Attendees
Present: Emma Ellsworth/Chair, Matthew Sisk/Vice Chair, Malcolm Haith/Secretary, Sasha Dyer, Kyla Hastie, John Hitt, Eve Schlüter/Director (Acting), Tom O’Shea/DFG Commissioner, Nicole McSweeney/Assistant Director of Outreach and Education, Todd Richards/Assistant Director of Fisheries, Jesse Leddick/Assistant Director of Natural Heritage and Endangered Species, Emily Myron/Assistant Director of Land and Habitat Conservation, Trina Moruzzi/Assistant Director of Operations, Kris McCarthy/CFO, Joe Rogers/Conn. Valley Wildlife District Manager, Jason Zimmer/Southeast Wildlife District Manager, Todd Olanyk/Central Wildlife District Manager, Andrew Vitz/State Ornithologist, Jennifer Sulla/DFG General Counsel; Public: David Morin
Acceptance of the minutes of the June monthly business meeting
Mr. Sisk moved to accept the minutes of the June business meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Dyer. The vote in favor was unanimous.
Chair's comments
Chair Ellsworth provided comments on proposed changes to hunting statutes. She remarked that she had recently spoken with a constituent who wrote 60 individual letters to their legislators. She said while it may be easy for hunters or people in the farming or environmental communities to think that the work is done on these laws, it is important to keep conversations moving forward. Chair Ellsworth also shared that she recently lost a family friend to tickborne illness and remarked on the importance of these changes to protect human health through more effective wildlife management.
Chair Ellsworth reported that the Board’s subcommittee held a second round of interviews the previous week for the Director position. She thanked Ms. Hastie for her work to develop interview questions with EEA Human Resources. Chair Ellsworth said the committee is feeling positive about the process and will be moving forward with two finalists and reference checks. The committee will recommend a candidate to the Board at the August monthly business meeting.
Chair Ellsworth remarked on a recent Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) event held a couple weeks previously in partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Mt. Grace Land Conservation Trust, and the American Daughters of Conservation. Despite poor weather, over 20 women attended the event to learn and practice target archery. Chair Ellsworth remarked on the high-quality archery instructors, as well as the important social connections the participants made.
Director’s updates
Director Schlüter reported that Governor Healey had organized a roundtable on Martha’s Vineyard a few weeks ago to discuss tickborne disease and deer. She was invited to participate along with Deer and Moose Project Leader Martin Feehan, Commissioner O’Shea, and local island partners. It was a great opportunity to connect with the community about these important issues and also to discuss the work MassWildlife has been doing to better manage deer populations.
The previous month, the Director attended an event at the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord to celebrate a milestone in Blanding’s turtle conservation. She thanked Ms. Hastie and Commissioner O’Shea for attending as well. With partners from Zoo New England and the USFWS, MassWildlife released two headstarted Blanding’s turtles that had been collected as hatchlings. These animals were significant because they are the first confirmed second-generation offspring of this headstart program, which began over 20 years ago. She reported that this represents an important milestone toward establishing a self-sustaining, recovered population of this globally endangered species.
As part of Governor Healey's Interagency Early Education and Child Care Task Force, Director Schlüter reported that MassWildlife is partnering with the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), DCR, and the Office of Outdoor Recreation to provide staff and playgroup facilitators in the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE) Network with free, hands-on training to bring nature into their work with children and families. This includes offering several free joint Project WILD/ProjectLearning Tree workshops this fall and next spring. There are over 70 people already registered for the sessions this fall. While MassWildlife has not yet been able to backfill the Wildlife Education Coordinator position after Pam Landry retired last year, the Director noted that staff are still finding creative solutions to offer quality programming through partnerships.
Director Schlüter reported that Deer and Moose Project Leader Martin Feehan had worked with Outreach staff on an article in MassWildlife’s last e-newsletter titled, “Seeing the forest for the trees: recognizing the impacts of overabundant deer.” If the Board members haven’t seen it, the Director encouraged them to take a look. It used comparative photos to show clearly what a healthy forest looks like versus one that has been over-browsed by deer. She also wanted to share with the members one of the comments staff received from the public in response to the article: "While I dislike hunting, these photos of what a forest should look like compared to what a damaged forest full of deer looks like, changed my mind. Excellent article." Amid potential hunting law updates, The Director stressed that demonstrating the value of these changes and what they would mean for forest health and biodiversity is critical for building public support.
Director Schlüter advised the members that they should have received a copy of the 2025 Annual Report in the mail. She encouraged them to read the Report if they haven’t already had a chance. She noted that the new format gives just a small snapshot of the work done by MassWildlife’s staff, but she and the staff hope this new format will be a useful outreach tool to showcase the agency’s efforts.
The Director reported that, in the previous month, staff hosted habitat site walks at four WMAs to showcase the outcomes of our restoration efforts. Three were centered around hearing whip-poor-wills (Montague Plains WMA, Herman Covey WMA, and Muddy Brook WMA) and one was focused on the birds, bees, and butterflies of Frances Crane WMA. In total, about 100 people attended these walks, including the Commissioner and a number of local officials. Staff also hosted an additional walk in partnership with DCR and the Feminist Bird Club of Boston at Belle Isle Marsh Reservation that had 35 attendees. Overwhelmingly, feedback on these walks was positive and staff plan to offer more this fall.
Director Schlüter closed by reporting that MassWildlife’s habitat grants program closed on Monday, and there are 24 applicants requesting over $1,000,000. Staff are reviewing the proposals this summer and hope to award the grants in the fall.
Chair Ellsworth commented that the 2025 Annual Report is extraordinary, and she found it to be an accessible outreach document.
Commissioner’s updates
Commissioner O’Shea reported on the Governor’s recent roundtable regarding ticks and deer management on Martha’s Vineyard. He acknowledged the work of Deer and Moose Project Leader Martin Feehan and how he has been helping to build relationships with key partners on the Islands in support of deer management and the Hunters Share the Harvest Program. The Commissioner shared that he has been working with Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Randle to get more capacity to support Hunters Share the Harvest.
The Commissioner reported on the status of pending legislation for the hunting statutes related to Sunday hunting, setbacks, and crossbows. The changes that MassWildlife recommended were successfully added to the Mass Ready Act (Environmental Bond Bill), and the House passed that amendment. It has now moved to a conference committee of the House and Senate for consideration. He noted that he and the Director look forward to continued progress on the legislation.
The Commissioner also remarked on his recent experience joining a habitat site walk with his son at Muddy Brook WMA in Hardwick, led by Senior Restoration Ecologist Chris Buelow and Habitat Restoration and Management Program Manager Nicole Keleher. He remarked that it was a great experience to learn more about the special cryptic barrens habitat and how MassWildlife manages it with prescribed fire. He said it was impressive and gratifying to learn about the return of biodiversity at the site and see it in person, and remarked on the increase in whip-poor-wills, bee species, and other insects in the area.
The Commissioner concluded his comments by briefly reporting on the recent sewage leak in Haverhill. He is working closely with DMF [Division of Marine Fisheries] to keep shellfish harvesters informed, minimize negative impacts, and coordinate testing. He reported that there is no apparent impact to wildlife, but there is ongoing monitoring to confirm that.
Board Election for Vice Chair (Malcolm Haith)
Mr. Haith reported that all Board officers will be elected again in October, so the vice chair appointment is for the next few months.
Chair Ellsworth asked for a motion to turn the meeting over to the Secretary for the purpose of holding the election of a new vice chair. Mr. Sisk moved; Mr. Haith seconded; the vote in favor was unanimous.
Secretary Haith called for nominations for vice chair. Ms. Dyer nominated Mr. Sisk; Ms. Hastie seconded the nomination.
The Secretary asked if there were any more nominations. Hearing none, the Secretary called for a motion to close the nominations. Ms. Dyer moved, Mr. Hitt seconded the motion; the vote to close the nominations for vice chair was taken and was unanimous.
The vote for Mr. Sisk for vice chair was taken, and it was unanimous.
The Secretary then returned the meeting to the Chair.
Comment review and vote: 321 CMR 4.01: The Taking of Certain Fish (Todd Richards)
Assistant Director for Fisheries Todd Richards reviewed the proposals, which consisted of four different topics, most of which can be found in Table 1: The Taking of Certain Fish, and reported that the proposals went through development and review by Fisheries staff, a Mass. Environmental Police working group, MassWildlife’s Senior Staff, and the Fisheries and Wildlife Board before being taken to a public hearing on May 18, 2026.
Assistant Director Richards stated that the proposal added American eel regulations to meet the recommendations of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and to match current regulations of the Division of Marine Fisheries. There were 14 comments received; 12 were in support and 2 were opposed (1 said the limit was too high; the other expressed universal opposition to all the proposals). The final recommendations are the establishment of a daily bag limit of 25 eels, a 9-inch minimum length requirement, and a year-round season, as proposed.
Assistant Director Richards next reported that the current regulations reference broodstock salmon, which have not been available for anglers since the end of the Federal Atlantic Salmon Restoration effort in 2013. He stated that staff recommended that reference to broodstock salmon be removed from Table 1 and that Footnote #4 be deleted and replaced with language naming the waterbodies where the harvest of Atlantic salmon would be legal; it would be illegal everywhere else in inland waters. Specifically, 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 Quabbin Reservoir, and in Wachusett Reservoir and tributaries of the Wachusett Reservoir. The new language allows harvest only in these locations. There were 12 comments received with 11 in support and 1 expressing universal opposition. The final recommendation was to accept the changes as proposed.
The Assistant Director then reviewed that language was proposed to be added to the definition of Possession to make clear that even if people have caught a daily limit of a certain fish, they are allowed to continue fishing as long as any fish over their limit are immediately released. There were 17 comments received with 14 in support and 3 opposed. Of the comments in opposition, 2 opined a high catch-and-release mortality rate and the other expressed universal opposition. The final recommendation was to accept the changes as proposed.
The last regulation proposed would change trout limits and is based on a combination of resources and factors. Assistant Director Richards reiterated that this proposal will have benefits to wild trout conservation, in keeping with the Wild Trout Management Plan; it will have benefits for people fishing for our stocked trout; it will consider climate change implications to both wild and stocked fish; and it is more in keeping with hatchery production and Massachusetts angler preferences and behavior. The proposed regulation would place a 6-trout daily creel limit on all waters year round. However, of the 6-fish limit, only 3 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 the Assistant Director displayed several examples to illustrate the proposal. He also reported that the list of major rivers described in regulation will be removed and replaced with simplified regulations that benefit both wild and stocked trout fisheries.
The daily creel limit reduction (from 8 to 3) will benefit wild trout by reducing the overall bag limit on most wild trout streams. While the current limit of 8 fish is being sustained by most of our fisheries, reducing the limit will provide a conservative approach in the face of climate change, will not significantly impact current angler harvest (only 7% of all anglers fishing for trout on small streams keep all of their catch) and will allow us to direct fishing effort to many of our small streams without concern for overharvest. Regardless of these assumptions, ongoing monitoring of Massachusetts’ wild trout streams will allow staff to track all of these populations over time. Assistant Director Richards stated that the goal is to be able to sustainably promote these resources to enhance the public's connection to nature and increase public stewardship for these sensitive resources. The proposed regulations will also promote harvest of trout in keeping with MassWildlife’s hatchery production. Rainbow Trout are our most popular trout species and are also the most-often stocked trout. We also know from our angler survey that many anglers release all of their trout.
There were 41 comments received on this proposal. Of them, 21 were in support and 20 were opposed. The comments opposed cited potential overharvest/poaching of stocked trout, said the limit was too high for wild trout, said the limit was too low for wild trout, said the agency should make no change, and the 1 in universal opposition to all changes. The remaining 7 comments requested other regulations, which is beyond the scope of the hearing. In closing, he reported that the proposed regulations will provide a simplified creel limit that enhances our 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 our Department’s Strategic Plan and the Biodiversity Executive Order. For those reasons, he requested that the regulation be approved as proposed.
Recapping the staff’s final recommendations, Assistant Director Richards asked the Board members to vote to match the DMF’s and federal regulations for American eel; remove the broodstock reference for Atlantic salmon and clarify where it is legal to take them; change the definition of Possession by allowing the temporary possession of fish over the daily bag limit; and amend the daily trout creel limits to allow 6 fish total with only 3 brook, brown, or tiger trout in any combination.
After a brief discussion, Mr. Hitt moved acceptance of the regulations as proposed. Mr. Sisk seconded the motion. The vote in favor was unanimous.
Bird-strike prevention at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters (Andrew Vitz)
Director Schlüter introduced State Ornithologist Drew Vitz and highlighted that the funding for the bird-strike window treatments recently installed at MassWildlife’s Field Headquarters was provided by the Department of Fish and Game’s Biodiversity grant program.
Mr. Vitz shared data from a study from Rosenberg et al. 2019, which showed that there has been a 30% reduction in North American birds since the 1970s, impacting most bird groups. Habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, and domestic cats are all causes of bird declines, but collisions with glass is an indiscriminate killer, estimated to kill 1 billion birds in the U.S. annually. Mr. Vitz reported that birds strike windows most often when they can’t detect the glass because of its transparency and the way it reflects surrounding habitat. Most collisions occur at low- to mid-rise buildings, at lower levels where birds are most active, and most collisions are by songbirds, with peak collisions occurring during migrations. He also noted that cities attract birds with their lights, while during winter and summer collisions often occur at homes.
He explained that, to make glass bird-safe, markers are put on or in glass to give birds something to see, and, over time, strategies have steadily gotten more effective. For example, proper spacing and design have been developed through testing, and designs with 2-inch spacing have been found to be the most effective for deterring birds. Mr. Vitz reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a great bird-friendly toolkit, which includes information about bird-safe glass and lights-out protocols, and he stressed that state wildlife agencies play an important role in amplifying the messaging for the public.
Mr. Vitz reported that a plan was developed to retrofit the Field Headquarters’ windows by applying film with dots placed 2 inches apart after staff identified the most problematic areas of the building for collisions. He stressed that the dots are not an eyesore to people but make a positive difference for birds. He also reported that important bird-safe outreach materials are also currently in development for sharing the concepts and solutions with the public, and he noted that the messages align well with other messaging staff have already been doing around attracting birds without feeders.
After a brief discussion, the members applauded the project and thanked Mr. Vitz for his enlightening presentation.
Confirm the August business meeting date and time, at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters and on Zoom
The members confirmed Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. at the Field Headquarters and in a Zoom webinar.
After a brief discussion, the members set the September business meeting for September 23, 2026, at 1:30 p.m., at the Field Headquarters and in a Zoom webinar. The October business meeting was set for October 21, 2026, at 1:30 p.m., also at the Field Headquarters and in a Zoom webinar.
Members’ comments
Ms. Dyer reported on the recent Becoming an Outdoors Woman archery program and remarked about the partnership MassWildlife had put together with the other three nonprofits involved. She was impressed that so many women showed up despite the bad weather; remarked on the quality of the instructors, including Astrid Huseby and Sean Callanan; and the diversity of teaching styles employed for the workshop. She also commented that it was important to have female instructors, as some women feel more comfortable learning from other women.
Ms. Hastie reported on the recent event at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge to celebrate the success of the Blanding’s turtle headstart program, and the incredible partnership between MassWildlife, USFWS, and Zoo New England that made it happen, and she highlighted the importance of efforts to help recover species before having to list them. Ms. Hastie also commented that she was able to go out with Stewardship Biologist Jennifer Jones from the Connecticut Valley District Office to support the Hooks and Books, the MassWildlife fishing rod rental program, with the Greenfield Library. Ms. Hastie thanked Ms. Jones for her energy and dedication to getting more families outdoors.
Adjourn
There being no further business, Mr. Hitt moved to adjourn. Ms. Dyer seconded the motion. The vote in favor was unanimous, and the meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Malcolm Haith
Secretary
List of documents presented to the Board in its July business meeting packets
July agenda
Draft June meeting minutes
Copy of Sierra magazine article, “Restoring Fire in the Northeast” (The Sierra Club: June 30, 2026)