interbasin transfers of water from the NPDES permitting system.  As proposed, the rule could allow invasive species, excessive nutrients, or other existing contaminants to be transferred from one water source to another without the need for review, permit, or adequate treatment to protect the health of the receiving water.
• Commented on the Draft Integrated List of Water, 2006 (see text box below for more on this subject).
• Continues to serve on Secretary Pritchard’s Dam Removal Streamlining Task Force.

Technical Assistance.  This spring, Riverways continued to:

• Provide technical assistance to land protection, restoration and stewardship projects in almost all the Commonwealth’s watersheds.  Work ranged from site visits, consultations, writing support letters for others’ grant proposals, providing legal advice, providing comment letters on watershed issues, to providing Rivers Protection Act assistance in 11 watersheds (e.g., assisting citizens in mitigating the impact of a supermarket proposed for a parcel fronting on the Assabet River in Northborough).
• Monitored, reviewed and commented on NPDES, and Water Management permits as well as MEPA reviews in about a dozen watersheds.
• Provided “how to” best make comments on NPDES permits and MEPA workshops to watershed groups, and continue to summarize the Environmental Monitor twice a month, send out pertinent notices to watershed groups, and when requested, gave technical information on 10 specific permits. Riverways encourages folks to contact Cindy Delpapa with questions on this process.
• Provided technical assistance to urban areas including Haverhill, Lawrence, Fitchburg and Saugus on issues including stream daylighting, urban renewal, parks, water rights and water quality.
• Riverways worked on its first “Keep Water Local” project with the Town of Lancaster this year.  The project was designed to create environmental overlay districts to ensure natural resource and stream protection.

  Constituency Building and Advocacy

• This spring, Riverways’ Adopt-A-Stream Program has been busy with the addition of 10 new Stream Teams. By conducting hands-on surveys, and prioritizing their actions, this work builds both constituencies and advocates for local rivers.  Increasingly, Stream Teams are being formed to address specific restoration projects, including dam removal. 
• Riverways’ River Continuity Program and the Stream Crossing Handbook recently received an honorable mention in Public Works’ on-line magazine (“Engineering and Environmental Equilibrium: Culvert replacement can yield untapped resources and unplanned benefits”, Public Works, 5/1/06 - http://www.pwmag.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=770&articleID=305816).    
• Under the leadership of Margaret Kearns, Riverways’ River Instream Flow Stewards (RIFLS), funded in part by the Mass. Environmental Trust (MET), have new groups in four watersheds, and action planning meetings have been held in six watersheds.  Riverways staff provide training, facilitation, site visits, gage installation and work with USGS to provide rating curves (23 completed).  The 8,124 water volunteer water depth readings are currently posted on RIFLS’ web page.
• RIFLS and Adopt-A-Stream collaborated in a Rain Barrel – Water Use it Wisely Grant Program to award rain barrels to 8 communities who used these water-saving devises in public demonstrations.
• This spring, Riverways conducted the Neponset River Revival as part of the Neponset Literacy Program funded by MET.  This program led by Riverways’ Gabrielle Stebbins included a variety of educational programs aimed at building awareness, knowledge and scientific literacy about the Neponset River.  Outreach included canoeing for beginners and presentations by Riverways to neighborhood groups, by NOAA on dam removal, and by USGS on its Riverways sponsored study on PCBs in the Neponset River.  The outreach culminated in a presentation by Riverways partner, consulting firm Milone & MacBroom, Inc. on restoration/remediation alternatives for the Neponset River.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Riverways congratulates Amy Singler, who will be attending graduate school at the University of Wisconsin this fall. For the past seven years, Amy has served as Riverways’ Community Organizer.  In addition to working with Stream Teams—organizing, facilitating, planning and implementing plans— Amy was the lead on the Bronson Brook Pilot Restoration Project.  As part of her work on this River Continuity Pilot, Amy provided community organizing, helped write permits, attended conservation commission meetings, raised federal funds and oversaw the project.  Amy also oversaw the publication of the Stream Crossing Handbook).  We all wish Amy the best in Wisconsin ! She will be missed.  Meanwhile, we will be working to fill her position as soon as possible – check the Commonwealth Employment Opportunities web page for a description of the position and to access the application.

Our other staff news is that Adopt-A-Stream Coordinator Rachel Calabro has a new baby girl! We are thrilled at her news. Rachel will be back in the office on October 1.  In the interim, please feel free to call Riverways main line at (617) 626-1540 or e-mail Carrie Banks at carrie.banks@state.ma.us.

NewsNotes #21’s lead article, by Riverways staff member and author Tom Warhol, suggests some actions citizens can take to that can simultaneously lessen the severity of flood and drought conditions on our rivers and streams.  This lead article is followed as usual by a cornucopia of timely grant opportunities, events and Web resources, summarized in 16 pages of Resources and Grants compiled by Russ Cohen.

See you on (or in) the rivers-

Joan Kimball , Director

P.S.:  The Mass. Watershed Coalition (MWC)’s “mwc-list” listserv is a great source of information on river- and watershed-related funding and job opportunities, upcoming events, recent articles and more.  Many of the posted items are time-sensitive and can’t wait until the next edition of NewsNotes.  You can access the mwc-list listserv at http://lists.topica.com/lists/mwc-list@igc.topica.com, where you can subscribe to receive the posted messages to your e-mail address, or simply read them on-line.  Highly recommended!  While there’s some overlap, you might also want to join and/or read prior postings to the "NEWatersheds" listserv maintained by River Network – see http://rapids.rivernetwork.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/newatersheds. 

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What We Can do for Rivers: A Citizen's Guide to Everyday Actions that can Benefit our Rivers and Streams

By Tom Warhol, Mass. Riverways Program, (617) 626-1571

While it may seem that, given the recent record-setting wet weather we’ve had, there’s no need to worry about running short of water, it’s important to remember that these high-water events represent one arc of a climate pendulum that swings the other way as well (e.g., the extended drought the Commonwealth experienced in the year 2002). Even under natural (pre-development) conditions, most precipitation is quickly funneled by our waterways out to sea. However, high water levels and velocities in rivers and streams are exacerbated by human activities. For example, the channeling of waterways, though it may be effective in conveying water quickly from the channelized area, often worsens flooding and/or erosion downstream. Also, the massive amounts of pavement and other impervious services proliferating in our cities and suburbs cause water to run off quickly instead of infiltrating into the ground to replenish aquifers and streamflow in times of low rainfall.

Interestingly (and perhaps not surprisingly), many of the actions that ordinary citizens, as well as businesses, government, etc., can take to restore natural hydrology and use water responsibly are important in times of floods as well as in times of drought. Such actions can help reduce the “flashiness” of our landscapes (i.e., increase opportunities for precipitation to be captured and stored in natural formations—wetlands, aquifers, etc.—or in holding tanks—cisterns, rain barrels, etc.—instead of quickly running off). Adopting these “conservation-minded” water use habits and capacities now, when water is relatively available, will help ensure sufficient water supplies will be on hand in drier times to meet essential needs of natural as well as human communities. At the same time, these actions can minimize unnecessary and/or wasteful water consumption that may contribute to excessive streamflow depletion and desiccation of other hydric habitats resulting from public and private water withdrawals and diversions during dry periods.

Here are a few suggestions to reduce the size of your ecological “footprint” on our waterways and watersheds:

In Your Home

“Sixty percent of our drinking water comes from rivers alone.” - River Network

1. Use your water meter and/or water bills to track your household’s water consumption. The current residential water usage recommendation from the Mass. DEP is 65 gallons per day per person (rgpcd). Water conservation advocate Paul Lauenstein from Sharon Friends of Conservation has developed a helpful chart (see http://www.sharonfoc.org/interest/lawntips.pdf) which should enable you to easily convert your household’s water usage into an rgpcd figure and see how your usage compares to the recommended 65 rgpcd figure.

2. Fix leaky faucets or pipes. You can estimate how much water is being lost via these leaks by using this calculator: http://www.awwa.org/advocacy/learn/conserve/dripcalc.cfm

3. Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth and washing dishes. See http://www.charlottesville.org/Index.aspx?page=641 for a table showing the water savings achievable by this and other conservation-minded water use.

4. Install low-flow shower heads and toilets. http://www.hometips.com/cs-protected/guides/showerhd.html; http://www.terrylove.com/crtoilet.htm

5. Replace your old clothes washer with a more efficient, front-loading one. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=clotheswash.pr_clothes_washers; http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/topwash.htm

6. Dispose of chemicals, paints, and other toxic materials safely to prevent them from leaching into the soil and groundwater. Most towns have hazardous waste disposal days; to find out when these are for your community, or for other disposal options, go to http://massachusetts.earth911.org/master.asp?s=ls&a=HHW&cat=9.

In Your Yard

“On average, 50 to 70 percent of home water is used outdoors for watering lawns and gardens.”

- American Water Works Association

1. Install a rain barrel and use the water it collects for your garden and lawn as well as car washing and cleaning windows. These (often recycled) plastic barrels can hold 60 gallons or more of water (especially when two or more barrels are hooked up in series) and can be attached to a downspout from roof gutters. They’re fitted with filters to keep debris and mosquitoes out and a spigot to aid in easy water dispensing. Only 1/4 inch of rain discharged to a downspout is needed to fill a typical barrel. A full 60-gallon rain barrel can cover about 100 square feet with an inch of water, ideal for small lawn areas or gardens. Local sources for rain barrels include the New England Rain Barrel Company, www.nerainbarrel.com and The Great American Rain Barrel Company, www.tgarb.com. Many municipalities have partnered with these and other companies to offer rain barrels at a substantial discount.

2. Water your lawn and garden only when necessary, and then only when the regulations of your municipality and/or water district permit you to do so. Watering in the early morning (before 7AM) or evening (after 6PM ) helps reduce evaporative waste. This website offers additional tips: http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/index.shtml

3. Keep better track of your sprinkler system, and turn it off if there has been adequate rain. Or install soil moisture sensors to reduce unnecessary sprinkler use (see http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/links/controllermanf.htm). Minimize the amount of wasted water that misses its target vegetation and sprays or runs off to patios, driveways, sidewalks, etc.

4. Use native plants whenever possible, as they are adapted to the natural cycles and amounts of rain and sun in New England (see http://www.newfs.org/nursery.htm and http://www.nsrwa.org/greenscapes/). See also EOEA’s publication More Than Just a Yard: Ecological Landscaping Tools for Massachusetts Homeowners – free hard copies are available by contacting Russ.Cohen@state.ma.us or (617) 626-1543.

5. Convert non-porous surfaces to porous ones; this helps the ground absorb rainwater, keeping it from washing into storm drains and causing unnatural flood volumes in streams and rivers, scouring banks and destroying habitat. Stormwater Center website ; http://www.epa.gov/owm/mtb/porouspa.pdf

6. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway. (See http://www.usagreen.org/waterConservation.html for this and 99 additional suggestions for saving water.)

In Your Community

“A healthy, caring community is an essential facet of a healthy river.” - American Rivers

1. Join a Watershed Group. Many rivers flowing through the Commonwealth are represented by a non-profit group working to protect the river and often the smaller tributaries feeding into it. This typically involves: supporting river-friendly legislation at the federal, state and/or local level; sponsoring events encouraging members and the public at large to spend time in, on and/or along the river; sampling for water quality and reporting pollution incidents; planting native shrubs and trees along riverbanks; monitoring streamflow and documenting unnaturally low- or no-flow conditions; and regular cleanups of trash in and along rivers. Current contact info for most watershed groups in the state can be found on Riverways’ Watershed Contacts web page; feel free to contact us for additional help in locating a watershed group (or, if there is no group active in your area, help in starting one).

2. Support and encourage your local and state officials and affected public or private landowners to pursue dam removal projects or retrofits to road crossings that remove barriers to fish and wildlife movement in or along rivers and streams and enable the restoration of natural streamflow regimes. (See Riverways’ “River Continuity” page and UMass/Amherst’s River and Stream Continuity Project at http://www.streamcontinuity.org; see also Riverways’ River Restore web page for more info on dam removal.

3. Support your municipal Department of Public Works (DPW)’s adoption of best practices (BMPs) for stormwater management. (See the “Resources and Grants” section below for more info on this issue.)

4. Encourage your municipal Planning Department and/or Planning Board to seek the implementation of Low-Impact Development (LID) practices when reviewing new construction or redevelopment projects. See http://www.mass.gov/envir/lid/default.htm for more info on LID in Massachusetts .

5. Consider joining your local Conservation Commission, or at the very least, attending some of your local commission’s meetings. Conservation Commissions are on the front lines in the battle to protect local wetlands, waterways and other natural resources, and members need to know they have the support of conservation-minded citizens in defending the integrity of the community’s wetland and other habitats and their associated flora and fauna. The Mass. Association of Conservation Commission’s webpage (http://www.maccweb.org) has more info.

These are just a few suggestions for reducing our impact on our streams and rivers. If you’re thirsty for more, here are a few resources to get you started:

• California Urban Water Conservation Council’s guide to efficient water use: http://www.h2ouse.org/
• American Water Works Association: http://www.awwa.org/advocacy/learn/conserve/
• Water Saving Tips from Newfoundland and British Columbia : http://www.stjohns.ca/cityservices/water/savingtips.jsp and http://www.crd.bc.ca/water/conservation
• Water Saving Tips from Minneapolis/St. Paul: http://www.metrocouncil.org/environment/water/supply/water_conservation.htm
• How (and why) conserving water can conserve energy as well: http://www.ase.org/content/article/detail/910
• River Network’s RiverSmart program: http://www.riversmart.org/tips.cfm
• American Rivers: http://www.americanrivers.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AMR_content_2b11

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Resources and Grants

Grant Opportunities

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA)’s Urban River Visions Grant Program (http://commpres.env.state.ma.us/content/urv.asp) recently posted a Request for Responses (RFR) seeking nominations (due Friday, July 28th) from eligible municipalities that possess previously developed but underutilized urban riverfront sites appropriate for a site planning charrette that will produce a consensus vision and action plan for future smart growth-consistent redevelopment. Plans for up to 10 sites in 10 municipalities will be completed. The goal is to revitalize riverfront areas, protect or restore environmental assets, and promote sustainable economic and neighborhood development. EOEA is retaining a consultant to conduct a planning charrette, worth approximately $40,000 in planning services, for each of the 10 selected sites. To access the RFR, go to http://www.comm-pass.com, click on “Search for Solicitations” and then enter “Urban River Visions” in the “Keywords” box. Contact Kurt Gaertner at (617) 626-1154 or kurt.gaertner@state.ma.us for more info.

The FishAmerica Foundationprovides funding to non-profit organizations such as sporting clubs, civic associations, conservation groups, and state agencies, in the United States and Canada. Conservation project applications may be submitted at any time except for project applications associated with a specific Request for Proposals. Research Projects are funded once each year, and those proposals are due by 5:00 PM on July 31st. The Conservation Projects Committee funds hands-on, action-oriented projects that have clear and identifiable benefits to sport fish populations and the sport of fishing. The average conservation grant is $7,500. Funds for non-labor costs are provided for habitat improvement, streambank stabilization, aeration systems, fishing reefs, silt removal, planting of trees and vegetation, fish passage improvements (i.e., culvert removal/replacement, fish ladder installation/repair, dam removal), hatchery construction/renovation, stocking and rearing projects with long-term value, litter cleanups and heavy equipment rental and operation (i.e., removal of silt from fishing ponds, construction of fish ladders and bypasses, demolition and removal of dams, placement of large wood). The Research Projects Committee funds projects that have regional or national implications, not merely local and can serve as a national model. The average research grant is $15,000. Research Funds are provided in the following areas: fisheries management; water quality studies; habitat studies; stock enhancement studies; economic impact studies related to sport fishing; and tagging. Potential applicants with specific questions about the application process are encouraged contact the foundation at (703) 519-9691 or fishamerica@asafishing.org.

The Merck Family Fund has two major funding priorities: protecting the natural environment (via the protection of vital ecosystems in the eastern US, and supporting the shift towards environmentally sustainable economic systems, incentives, and behaviors) and strengthening the urban community (via supporting communities with few resources who are confronting significant social, economic, and environmental challenges). Grants in this latter category are limited to grassroots programs in New York City, Providence and Boston and are for the purposes of creating green and open space or supporting youth as agents of social change. New requests for support to the Merck Family Fund should be made by a letter of inquiry rather than with a full proposal or a request for a personal meeting. The letter should not exceed two pages and should concisely describe the project, its purpose, its likely impact, and the amount being requested. The letter should also briefly describe the organization and the overall budget. The Fund's staff will review the letter and decide whether to invite a full proposal. Letters of inquiry are acknowledged as soon as possible. Letters of inquiry may be submitted at any time. Hard copy format is preferred over fax or email transmission. The next deadline for full proposals (should one be invited by the Fund in response to a letter of inquiry) is August 1, 2006. Send proposals to: Jenny Russell, Executive Director, Merck Family Fund, 303 Adams Street, Milton, MA 02186 -4253.

The purpose of the American Canoe Association (ACA)’s Club Fostered Stewardship (CFS) Grant Programis to foster and support volunteer stewardship activity by local paddling clubs. Canoe and kayak clubs have a tremendous reservoir of individuals who care about the nation’s waterways and want to help protect and improve the places where they enjoy paddling. Through this program, the ACA and L.L. Bean hope to encourage and empower clubs to undertake projects that address the many stewardship needs of local waterways. The CFS Program offers simple and quick access to grants of up to $1000 for a wide range of club-initiated stewardship activities. Grant funds may be awarded to support efforts that include but are not limited to: waterway clean-ups, work projects to address instream safety hazards such as debris buildup (not woody debris needed for fish habitat), maintenance of access areas, safety or access-related signage, establishment and care of paddle trails, acquisition of threatened access points, and provision of sanitary facilities. Applications will only be accepted from active paddling clubs or outdoor clubs that have a significant paddling component; clubs are not required to be official§501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations, but they must be a not-for-profit entity in purpose and function. Proposed projects should utilize volunteer efforts to the maximum extent practicable. Annual application deadlines are April 1, June 1 and August 1. Click on http://www.americancanoe.org/stewardship/cfs.lasso for additional info or contact Paul Sanford, ACA Director of Stewardship and Public Policy, at (703) 451-0141 ext. 20 or psanford@americancanoe.org.

The National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) provides technical assistance to community groups and local, State, and federal government agencies so they can conserve rivers, preserve open space, and develop trails and greenways. The RTCA is currently seeking applications for RTCA staff (non financial) support in FY07; the deadline to apply is August 1st. Click here or go to http://www.rookscommunications.com/vox/naps/applguide07ner.pdf for detailed application guidelines. In the meantime, you are strongly encouraged to contact the RTCA staff serving your area (click on http://www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/rtca/contactus/regions/northeast.html) to discuss your project and receive helpful advice on how to draft and submit an application with a high probability of success.

The U.S. EPA’s Watershed Funding web page (http://www.epa.gov/owow/funding.html) is a good source of information regarding government and non-governmental funding opportunities for a wide variety of watershed-related projects. One such upcoming opportunity is a recently-posted RFP for the FY 2006 Assessment and Watershed Protection Program Grants (AWPPGs) authorized under §104(b)(3) of the Clean Water Act. Eligible grant recipients include States and local governments, public or private non-profit, non-governmental institutions and individuals. While no cost share or match is required, your proposal may be ranked higher if you do. You are strongly encouraged to read the RFP to learn about the types of projects eligible for funding and for more info on the application process as well as how proposals will be evaluated. The application deadline for the AWPPGs is Tuesday, August 15, 2006. Contact Tim Icke at (202) 566-1211 or awppg@epa.gov for more info.

The Ittleson Foundation supports innovative pilot, model and demonstration projects that help move individuals, communities, and organizations from environmental awareness to environmental activism by changing attitudes and behaviors. It particularly seeks to encourage and nurture environmental action through: supporting the present generation of environmental activists, whether professionals or volunteers through education, training and other activities; educating and engaging the next generation of environmentalists with a special interest in supporting the training of those who are teaching that generation; strengthening the infrastructure of the environmental movement with a particular focus on efforts at the grassroots and statewide levels; and activating new constituencies, particularly those focused on environmental equity issues. To apply, send a brief letter to the Executive Director describing the organization and the work for which funds are being sought, along with a budget and evidence of tax-exempt status. If the activity falls within the current scope of the Foundation’s interests, the applicant will be asked to supply additional information as required. The Foundation Board meets twice per year. For our Spring meeting, initial letters of inquiry must be received before April 1st and for our Fall meeting, before September 1st. Inquiries should be addressed to: Anthony C. Wood, Executive Director, Ittleson Foundation, Inc., 15 East 67 Street, New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 794-2008.

The Laura Jane Musser Fund’s Environmental/Community Initiative encourages communities to use a consensus-based approach to environmental decision-making. The Fund considers requests that propose a process or initiative in a rural or non-urban community that develops a stewardship program through a consensus-based approach. Projects should preserve and manage a significant natural resource, or use a consensus-based approach to resolve an environmental issue or dispute. The next proposal deadline is September 5, 2006. For more information, contact: Mary Karen Lynn-Klimenko, Managing Consultant, The Laura Jane Musser Fund, 332 Minnesota Street, Suite E-1420, St. Paul, MN 55101, (651) 224-5209 or musser@visi.com.

The Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), in coordination with the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), recently issued the FY07 Request for Response (RFR) for the 2007 Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant Program. This grant program provides funding to public water systems and municipalities for land acquisitions that protect public drinking water supplies and drinking water quality. The direct recipient of a grant must be a municipality or public water system authorized by the Commonwealth to provide water to the public. Eligible land acquisitions include land located in existing or future drinking water supply areas. Land may be acquired through purchase of fee simple title, purchase of a conservation restriction, or a combination of the two. Although not directly eligible for grant funding, local land trusts, community groups, or others are encouraged to work cooperatively with eligible Applicants to pursue drinking water supply land protection projects. Local groups often have expertise in identifying appropriate properties that would qualify for funding, or experience negotiating acquisitions from willing sellers and can offer such assistance to eligible Applicants. The maximum grant award for a single project is $500,000. The maximum reimbursement amount available is 50% of the total project cost. Applications must be received no later than September 15, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. The complete RFR is accessible at http://www.comm-pass.com by clicking on the “Solicitations” tab at the top-left of the page, then select “Search for a Solicitation”, then enter “BRP 2006-06” in the “search” box. For more info, contact: Christy Edwards, Land and Forest Policy Coordinator, EOEA, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114, (617) 626-1151, (617) 626-1181 (fax), or Christy.edwards@state.ma.us.

Through NOAA's Community-based Restoration Program, funds are provided to establish national and regional partnerships for up to 3 years that provide sub-awards for individual, grass-roots restoration projects to restore fish (especially anadromous/catadromous fish) habitat. Applications are due September 25, 2006 . For more info, click here or http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/funding_opportunities/funding_ner.html, or contact Melanie.Gange@noaa.gov or Robin.Bruckner@noaa.gov at (301) 713-0174.

The William P. Wharton Trust supports conservation, study and appreciation of nature through projects with tangible and lasting results, those that seek partnerships and that leverage funds to gain matching contributions.  In order of priority, the Trust specifically supports: 1) acquisition of land for conservation and preservation of natural areas, primarily in MA and NE; 2 ) management techniques designed to improve environmental quality and species diversity; 3) bird and forestry research & management at the applied level vs. the theoretical or molecular level; and 4) creation of materials or projects designed to foster an appreciation and a concern for wildlife and natural systems. Range of award is usually from $2,500 to $10,000 and usually for the duration of one year. Application deadlines are April 1 stand October 1st.  For more info, contact: Kathleen  Swienton, Administrator, W. P. Wharton Trust c/o Choate, Hall & Stewart, Exchange Place, 53 State Street, Boston, MA  02109-2804, (617) 248-5000, kswienton@choate.com. 

The Amelia Peabody Charitable Fund’s Environment Program supports a variety of projects, including conservation land acquisition and capital projects for organizations. The Fund will consider projects throughout New England , but has a preference for those in Massachusetts, particularly in the Boston area. Submission deadlines for proposals are: February 1, June 1, and October 1. For a copy of grant guidelines or other info, contact Jo Anne Borek, Executive Director or Cheryl Gideon, Administrator, Amelia Peabody Charitable Fund Trust, 10 Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109, (617) 855-1413

The Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET)’s mission is to develop, coordinate, and fund projects that encourage cooperative efforts to raise environmental awareness and/or enable innovative approaches that can restore, protect, and improve water and water-related resources of the Commonwealth. [Click here to read the MET’s response to a survey some of you may have participated in regarding its environmental license plate program.] The MET has issued a Request for Response (RFR) for its Unrestricted General Grants Program for FY07 through FY09. The RFR is highly-recommended reading for any organization that is contemplating applying to the Trust for funding in the next several years (but check the MET website for updates before you apply). While most proposals must fall into one of two programmatic funding categories described in the RFR: Water’s Role in Ecosystem Health and Human Health and the Environment, the MET also has a Directed Grants option for worthy projects that don’t comfortably fit into the programmatic categories. Eligible applicants for MET grants are primarily §501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, schools and institutions for higher education, and cities and towns. The Trust does not generally fund federal or state government, individuals, religious organizations, or community organizations, but will entertain proposals from any entity through a tax-exempt non–profit fiscal agent that accepts both fiduciary and legal responsibilities. Applying to any of the programs in this RFR involves a two-step process: a Letter of Inquiry must be submitted by October 1st, with full proposals (if invited) due by March 1st. For more info, contact Robbin Peach, Executive Director (robbin.peach@state.ma.us), Amy Hunt Breault, Program Coordinator (amy.breault@state.ma.us), or Gina Proia, Executive Assistant, Outreach Coordinator (gina.proia@state.ma.us) at 100 Cambridge St., Ste 1060, Boston, MA 02114, (617) 626-1045 or (617) 626-1059.

The purpose of the Arthur Ashley Williams Foundation is “to give financial aid and support exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational purposes.” Its mission is “to render financial assistance to non profit organizations that can show need of assistance and meet all the criteria required by the foundation”. A number of Massachusetts-based environmental organizations have received grants from the Foundation, which tend to be relatively modest in size ($500-$3,000). There are no proposal deadlines. For more info, contact the Foundation at PO Box 6280, Holliston, MA 01746, (508) 893-0757 or ctlambert@rcn.com.

The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation seeks to build lasting solutions to the environmental problems of global warming and the loss of open space. The Foundation supports efforts in the Northeast that focus on developing and promoting climate change solutions, and supports nationwide efforts to protect the remaining open spaces. Through this latter program, the Foundation encourages organizations and communities to use strategic planning and long-term visioning as a successful tool for open space protection. While the Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, it welcomes the opportunity to learn more about the initiatives of environmental organizations working within these fields, so groups are invited to send a two-page letter to the Foundation describing the focus of your organization or program to: Tremaine Foundation, 290 Pratt Street Meriden, CT 06450, (203) 639-5544, (203) 639-5545 (fax) or chevalier@tremainefoundation.org.

The Massachusetts office of the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service (MA NRCS) is currently soliciting project ideas to be considered for assistance under the NRCS’s FY07 Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP). WHIP is a voluntary conservation program that provides technical and/or financial assistance to landowners for developing, improving or managing wildlife habitat or for restoring natural ecosystems on eligible land. Eligible lands include privately owned land (including that held by land trusts and other NGOs) and (on a limited basis) state and local government land. Target areas in Massachusetts include early successional habitats (grasslands, old fields, early woodlands), aquatic ecosystems, wetlands and riparian areas. Examples of conservation practices eligible for WHIP cost-share funding include early successional habitat development and management, projects enhancing fish passage and river continuity (see also http://www.streamcontinuity.org/index.htm), wetland restoration and riparian buffer establishment or enhancement. Anyone with a project idea is encouraged to (the sooner the better) contact the NRCS office in the county where the project is located so NRCS staff can determine eligibility and evaluate the chances of the project’s receiving WHIP support in FY07 (beginning on 10/1/07). Contact MA WHIP Coordinator Beth Schreier at (413) 253-4393 or beth.schreier@ma.usda.gov for more info. [See also the June 2006 edition of MA NRCS’s Conservation Connection electronic newsletter, which includes an article describing a wetland land protection effort NRCS assisted in along the headwaters of the Eel River in Plymouth .]

The Massachusetts Conservation Mapping Assistance Partnership Program (MACMAPP), a collaboration between GIS software vendor ESRI and EOEA, provides a bundle of GIS software and training to conservation organizations at a very substantial discount.  All §501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with an explicit conservation mission and all municipal conservation commissions operating in Massachusetts are eligible. Recipients will obtain the latest ArcView 9.1 software from ESRI along with two years of support, on-line training and documentation (a total package valued at about $3000) for a cost of $400.  In addition, MassGIS will provide free GIS data and offer hands-on training workshops in using GIS software and compiling open space data. In turn, MACMAPPP recipients must commit to participating in MassGIS’s Open Space mapping initiative and sharing GIS data that they generate (other than sensitive data relating to potential acquisitions.)   Interested organizations should download the MACMAPPP Application and Narrative from the MassGIS web site. (N.B.: this is not a competitive program - any conservation organization that meets minimum program requirements will be accepted). For more info, contact MassGIS Open Space Mapping Coordinator Scott Costello at scott.costello@state.ma.us or (617) 626-1076.

The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) recently announced the expected availability of grant funding for two programs that seek to improve coastal water quality and habitat by reducing nonpoint sources of pollution. The Coastal Pollutant Remediation (CPR) grant program funds municipal projects that address (1) nonpoint source pollution from paved surfaces (public roadways, highways, bridges, or parking lots) or (2) sanitary waste from boats (waste from mobile or fixed facilities that pump or receive sewage from marine sanitation devices installed on vessels). Municipalities within the greater Massachusetts Coastal Watershedare eligible to apply. For a list of the 220 eligible communities, see http://www.mass.gov/czm/twnscws.htm). The Coastal NPS grant program funds a wider array of nonpoint source management efforts, including watershed- or subwatershed-scale NPS assessments, development of local planning tools, public education and outreach, design and/or implementation of Smart Growth and Low-Impact Development strategies for NPS control, and efforts to eliminate or manage pollution from septic systems and publicly owned marinas. Municipalities within the greater Massachusetts Coastal Watershed, as well as other public entities and private nonprofit organizations, are eligible to apply. More info about these grant programs are posted at CZM’s Jobs and Grants web site, http://www.mass.gov/czm/jobsandgrants.htm or http://www.mass.gov/czm/cwq2.htm. To discuss project ideas before the RFR is issued (highly recommended), contact Marilyn McCrory, Coastal Nonpoint Grants Program Coordinator, at or (617) 626-1235 or Marilyn.McCrory@state.ma.us. Once the RFRs are released, CZM’s ability to answer project-specific questions will be limited.

Last but not least: the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)’s Greenways and Trails Program anticipates announcing a call for proposals for Recreational Trails Grant projects sometime this summer, with a deadline for proposals in the fall.  For more details on the Greenways and Trails Program and the Recreational Trails Grants, please visit http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/greenway/index.htm.  To be added to the email/mailing list for this and similar grant announcements, please send your contact info to Paul Jahnige at paul.jahnige@state.ma.us. FYI, Paul recently started his new job as DCR’s Director of Greenways and Trails, taking over for Jennifer Howard who has moved up to be DCR’s Director of Land Protection.  Paul comes from another program in DCR (Urban and Community Forestry), and has worked in the urban and community environmental field for about 13 years. He has also been involved in local and regional trail efforts for many years, and looks forward to working with you all to enhance trail and greenway opportunities in Massachusetts .

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Calendar

River restoration planning demands tools capable of quantifying the consequences of flow and channel modification at various temporal and spatial scales. The Northeast Instream Habitat Program at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst (NEIHP, http://www.neihp.org) focuses on developing a efficient habitat assessment approaches to analyze functional relationships between river biota and their physical environment at a watershed scale. “MesoHABSIM”, a recently developed habitat modeling approach for instream habitat assessment, is experiencing growing popularity in river restoration and management planning. NEIHP is offering a summer course entitled MesoHABSIM: Instream Data Collection and Modeling that will run from 9am-5pm on August 28-31, 2006. The course is intended to teach the basics of data collection techniques within the MesoHABSIM framework, data processing with MesoHABSIM software and the creation of habitat models. The course is available as a credit or non-credit option. Contact Piotr Parasiewicz at neihp@yahoo.com for more info.

Once again, the national river conservation advocacy group American Rivers is sponsoring an annual River Lobby Day on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 . Activists from across the country will come to Washington , DC at that time to meet with their elected officials and speak out about the value of healthy rivers to our communities as well as speak up on behalf of adequate federal funding for river conservation. There’s no charge to participate in Lobby Day, and stipends are available to help offset the cost of travel and accommodations in D.C.  Submit your registration and stipend form on-line, or download the PDF formand mail to: American Rivers , Attn: Jamie Mierau, 1101 14th Street NW, Suite 1400 , Washington , DC   20005 . Never lobbied before? Not a problem; American Rivers staff will provide lobby trainingon Monday, Sept.11 th. Contact Peter Raabe, American Rivers’ Deputy Director for Governmental Affairs, at praabe@AmericanRivers.org or (202) 347-7550 for more info.

The Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) will be holding its annual national conference, Dam Safety 2006, from September 10-14 at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade   Center in Boston . Download and print the full registration information packet, or click on the preliminary agenda or planned poster sessions for more info.

Good negotiation and communications skills are essential for conservationists as we work to protect and care for natural areas, historic structures, parks, watersheds, farmland, forests, trails, community gardens, and so much more. Learn how to hone these skills at a Negotiation and Communication Skills for Conservationists workshop on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006, from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM at the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster . Co-sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations’ Putnam Conservation Institute (www.thetrustees.org), the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (www.lincolninst.edu) and the Consensus Building Institute (www.ConsensusBuilding.org), this intensive workshop will be led by the CBI’s Patrick Field and Ona Ferguson. The cost of the workshop is only $35 per person; c ontact Annie DeRose to register at aderose@ttor.org or (978) 840-4446 ext. 1900.

On September 18-20 in Worcester, Riverways, along with EOEA, CZM and the University of Wisconsin at Madison will sponsor a 2.5-day Low Impact Development (LID) course entitled Designing Bio/Infiltration Best Management Practices for Stormwater Quality Improvement. Attendees will receive professional development hours (15) or continuing education credits (1.5 CEU). This course, targeted at design engineers, architects, contractors, developers, reviewers, and planning staff, will concentrate on infiltration/biofiltration best management practices available for storm water quality improvement, focusing on porous pavement, rain gardens/bioretention, swales, and trenches. Click here for the pdf for more info; significant registration fee discounts are available for multiple enrollees from the same company/organization and for Massachusetts state employees. Other LID workshops (aimed more at a general audience) are scheduled for September 13 in Medford , September 19 in Haverhill and October 16 in the lower Charles watershed. To be contacted when more details become available on any of these events, contact Andrea Cooper, CZM’s Smart Growth Coordinator, at (617) 626-1222, (978) 281-3972 or andrea.cooper@state.ma.us.

A seminar/workshop entitled Integrated Ecological Restoration of Rivers and Streams in Floodplains, Riparian Zones, and Waterways (Including Design of Native Vegetation for Water Quality) is scheduled for September 17 - 23, 2006 at the Humboldt Institute (Eagle Hill) in Steuben, Maine. Led by John W. Munro (munroeco@verizon.net), consulting ecologist and President of Munro Ecological Services, Inc., (PA), this seminar/workshop is designed to dig deeply into the concepts of waterway restoration from the broader ecological context and in the mode of Ecological Restoration, focusing on vegetation and native plant community issues as they relate to waterways, rather than on strictly mechanistic and engineering-oriented solutions. Participants in this five-day course will learn the vital relationships between the watershed land cover and the waterway, and how to design plans for the ecological restoration of the waterway. Problem areas or restored waterways will be subject of field trips. Local issues infused throughout the seminar are restoration of Atlantic salmon (in-stream habitat, spawning reaches (gravel and sand bars), water temperature and shading); large woody debris presence and management in Maine waterways; dam removals, planning and consequences; existing hard infrastructure (bridges, outfalls, etc.); restoring logging-scoured rivers and streams; re-designing waterway cross sections; headwaters issues such as clearcuts and development patterns and buffers. Tuition is $645 (2 university credits are optional) plus room and board costs. Contact the Humboldt Institute at (207) 546-2821 or office@eaglehill.us for more info.

Our Communities, Our Water – Connecting the Global and the Local is the title of a conference scheduled for September 22-24, 2006 at the UMass/Amherst Campus Center. The conference will take a critical look at corporate efforts to privatize public water supplies in the Commonwealth and elsewhere in the Northeast. Contact Jonathan Leavitt at MassGlobalAction [(617) 338-9966 or Leavitt.jonathan@gmail.com] for more info.

Participants from Massachusetts are welcomed at a program entitled Rhode Island Watershed Stewardship Program: Connecting Land and Water, a series of training sessions taking place on Tuesday evenings and a couple Saturdays between September 19th and October 24th. Co-sponsored by the Rhode Island Rivers Council, the Rhode Island Land Trust Council and many partner organizations, these sessions will teach interested citizens how to protect land and water resources in partnership with local land trusts and watershed associations. The program takes place in Providence and Smithfield, RI and will include classes on urban watershed assessments, anadromous fisheries restoration, developing and managing trails on protected lands and managing invasive species. The registration fee is only $45 and includes land and water restoration information, a water quality testing kit, field identification guides and lunch for Saturday field trips. Contact the RI Rivers Council at (401) 714-2313 or ririversinfo@ririvers.org to register or for more info.

The New England Water Works Association (NEWWA)’s Fall 2006 Water Resources Symposium, entitled Why Water Suppliers Should Care About Stormwater Management, will take placefrom October 12-13, 2006 at the University of New Hampshire’s Stormwater Center Campus in Durham, NH. The symposium will include a guided tour of the campus, which features a number of stormwater BMPs that are being evaluated for effectiveness. [Tours of the Stormwater Center are also available on other dates; click here for more info.] If you have any questions, please call or e-mail Peter Garrett, Conference Coordinator at (207) 872-0613 or eggime@eggi.com, or Ray Raposa, NEWWA Executive Director, at (508) 893-7979 or rraposa@newwa.org.

Are you a public works manager, urban planner, watershed association or stream team member or water quality professional who has discovered the importance of managing your local water resources at a watershed scale? The Center for Watershed Protection’s 2006 Watershed Institute, scheduled for October 23 - 26, 2006 in Columbus, OH, will be an intensive, interactive program focusing on: a framework to prioritize valuable and sometimes scarce resources such as funding and staff time; field and desktop methods needed to complete a watershed plan from beginning to end; opportunities to interpret real data and how to integrate findings into a watershed plan; and practical resources participants can directly use in their professions including specific project investigations such as illicit discharge detection and elimination and contiguous forest evaluation. Contact CWP’s Rebecca Winer at (410) 461-8323 or rrw@cwp.org for more info.

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On-line Resources

The U.S. EPA recently completed a significant revision of its National Menu of Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs).  The new menu has been redesigned to make it easier to browse and search.  It also cross-references many new resources from other organizations involved in stormwater management. The new Menu now includes a comment feature so that stormwater practitioners and experts can provide suggestions, new data, and additional references. The Menu also includes 20 new fact sheets on innovative practices relating to outreach and education, illicit discharge detection and elimination, concrete washout, post-construction, smart growth, low impact development, green roofs, municipal operations, and many others.  You can find the new Menu of BMPs at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/menuofbmps. (See http://www.mass.gov/czm/pdf/cpr_bmp_report.pdf for a recent report documenting the effectiveness of various stormwater BMPs in Mass.) The EPA recently hosted a webcast entitled “Financing a Municipal Stormwater Program” on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 , that covered a variety of financing options, including creating a stormwater utility.  To view this or other archived webcasts, or browse any of the EPA’s related training opportunities, please visit http://www.epa.gov/npdes/training.

Emulating the success of its “Energy Star” program in promoting energy conservation, the U.S. EPA recently launched WaterSense(http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense), which will educate American consumers on making smart water choices that save money and maintain high environmental standards without compromising performance. The average household adopting water-efficient products and practices can save 30,000 gallons per year – enough to supply a year of drinking water for 150 of their neighbors.  The WaterSense label will be easily identified on products and services that perform at least 20 percent more efficiently than their less efficient counterparts.  These products will be available to families and businesses early next year. Call the WaterSense helpline at (toll-free) (866) WTR-SENSE (987-7367) for more info; click on http://tinyurl.com/og8o9 to read EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson’s press release. [On a related note: an EPA funded research project is leading to the creation of the Alliance for Water Efficiency , a nationwide water conservation advocacy organization to be based in Chicago . A public workshop was held on June 6, 2006 to discuss the draft report creating the Alliance.]

This past spring, the EPA released a draft document entitled National Stream Report: Wadeable Streams Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation's Streams (EPA 841-B-06-002 April 2006). The Wadeable Streams Assessment (WSA) is a first-ever statistically-valid survey of the biological condition of small streams throughout the U.S. The WSA establishes a national baseline we can use to compare to results from future studies. This information will help us evaluate the successes of our national efforts to protect and restore water quality. The EPA invites your comments (e-mailed to wadeablestreams@epa.gov) on the draft WSA report’s format, approach, and findings; the agency plans to release the final WSA report, incorporating review comments, by late summer 2006. Click on the WSA Fact Sheet or Press Release for more info.

Also this past spring, the EPA released a new on-line document entitled Greenscaping: The Easier Way to a Greener, Healthier Yard (click on http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/Publications/catalog/greenscaping.pdf). Additional information is available at EPA’s Greenscapes web page: http://www.epa.gov/GreenScapes. [FYI, a similar document prepared for Massachusetts, More Than Just a Yard: Ecological landscaping Tools for Massachusetts Homeowners, is available on-line through the Mass. Water Resources Commission’s web page, as is the Guide to Lawn and Landscape Water Conservation; see also the North and South Rivers Watershed Association’s excellent Greenscapes website at http://www.greenscapes.org.]

The Massachusetts Community Assistance Partnership (MassCAP) is a partnership among state and federal agencies that helps increase technical conservation assistance to communities in the eastern Mass. coastal zone (i.e., the area drained by the rivers flowing to the Massachusetts coastline, roughly the eastern third of the state). The Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Districts , watershed associations and other groups participate. MassCAP helps people prevent and address natural resource problems by encouraging local involvement and volunteer support, by providing technical assistance on a watershed basis, by building partnerships to pool expertise and by conducting outreach and training about conservation tools and techniques. Contact Marc MacQueen at (508) 295-5151 ext. 113 or marc.macqueen@ma.usda.gov for more info.

The Massachusetts Service Alliance, in partnership with the Office of Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, recently announced the launch of Connect and Serve (http://www.mass.gov/connectandserve), a new initiative aimed at promoting volunteering across the Commonwealth.  Connect and Serve is a free volunteer web portal where non-profit organizations, schools, governmental agencies, cities, and towns post one-time and on-going volunteer opportunities when they are looking for volunteers.  Potential volunteers can search Connect and Serve for volunteer opportunities of interest, then contact the organization directly though the website. You enter in the location and/or type of volunteer work you’re looking for, and then Connect and Serve provides descriptions and links to volunteer opportunities it thinks might appeal to you. Whether you are an individual looking to make a difference, gain professional experience, or just have fun, or are an organization or agency seeking volunteers for your worthy projects, the Connect and Serve website should be of great help.

The Spring, 2006 edition of Mass. Coastal Zone Management (CZM)’s Coastlines Magazine http://www.mass.gov/czm/coastlines/2006/index06.htm includes a feature article describing the exciting effort to restore the Herring River in Wellfleet as well as good information on SmartGrowth and open space residential development. To subscribe to Coastlines , e-mail your name and address to czm@state.ma.us with ‘Coastlines mailing list’ as the subject, or call the CZM Information Line at (617) 626-1212.

Downstream ,an electronic newsletter produced twice a year by the Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation’s Division of Water Supply Protection, includes articles of interest to residents of the “watershed system communities” (i.e., the cities and towns that contain portions of the Wachusett or Quabbin watersheds and Ware River Intake supplying raw water to the Mass. Water Resources Authority system). Downstream’s goal is to inform the public about watershed protection issues and activities, provide a conduit for public input, and promote environmentally responsible land management practices. The most recent issue (Spring 2006) contains a nicely- illustrated article on dragonflies and damsel flies, an article about recreational opportunities on DCR watershed and other nearby lands and waters, and the recent “spillway” releases from the overflowing Quabbin Reservoir.

Last but not least, this past April, the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) put out the inaugural edition of the agency’s new electronic newsletter. Articles in this edition include DEP’s First-In-The-Nation Perchlorate Standards; news about DEP’s recently modified Water Use Permits in the Ipswich Watershed; and recent studies showing a decline in Mercury Levels in Freshwater Fish. The second issue came out on June 29th and features a story on DEP’s efforts to reduce phosphate loading to the Assabet River. You can read these newsletters on-line at http://mass.gov/dep/public/publications/enews.htm, where you can also subscribe to receive them via e-mail.

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Non-government On-line Resources

Empowerment Institute (EI)
http://www.empowermentinstitute.net/files/WSP.html
Based in Woodstock, NY, EI has a proven track record in community-based household behavior change programs, citizen recruitment strategies and management systems. EI’s website includes Livable Neighborhood Watershed Stewardship Program: A Non Point Source Residential Behavior Change and Public Participation Strategy on-line guide and four-page brochure, both of which describe a methodology for strengthening the capacity of local governments and watershed organizations for implementing effective residential non point source pollution reduction strategies. Contact EI Founder David Gershon at dgershon@empowermentinstitute.netor (845) 657-7788 for more info.

Food and Water Watch (F&WW)
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org
Spun off over the past year from its parent organization, the national consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, F&WW empowers people to take action by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink. F&WW’s water-related work seeks to: preserve the right to water for people and nature - safe, affordable and publicly controlled; enhance citizen participation in water-related decisions; and secure adequate investment in water-related infrastructure. Resources at the F&WW website’s water page include a 30-page report entitled Faulty Pipes: Why Public Funding—Not Privatization—is the Answer for U.S. Water Systems, and access to on-line versions of three water-related newsletters: Currents, F&WW’s monthly newsletter about the corporate control of water, featuring community news, legislative updates and action alerts; Defend the Global Commons, F&WW’s bi-annual newsletter providing news updates from organizations around the world defending water as a public resource; and AquaBits, F&WW’s quarterly newsletter about the bottled water industry. [See also the Our Communities, Our Water web page at http://www.massglobalaction.org/home/ocow for Mass. info.]

Greener Prospects
http://www.greenerprospects.com/products.html
Greener Prospects, the business name for the professional work of Randall Arendt, formerly of the Center for Rural Massachusetts, specializes in the field of conservation planning, i.e., the art and science of designing with nature for people. Services are provided in three principal areas: educational workshops, site planning and design, and ordinance review. The practical solutions developed and espoused by Greener Prospects have helped to save thousands of acres of land in numerous communities at no public cost and at no sacrifice to landowners. Moreover, these results have been achieved without depending upon private donations or involving illegal regulatory “takings”. Resources available at this website include free downloadable publications on a variety of conservation planning-related subjects. Call (401) 792-8200 for more info.

Health and Environment Information System
http://library.silentspring.org/heis/quickstart.asp
Maps are a powerful tool to identify spatial disparities in health and grasp relationships between disease and environmental characteristics. Often, community environmental health concerns are first expressed in maps. Recently established by the Silent Spring Institute, HEIS is a pilot project that will enable policy makers, researchers, and the public to map health and environmental information about communities in Massachusetts . HEIS is a web-based, interactive mapping tool that serves the dual goals of community access to health and environmental information about communities in Massachusetts and researcher access to underlying datasets developed in the Institute’s Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study and by state, federal, and other nonprofit sources. Use HEIS’s on-line mapping tool to see if there’s a known or suspected cancer cluster or other illness concentration in your neighborhood, community or watershed. Go to HEIS’s FAQ page for assistance or more info; see also the MA Dept. of Public Health’s Center for Environmental Health for additional information on this topic.

Idealist.org
http://www.idealist.org
A project of Action Without Borders, the Idealist.org website site provides info on over 54,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries, which you can search or browse by name, location, or mission. If your organization is not yet listed here, you can add it now (it's free). The website also provides access to thousands of volunteer opportunities in your community and around the world. Last but not least, Idealist.org provides an extensive Nonprofit Career Center, with hundreds of job and internship listings. Click here for more info.

Keepers of the Waters
http://www.keepersofthewaters.org/
Founded by visionary Betsy Damon, Keepers of the Waters is a non-profit organization that assists communities in the U.S. and abroad to make places in the urban environment that permanently inform and communicate about water. Keepers brings artists, scientists and citizens together to initiate projects that restore, preserve and remediate water sources in a visible, educational, recreational and culturally connected way. Resource at Keepers’ website include a set of living water garden design principles and a database/network of projects and professionals that combine art, education and science to preserve, restore, recycle and remediate water.

LandChoices
http://www.landchoices.org
Experts say the biggest problem land conservation faces is that landowners don't know they have choices other than selling to a conventional developer. LandChoices is a national non-profit organization working to reach landowners and provide them with land preservation choices BEFORE they make that final decision to subdivide their land for conventional subdivision development. For landowners who have decided to sell their land for development, LandChoices informs them about how conservation subdivision design can be more profitable than conventional subdivision development. Call (248) 685-0483 or e-mail info@landchoices.org for more info.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LILP)
http://www.lincolninst.edu
Resources available at the Cambridge, MA-based Institute’s website include a Citizen Planners Resource Kit (free for Planning Board members - $130 for others) which includes publications on smart growth, regionalism, and conservation easements and a copy of the LILP’s quarterly newsletter, Land Lines. The kit also includes the Making Sense of Place film and free access to on-line courses designed specifically for citizen planning officials. One of the courses in the Institute’s Lincoln Education Online (LEO) series, available to all at no cost or obligation, is entitled Valuing Land Affected by Conservation Easements. It provides an in-depth look at conservation easements, including background on the current policy debate, and draws on experts in environmental studies, planning, tax law, valuation and assessment. To access the course, go to LILP’s web page and click on the photo next to “Conservation Easements Online Course”. Contact the Institute at help@lincolninst.edu or 800-LAND-USE for more info.

Matchbook.org
http://www.matchbook.org
Is your organization looking for performing artists to highlight your next big public event? Matchbook may have what you need. MatchBook.org is an on-line cultural marketplace designed to bring together New England' s performing artists and the people and organizations wishing to present them. This free website features an easy-to-search directory of artists, performance spaces and presenting organizations, designed to 'MATCH' artists with presenters that 'BOOK' them to perform. Contact the MatchBook.org team at (617) 951-0010 x29 or info@matchbook.org if you have any questions or comments.

MeetingWizard
http://www.meetingwizard.com
MeetingWizard is a free, on-line tool that helps arrange and schedule meetings and other events. It automatically sends invitations to participants proposing alternate times, summarizes their responses, updates you on the results, sends confirmations and sends optional reminders prior to meetings. MeetingWizard requires only that you and your participants have access to e-mail and a Web browser. The basic free service allows you to schedule as many meetings or events as you like. Read MeetingWizard’s FAQ page for more info.

MissionFish
http://www.missionfish.org
MissionFish, the exclusive charity solution provider for eBay Giving Works, and a service of the Points of Light Foundation, helps non-profits raise funds through transactions conducted on eBay. The MissionFish website provides technology, tools and support to thousands of organizations and donors, and raises millions of dollars through on-line auctions. MissionFish offers the millions of eBay users an easy way to support their favorite causes. Visit the FAQ page for more info on how your organization can raise funds via eBay and MissionFish.

StormwaterAuthority.org
http://www.stormwaterauthority.org
The Wilmot, NH-based StormwaterAuthority.org’s mission is to assist professionals in making educated and environmentally sound decisions about stormwater management and treatment. StormwaterAuthority.org’s interactive website enables specifying engineers, contractors, developers, site owners and regulators to learn and share info about best management practices and regulations and find out about the latest news on stormwater management and treatment. Visit the site’s FAQ page or contact editor Lisa Begin at (800) 729-0604 for more info.

Taunton River Watershed Alliance (TRWA)’s “Take Action” web page
http://savethetaunton.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=534
The TRWA’s Take Action page is designed to facilitate citizen involvement in all aspects of protecting and restoring the rivers and streams making up the Taunton River watershed. Topics covered include Protecting Land, Protecting Water, Accessing Public Information to Make Your Case, TRWA's Public Records Pathfinder, How to Report Pollution, Training for Watershed Advocacy and Make a Bigger Ripple. Contact Susan Speers at (toll-free) (866) 393-TRWA or campaign@savethetaunton.org for more info.

The Green Life
http://www.greenlife.org
The Boston, MA-based GreenLife.org helps the growing number of environmentally aware, health conscious Americans make informed lifestyle decisions. Through education, outreach and advocacy, Greenlife.org supports a consumer-driven movement toward sustainable consumption, while guarding against corporate “greenwashing” (a company’s assertion that a product, practice, etc. is environmentally responsible when it actually isn’t). Resources at Greenlife.org include a Guide to The Green Life, a guide to simple, healthy and sustainable choices in every aspect of your life; The Green Life Blog; an Action Center; and Take Greenwash to the Cleaners, an interactive watchdog campaign explaining, exposing and erasing greenwash in labeling, advertising and public relations. Fore more info contact Program Coordinator Jemilah Magnusson at (877) EARTH-46 or info@thegreenlife.org.

Vista™ Quick Poll - Free Online Polls
http://www.vanguardsw.com/vista/online-poll.htm
Quick polling is a creative means of connecting with your organization’s current or potential supporters and promoting your group’s mission and projects. Using Vista Quick Poll, you can open discussions that create opportunities to communicate the benefits of your solutions. An effective web-based poll is composed of two parts: a topic that grabs interest and a results page that ties the topic to your organization’s work. The second part is often overlooked, but it can be the most important. Through a 3-step process, Vista Quick Poll uniquely provides an easy means by which you can tailor the content of the results page to display your poll results along with hyperlinks to related topics, other URLs, e-mail addresses or whatever gets your message across to your audience. With Vista Quick Poll, anything that can be done on a Web page, can be done on a poll’s results page.

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Publications

Seasonal peak water demand places stress on many local water supply systems as well as aquifers and streams in the region. Much of this peak demand is related to non-essential outdoor water use (lawn watering, etc.) that can be managed by a variety of techniques. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) recently prepared a very useful document, Summer_Smart_Water_Use: A Guide to Peak Season Water Demand Management, which provides information on peak water use reduction strategies that have been successfully implemented across the nation and in Massachusetts . Besides the on-line version (accessible at http://www.mapc.org), there are also plenty of hard copies of the document available; to get one (or more), contact Martin Pillsbury at mpillsbury@mapc.org or (617) 451-2770, ext. 2012. Hard copies of the MAPC’s report on water reuse, Once is Not Enough, are also still available.

The urban landscape of roadways, sidewalks and buildings has changed the way water moves through our environment. Rain and snow that falls on paved surfaces becomes stormwater runoff that picks up dirt and pollutants as it follows gravity downhill into storm drains and ultimately into our streams, rivers and lakes; polluted runoff can threaten public health and degrade wildlife habitat. Some cities are using green techniques -- including rooftop gardens on city buildings, more absorbent concrete, and street planters that intercept rainwater before it hits the ground -- to protect their water. Rooftops to Rivers: Green Strategies for Controlling Stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflows, published this past May by the Natural Resources Defense Council, is a policy guide for decision makers looking to implement green strategies in their own area, including nine case studies of cities that have successfully used green techniques to create a healthier urban environment. Rooftops to Rivers can be downloaded free on-line or ordered as a hard copy (click on http://www.nrdc.org/publications/reports.asp#water).

The Center for Watershed Protection recently announced that its new publication entitled Article 2: Using Local Watershed Plans to Protect Wetlands, is now available for free download. The article outlines the rationale for managing wetlands at the watershed scale, the basics of the watershed planning process, and 11 recommended watershed planning elements that relate to wetlands. Also available is Article 3 of the article series, Adapting Watershed Tools to Protect Wetlands.

This past spring, Trout Unlimited (TU) released a new report entitledEastern Brook Trout: Status and Threats, a culmination of three years of research,which concludes that the popular sport fish has disappeared or markedly declined in nearly half of the eastern U.S. areas where it once thrived. “Brook trout are the canary in the coal mine when it comes to water quality,” said Gary Berti, TU’s Eastern Brook Trout Campaign Coordinator. “The presence of brook trout in a watershed indicates that water quality is excellent. Declining brook trout populations can provide an early warning that the health of an entire stream, lake or river is at risk”. The introduction to the report documents the current threats to brook trout habitat and populations throughout its range, as well as protection and restoration opportunities, while the two-page Massachusetts portion of the report provides detailed info on the status of the species in the Commonwealth. In the meantime, TU has developed a state-of-the-art tool called the Conservation Success Index (CSI) that helps understand the status of coldwater fish across species and watersheds, and provides a science-based road map for TU' s conservation efforts in the coming years. Click on http://www.brookie.org for more info.

"Nervous” water: sometimes it’s nothing more than a fleeting crease or wrinkle on the surface of a lake or stream, or a small patch of salt water that looks as if it’s shivering. But wise anglers know that such subtle surface movements are nearly always signs of fish stirring down below. In his new book, Nervous Water: Variations on a Theme of Fly Fishing, 34 essays from fly fisher and author Steve Raymond have for the first time been collected into a single work. Together they form a selective, opinionated chronicle of the trends, developments, and changes in fly fishing from the 1960s to the present, along with a look back at some pioneers of the sport - and the fish that make it all possible. Most of these pieces have been updated, expanded, or otherwise revised or edited for publication in this book; several appear here for the first time. Some tackle important topics - such as the very definition of fly fishing itself - and others take a light look at the more trivial angling concerns, such as how, or even whether, to dress for fishing. Click here for more info.

The Massachusetts Audubon Society has published seven field guides on various natural habitats and the typical flora and fauna encountered therein which should be of considerable value to any curious naturalist—or the parent of one. They are beautifully and accurately illustrated, inexpensive, durable, easy to carry, and crammed with fascinating information about the natural world. One of the latest additions to this series, entitled Paddlers Guide to New England River Habitats, would make an excellent companion as you meander along any of the region’s rivers and streams. The Paddlers Guide highlights plans and animals that are commonly found while navigating through these waterways. The Paddlers Guide, along with the other Mass. Audubon field guides, can be ordered by calling the Audubon Shop at (781) 259-2214.

Last But Not Least

Does your car have an environmental license plate?

Last but not least: The Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET, http://massenvironmentaltrust.org) provides funding to many river and other water resources protection and restoration projects throughout the Commonwealth.  A major source of MET’s funding comes from the sale of environmental license plates.  Besides the “whale” plate, sale of the “FW” (“fish and wildlife”) and “BV” (“Blackstone Valley”) plates also help fund MET’s grant-making programs. (N.B.: these three are the only Mass. specialty license plates that exclusively fund environmental programs).  Getting an environmental plate is easy and can be done on-line by clicking on the plate image above or http://www.mass.gov/rmv, or in person at your local Registry of Motor Vehicles office.

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