Attendees
PRESENT: Steve Sears/Chair, Emma Ellsworth/Vice Chair, Ernie Foster/Secretary, Bob Durand, Sasha Dyer, Matthew Sisk, Mark S. Tisa/Director, Tom O’Shea/Commissioner/DFG, Mike Huguenin/Assistant Director/ Wildlife, Nicole McSweeney/Assistant Director/Outreach and Education, Trina Moruzzi/Assistant Director/Operations, 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, Susan Langlois/Hunter Education Program Administrator, James Burnham/ Assistant Federal Aid and Construction Procurement Coordinator, James Pollock/Operations Specialist, Caleb Slater/Hatchery Program Manager, Adam Kautza/Coldwater Fisheries Project Leader, Jonathan Brooks/ Wildlife Population Ecologist, David Szczebak/GIS Coordinator, Jody Simoes/Human Dimensions Project Leader, Thornton Ritz/Rivers and Stream Project Leader, Jessi Manty/Central District Aquatic Biologist, Debra Chamberlain/Program Coordinator, Jennifer Sulla/General Counsel/DFG, Christine Smith/Assistant General Counsel/DFG, Tori LaBate/Assistant General Counsel/ DFG, Colonel Chris Mason/OLE; PUBLIC: Chris Borgatti, Dave Morin.
Acceptance of minutes
A motion was made by Mr. Durand to accept the minutes from the December business meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Dyer; the vote in favor was unanimous.
Chair's updates
Chair Sears reported that the annual Silvo O. Conte dinner of the Berkshire County League would be held on April 5. He reported that he had had a couple of meetings with constituents regarding the trout stocking in the Upper Deerfield River and would bring the details to Western District Manager Madden and his staff. Chair Sears also stated that Western District Wildlife Biologist Nate Buckhout had given a presentation on black bears for BEAT [Berkshire Environmental Action Team], and that 70 people had attended with another 100 people joining online, noting that Mr. Madden and other Western staff were there as well.
Director's updates
Director Tisa announced that Steve Foster, the logistics specialist for the Hunter Education Program and coordinator for the pheasant-stocking program, had retired after 42 years of service. Mr. Foster was integral to the pheasant program for decades, and also organized and distributed equipment and materials for Hunter Education more recently. When the Director started with the agency, he was working at the fish lift in Lawrence, supervising seasonal workers, and MassWildlife still had a game farm and was raising some pheasants for stocking. When the lifts would break down, as they often would in those days, and his team couldn’t work, Director Tisa would take his seasonals and himself to the game farm and would help out there. So he has known and worked with Mr. Foster since the 1980’s. Director Tisa reported that Mr. Foster has always been the center of keeping that program going, and when the Director started the Youth Pheasant hunt, Mr. Foster helped organize it. Director Tisa stated that Mr. Foster’s principal asset was that he was always ready to help, and that he had been a very valuable employee, for which Director Tisa was extremely thankful. Director Tisa showed the meeting a print of a Bill Byrne photo of a ring-necked pheasant and reported that he will present the print to Mr. Foster at the first opportunity in commemoration of his service; Mr. Foster was unfortunately unable to attend the day’s meeting.
Commissioner’s updates
Commissioner Tom O’Shea also acknowledged and expressed his gratitude for Mr. Foster’s helpfulness and dedication from when the Commissioner was MassWildlife’s Assistant Director of Wildlife, and he wished him the best in his retirement. He reported that the Department is almost ready to finalize and send its Biodiversity plan to the Governor’s office. He also reported that members of the wildlife rehabilitator community have reached out for meetings, including with the EEA Secretary and Assistant Secretary, and are looking to collaborate and wanted to connect. He wanted to let board members know those meetings had taken place.
Commissioner O’Shea reported that he had participated in a celebration at the Salem Willows Fishing Pier, where the Office of Fishing and Boating Access will be replacing a pier that has been decrepit for many years. Also attending was Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, EEA Secretary Tepper, the Mayor of Salem, and members of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission. The Commissioner reported that the Department contributed funds for the project, including from saltwater fees, etc.
Law Enforcement updates
OLE Colonel Chris Mason provided the OLE report. He reported that ice fishing and ORV riding are activities that will be ramping up, and that officers will be onsite for ice fishing derbies and monitoring the trail networks. Baiting, night hunting, and early starts to hunting have been the largest percentage of violations investigated recently. The Colonel reported OHV operations to control unlawful access, especially in sensitive environmental areas. Colonel Mason also reported on a recent legislative development, which is the passage of the Hanson-Malone Act. The act will require mandatory boating safety for everyone in Commonwealth. On the personnel front, the OLE has started the process of backfilling recent retirements in cooperation with EEA HR. In response to a Board member inquiry, the Colonel reported that the required boating training will be largely online, phased in and with some grandfathering for existing boat owners. The law governs both marine and freshwater environments and applies to all motorized watercraft.
The Chair thanked Colonel Mason for attending and for his detailed report.
Personnel report
Assistant Director of Operations Trina Moruzzi reported that the candidate for the Western Wildlife District Clerk had to withdraw. She then introduced Debra Chamberlain, an employee who was recently promoted to Program Coordinator in the Westborough office and will be key to the work on the new MassFishHunt with the new vendor. Ms. Moruzzi also introduced Jessi Manty, who was recently promoted to Central District Aquatic Biologist after many productive years as a Wildlife Technician in that District, based in West Boylston.
Assistant Director of Fisheries Todd Richards introduced a new employee who had been hired at a recent meeting, Thornton Ritz, who is the new Rivers and Streams Project Leader based in the Westborough office. Mr. Ritz brings many valuable skills and relevant experience to his new role.
Director Tisa introduced Emily Myron, the Assistant Director of Land and Habitat, a position recently created. He reported that Ms. Myron brings a new set of skills and contacts to the agency and to this new position, which is vital as the agency moves forward with its stewardship and habitat restoration goals. Ms. Ellsworth stated that she had worked with Ms. Myron recently in her former position at The Nature Conservancy and that she was very impressed with Ms. Myron’s interview. Mr. Durand added that Ms. Myron had been the person who actually did the work in the trenches to get MassWildlife its budgetary free and reduced-cost license reimbursements for the past several years.
The Board members congratulated the promoted and welcomed the newly hired employees.
Annual review of the Open Meeting Law
DFG General Counsel Jennifer Sulla provided the Board with her annual review of the Open Meeting Law as it applies to the Board’s function and conduct.
Ms. Sulla stated that the purpose of the law is to promote openness and transparency in government, so that every resident of Massachusetts has access to and understands the reasoning behind governmental policy decisions. It seeks to balance the public’s interest in witnessing the deliberations of public officials with government’s need to manage operations efficiently. To that end, meetings of public bodies must be open to the public, with some exceptions, and meeting notices must list topics with enough specificity so that the public understands what will be discussed.
Ms. Sulla reviewed the requirements for meeting notices in detail, including the timing for issuance, what constitutes proper notice online, and the content, and cited decisions from the Attorney General’s office for other municipal and state boards that stressed the importance of enough specificity in the agenda about topics that will be raised in the meeting so that the public can make an informed decision to attend if the topic is of interest. In particular, she detailed recent guidance that she received that pointed out that phrases like “Comments of the Chair” or “Project Updates” are not considered sufficiently specific to satisfy the Open Meeting Law. She noted that the Fisheries and Wildlife Board’s agendas in the meeting notices have recently been expanded to include specific topics where appropriate. Ms. Sulla stated that the current Open Meeting Law provisions, first adopted by the Baker Administration at the start of the COVID pandemic, are set to expire this year. She is hoping the remote-participation and hybrid meeting provisions will just be made permanent at some point, but likely will be extended a few more years in the short term.
Ms. Sulla also defined serial communication as it is used in the law and cautioned the Board members against participating in group emails of any sort other than to schedule meetings and confirm other logistics.
Update on chronic wasting disease (CWD) prevention in Massachusetts
Deer and Moose Project Leader and Wildlife Health Specialist Martin Feehan gave the Board members a brief update on his work around preventing Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from being detected in Massachusetts. He reported that he was currently participating in meetings with the USDA on CWD efforts and updates. In those meetings he reported to the USDA that funding for states that haven’t had any detection yet is critical to avoid the very serious consequences of detection. As an example, he explained that the first detection in New York occurred in 2005, with no subsequent detections until one was made this past year in October. Until then, New York was considered the biggest success story in CWD prevention. It was discovered in a red deer facility approximately 89 miles from Massachusetts’ western border, and Dr. Feehan reported it was very helpful to have already developed and put protocols in place in the state to prevent the spread. The grave consequences of detection and the importance of the work to keep CWD out of state is demonstrated by the fact that the grounds of the affected facility have to be purchased and double-fenced by the State of New York to prevent any spread, at an enormous cost in money and other resources.
In Massachusetts, Dr. Feehan reported that management actions include increased communication materials, a dedicated website, and a full page in the Guide to Massachusetts Fishing and Hunting each year. MassWildlife has also expanded surveillance; 280 deer were tested in CY 2023, and 390 were tested in CY 2024. He reiterated that the disease is contained to deer species and is transmitted via prions or folded proteins that remain in the environment indefinitely.
After a brief discussion, the members thanked Dr. Feehan for his excellent update.
Proposed fishing regulation amendments; 321 CMR 4.00
Assistant Director of Fisheries Todd Richards began by stating that the regulation proposals have four different elements, most of which are in Table 1: The Taking of Certain Fish in the regulations.
American Eel: Staff is recommending amending the limits to match the Division of Marine Fisheries’ regulations and meet the ASMFC [Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission] requirements of a daily limit of 25 eels, a minimum size of 9 inches, and a year-round season.
Atlantic Salmon: Staff recommends the removal of the reference to “broodstock” in Table 1, since broodstock salmon have not been available for anglers since 2013, and a clarification of the waters where harvest is allowed. Assistant Director Richards reported that sea-run Atlantic salmon may not be kept in Massachusetts and landlocked Atlantic salmon are only found in Quabbin Reservoir and its tributaries, in the Swift River downstream of the Quabbin Reservoir, and in Wachusett Reservoir and tributaries of the Wachusett Reservoir. The new language allows harvest only in these locations.
Staff is recommending changes to the definition of Possession: Assistant Director Richards reported that the current regulations allow the possession of a fish less than the minimum length as long as it is immediately released alive, but no analogous provision is made for a fish in excess of the bag limit, so staff recommends allowing the same consideration for immediate release of a fish in excess of the bag limit by adding language to make clear that even if people have creeled a daily limit of fish, they are allowed to continue fishing for that same species as long as any fish over their limit are immediately released.
Trout limits: Staff recommends simplifying the trout regulations to benefit wild trout conservation in keeping with the Wild Trout Conservation Plan, to benefit people fishing for our stocked trout, to consider climate change implications to both wild and stocked fish, and to be more in keeping with both hatchery production and angler preferences and behavior. Assistant Director Richards discussed the current trout regulations and the list of major rivers that is given in the regulations. He stated that the proposed regulation would place a six-trout daily creel limit on all waters year-round. However, of the six fish allowed, only three fish per day can be brook, brown, or tiger trout in any combination. The remainder of the daily bag can be made up of rainbow trout, and he gave several examples to illustrate how the limit would work.
Assistant Director Richards explained that the staff proposal will benefit wild trout by reducing the overall bag limit on most wild trout streams. While the current limit of eight fish is being sustained by most of the state’s fisheries, reducing the limit will provide a conservative approach in the face of climate change, will not significantly impact current angler harvest (he noted that only 7% of all anglers fishing for trout on small streams keep their entire catch) and will allow MassWildlife to direct efforts to many small streams without concern for overharvest. He also pointed out that, regardless of these assumptions, ongoing monitoring of wild trout streams will allow staff to track all populations over time.
The proposed regulations will also promote the harvest of trout in keeping with hatchery production. Rainbow trout are the most popular trout species and also constitute the majority of hatchery production. Staff also knows from the angler survey that many anglers release all of their trout. Staff is recommending the enhanced harvest of rainbow trout because 1) fewer people are keeping their trout, so those who do choose to keep their fish can do so without overexploiting the stocked trout resource; 2) the spring fishing season is getting compressed due to climate change, giving fewer people fewer days to fish for trout; and 3) water quality changes associated with climate change also reduce the amount of time that many of the state’s waters are optimal for trout survival. Other benefits include a simplified creel limit that enhances the public use of stocked trout resources while protecting wild trout. The regulations will be more easily understood and enforced, and they also meet certain goals of the Department’s Strategic Plan and the Biodiversity Executive Order.
Assistant Director Richards asked the Board to vote to bring the regulation proposals to a public hearing; specifically, the addition of American eel regulations as described, the changes to broodstock salmon and Atlantic salmon harvest zones as described, the addition of language to the definition of possession as described, and the changes to the daily bag limit of trout as described.
Ms. Ellsworth stated that she would prefer to table the request and look at the PowerPoint again before deciding. She did not have any immediate questions; just wanted more time to consider. Mr. Sisk stated that the Board is not voting on the regulations, only on sending them to a public hearing. He reported that the proposals looked straightforward and that he would send them to a public hearing. Mr. Foster concurred that he didn’t see an issue in drafting regulations on the proposal as presented. After more discussion, it was agreed that the members would each review the PowerPoint and communicate any questions to Mr. Richards for direct answer. Mr. Richards would then report on the answers to the full Board at the February meeting.
Mr. Durand moved to table the vote on sending the regulations to a public hearing for 1 month; Ms. Dyer seconded; the vote in favor was unanimous.
Members’ comments
Bob Durand thanked the members for allowing Emma Ellsworth, John Organ, and himself to draft and submit a letter to the Commissioner on the Department’s plan to implement the Governor’s biodiversity initiative and listed highlights of the suggestions in the letter. He also talked about its integration in K-12 education and the idea of bringing back biodiversity days. Mr. Durand also talked about Gene Chague's Sargent Award event, noting that it was very enjoyable. He also noted that he hoped constituents will show up and register their comments at the upcoming deer and bear hunting hearings. He was wondering about doing more outreach at the upcoming fishing, gun, and sporting shows, and thought it was a good idea to have printed materials on hand for distribution.
Emma Ellsworth thanked Mr. Durand for doing the majority of the work on the letter to the Commissioner. She shared recent news about landscape-scale conservation efforts, including a tract of Cowls land that will be protected. She noted that she thought one area of the property is ripe for barrens restoration, and Mount Grace’s Director of Conservation Dave Small has agreed. She also wants to call out the need for active restoration on the parcels DFG is acquiring so that MassWildlife will meet its habitat management goals. As part of the Cowls project, she reported that 500 acres was given to the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band, a fact that she said didn’t get picked up by news outlets. She also noted that there are numerous examples of co-management with Indigenous partners, including with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state of Maine. She explained that co-management is a relationship in perpetuity, while co-stewardship describes a particular project with a particular time limit, and she stressed thinking in terms of land management, as opposed to resource extraction. She is interested to explore how much further we can go toward indigenous co-management of land.
Ernie Foster stated that he thinks it’s important to dip into MassWildlife’s engagement statistics. He requested information on license sales and Hunter Education and Learn to Hunt participation over the past several years. Director Tisa reported that all the information Mr. Foster requested is in the annual reports, and that the FY 2024 annual report is currently being prepared.
Sasha Dyer reported that she appreciated the presentations given during the day’s meeting.
Executive session
Ms. Ellsworth moved that the Board go into executive session for the purpose of discussing potential land acquisition projects whose negotiations would be compromised by discussion in open session and not return to open session. Ms. Dyer seconded the motion.
Mr. Sisk: yes
Ms. Dyer: yes
Mr. Foster: yes
Mr. Sears: yes
Ms. Ellsworth: yes
Mr. Durand: yes
The roll-call vote in favor was unanimous.
The Board discussed three parcels; each was voted on by roll call and all were unanimously approved.
Adjourn
There being no further business, Mr. Durand moved to adjourn. Ms. Dyer seconded.
Mr. Sisk: yes
Ms. Dyer: yes
Mr. Foster: yes
Mr. Sears: yes
Ms. Ellsworth: yes
Mr. Durand: yes
The roll-call 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 January business meeting packets
January agenda
December minutes draft
January personnel report
Letter from the Board to Commissioner O’Shea regarding the Department’s implementation of the Governor’s EO on the Biodiversity Initiative
DFG January 2025 budget for land protection
Executive session packet
Printed copies of the meeting notice and draft regulation packages for upcoming hearings for bear hunting and deer hunting regulations