Attendees
PRESENT: Steve Sears/Chair, Emma Ellsworth/Vice Chair, Ernie Foster/Secretary, Bob Durand, Sasha Dyer, Matthew Sisk, John Organ, Mark S. Tisa/Director, Tom O’Shea/Commissioner/DFG, Eve Schlüter/ Deputy Director, Mike Huguenin/Assistant Director/Wildlife, Nicole McSweeney/Assistant Director/ Outreach and Education, Emily Myron/Assistant Director/Land and Habitat, Andrew Madden/Western Wildlife District Manager, Pat Huckery/Northeast Wildlife District Manager, Joe Rogers/Conn. Valley Wildlife District Manager, Jason Zimmer/Southeast Wildlife District Manager, Todd Olanyk/Central Wildlife District Manager, Michelle Collins/Outreach and Marketing Coordinator, Erin Carpenter/Central District Wildlife Technician, Cynthia Pratt/ Procurement and Contracting Supervisor, Christine Smith/ Assistant General Counsel/DFG, Captain Bill Woytek/MEP; PUBLIC: Dave Morin, Steve LaRivee
Acceptance of minutes
A motion was made by Mr. Foster to accept the minutes from the March business meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Durand; the vote in favor was unanimous.
Chair's updates
Chair Sears reported an idea that was raised at a recent Berkshire County League meeting to create and pass out stickers for kayaks, to identify them and also to get data and information from people who aren’t hunters. He reported that an issue raised at the Berkshire County League meeting was sourcing fish for fishing derbies. He is not sure if the clubs can get fish from local options. He also reported that he did not make it to the R3 Summit and apologized, saying that he is looking forward to hearing about it.
Director's updates
Director Tisa reported that there are a lot of retirements being taken at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, both at the Hadley regional office and nationally. He stated that these retirees are a great loss to us, and that many of them are known and worked with MassWildlife for many years. He added that some will begin at the end of the week, some at the end of the month, and that there will be more at the end of May. He is sad to see them go, and reported that a number of them will be honored at the NEAFWA conference the following week.
The Director also reminded the Board and attendees about the scheduled meeting and public hearing on April 29 to finalize the 2025-2026 migratory bird hunting seasons, noting that staff will need a quorum of at least four Board members present to vote to approve the final regulations. Chair Sears reported that he had at least five members committed to participating in the meeting and hearing.
[Later in the meeting, Director Tisa reported that Assistant Director for Outreach and Education Nicole McSweeney, R3 Coordinator Astrid Huseby, Outdoor Education Specialist Ian Sypek, and Learn to Hunt and Fish Specialist John Gutzeit have been exhibiting to the Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Association for over a decade as a way to connect with phys. ed. teachers in schools to promote the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP). He congratulated the team on being contacted by that association and recognized as Exhibitor of the Year, which was another example of the impact MassWildlife staff is having and the respect and admiration of the public for their hard work.]
Commissioner’s updates
Commissioner O'Shea reported that his department’s Biodiversity Initiative report had been submitted to EEA to go to Governor Healey. The package represents almost a year of hard work and includes the report itself, an implementation matrix, a large number of appendices, and a highlights document. He stated that there were many project leads, especially calling out MassWildlife’s Deputy Director Eve Schlüter and Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Ryan and Communications Director Julia Hopkins from his staff as the main contributors, and he also applauded the working groups that participated from all the divisions.
Commissioner O'Shea announced that the Department has hired a blue carbon program manager. The person was let go by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a month previously and brings a lot of experience with salt marsh restoration and carbon programs. He reported that restoring salt marshes and similar coastal work is a key element of what Massachusetts can do to help migratory birds, habitat restoration, and carbon sequestration, and explained that blue carbon is an innovative way to pay for climate and habitat work in salt marshes. The new staff person is currently exploring how to create such a program, and, if it is successful, it will be the first in the nation.
The Commissioner congratulated the MassWildlife staff that conducted the R3 Summit, saying that staff both engaged the participants and modelled ways to engage potential constituents and people who are new to outdoor sports.
The Commissioner also provided a brief update on the MassFishHunt system that is planned to go live in early May. He stated that the new vendor was currently doing a lot of testing of different operating scenarios in anticipation of the public accessing the new platform. The vendor is creating written instructions and tutorial videos for the public, to show constituents how use the new system. Part of the new platform is the requirement for multi-factor authentication. Commissioner O'Shea explained that all Mass.Gov programs require a single sign-on process, so license-buyers will essentially be creating a profile with the state. While it is a new way to sign in to MassFishHunt, he and the vendor are expecting that most people are already familiar with such processes. Existing customer IDs and associated information like purchase history will automatically transfer to the new system. The vendor has also been conducting customer outreach, as well as outreach to Environmental Police officers and license vendors, to make sure the new system is easy to access and use for all necessary reports. The Commissioner stated that MassWildlife staff will be trained to assist customers, and that additional help staff will be available for the first few days after the system goes live. He also noted that new, powerful tools and features for MassWildlife staff that were included in the contract will be rolled out subsequent to the launch. He reported on new functionality, including the option to buy again, to opt in to renew automatically, and to customize a hard card with photos of their choice, if buyers wish. There will be change to fees, which needed to be more in line with developing and running the new system to make sure the vendor’s business model is sustainable and viable in the long term. As an example, he noted that the service fee is increasing and the convenience fee for paying with a credit card will increase from 2% to 4.95%. He also noted that customers will still be able to buy at a MassWildlife office with cash or a check and pay no fees.
[Later in the meeting, Commissioner O'Shea reported that he had gone out with Assistant Director for Fisheries Todd Richards, Michelle Collins, John Garofoli, and Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones, who filmed a hatchery tour with District and Hatchery staff as part of a series she is creating to highlight state employees and the work they do. The Commissioner applauded Secretary Jones for going out after filming to help staff stock fish in heavy rain. He offered his thanks to the staff that helped make the event a success.]
Law Enforcement updates
Captain Bill Woytek provided the Environmental Police (MEP) report. He stated that officers have added preparing for the opening of turkey season to their many other duties. He also noted that the Quabbin fishing opening day had been the previous Saturday; there was good weather and it was a busy day for the officers attending.
On the staffing front, he reported that MEP is starting background checks on three new officers that he hopes will be onboarded by the end of the summer. The Captain also reported that there are five candidates for the new colonel, and they are expected to start at the end of June or in early July. He affirmed that he had participated in a meeting the previous week to review the new licensing system and reported that he really likes the new interface; he gave an example that what used to take four-five clicks to check records can now be done in one click, so very much more efficient from the officers’ perspective.
Personnel report
Chief Fiscal Officer Kris McCarthy presented highlights from the resumes of two candidates for the Board’s approval.
New Hires
Joseph Facendola; Southeast District Aquatic Biologist (Aquatic Biologist III); Buzzards Bay
Rachel Shepardson; Western District Clerk (Clerk IV); Dalton
Introductions
Erin Carpenter; Central District Wildlife Technician (Wildlife Technician II); West Boylston
Cynthia Pratt; Procurement and Contracting Supervisor (Accountant V); Westborough
Dr. Organ moved acceptance of the personnel report as presented; Ms. Dyer seconded the motion; the vote in favor was unanimous.
VOTE: Wildlife sanctuary regulations: comment review and final recommendation (Mike Huguenin)
Assistant Director Huguenin reminded the members that he first gave a presentation on the matter the previous year in conjunction with information he had provided on the wildlife violators compact legislation that had mandated this regulation. Assistant Director Huguenin briefly explained the regulation change process, then reported that no comments had been received during the entire comment period, before, during, and after the hearing. The staff recommendation was unchanged, and Assistant Director Huguenin asked the members to vote to adopt them as presented.
Mr. Durand moved that the regulations be adopted as presented; Dr. Organ seconded the motion. The vote in favor was unanimous.
Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee quarterly meeting report (Matthew Sisk)
Mr. Sisk reported that the Advisory Committee had received an update from Assistant Director Leddick on recent personnel changes and an overview of the Turners Falls and Northfield Mountain settlement agreement, including updates on flows and the new equipment in place to move shad and other fish in ladders and lifts up the river.
Confirm May business meeting date and time
The members confirmed the May meeting date and time of May 16, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters and in a Zoom webinar, and set the June 18 meeting time for 1:00 p.m. at the Field Headquarters and on Zoom. The July meeting is July 16 (no time set) and the August meeting will be held on August 13 (no time set), both at the Field Headquarters.
Members’ comments
Matthew Sisk reported that he had been called by the mayor of Braintree, who asked about trout stocking in water bodies in his city, and he thanked Northeast District Supervisor Pat Huckery, who answered the mayor’s questions.
Sasha Dyer stated that she had really enjoyed the R3 Summit and appreciated the effort by staff that went into it. She thanked the volunteers with the Hunter Education Program and Learn-to-hunt events, including those who were teaching a Hunter Education course on the day of the Summit and so could not attend. She reported a recent meeting with Trout Unlimited, where she found a diverse group of people interested in conservation and nature-based programming. She also attended the Mass. Bowhunters annual banquet, which was a very nice event for a good cause.
Ernie Foster discussed his recent activities attending county league meetings and banquets. He talked about the Southeast District as a big, active, tourism-driven area. In his interactions with constituents, he reported that he regularly gets three questions: How to buy a license, how to find a place to hunt, and where to find a place to fish. He stated that it is easy to answer each question because he only has to direct people to Mass.gov, for the MassFishHunt, Lands Viewer, and catch-and-release area web pages.
Emma Ellsworth reported that she also enjoyed and was very impressed by the passion and interest of participants in the R3 Summit. She reported good conversations about the importance of volunteers and a call to arms that she appreciated. She also reported on the river rat canoe race in Athol-Orange on the Millers River. She explained that her father was an outdoorsperson who didn’t hunt or fish, and she had started canoeing because of him. She also explained that a friend of her father was a consummate hunter and angler, and she stated that the friendship of her father and his friend was bonded by talking about land and conservation, by the things they had in common, and was not affected by their differences.
Bob Durand attended the Essex County League banquet, where he heard good comments on recent Martin Burns WMA habitat management work and on impacts of the recent gun bill. He also reported that he will ask the board members to sign a letter to the legislature asking for passage of a bill to make the reimbursement of MassWildlife for free and reduced-fee licenses permanent in statute. He noted that Senator Moore and Senator Durant have been very helpful in the effort to get the bill passed. Mr. Durand reported that he will share a draft letter through Mrs. Sacco, likely before the next meeting. He also stated that he would like to see another issue of Massachusetts Wildlife magazine devoted to the Governor’s Biodiversity Initiative.
John Organ complimented Coldwater Fisheries Project Leader Adam Kautza on an excellent presentation at a recent meeting. He also gave kudos to Central District Supervisor Todd Olanyk for going above and beyond as the Hunter Education team leader at the Ashfield Rod and Gun Club and at Westfield State University.
Executive session
Ms. Ellsworth moved the Board go into executive session for the purpose of discussing proposed land acquisition projects whose negotiations might be compromised by discussion in open session and not return to open session afterward. Ms. Dyer seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken.
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sears: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Durand: Yes
Dr. Organ: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Twelve parcels were presented by staff; eleven were unanimously accepted by roll-call votes. Before the presentation of parcel #11, Ms. Ellsworth recused herself and left the room. The vote by roll call was six approvals and one non-vote by recusal; the parcel was accepted.
Adjourn
There being no further business, Mr. Durand moved to adjourn. Mr. Foster seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken.
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sears: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Durand: Yes
Dr. Organ: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous and the meeting was adjourned at 12:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ernie Foster
Secretary
List of documents presented to the Board in its April business meeting packets
April agenda
March minutes draft
Personnel report
April 2025 DFG budget summary for land acquisition and due diligence costs
Supporting packet for executive session
Notice, with agenda, for the April 29, 2025, special meeting to vote on the 2025-2026 migratory game bird hunting seasons
Hearing packet, with the notice and the draft regulations, for the hearing on the 2025-2026 migratory game bird hunting seasons scheduled for April 29, 2025