Attendees
Present: Emma Ellsworth/Chair, Ernie Foster/Vice Chair, Malcolm Haith/Secretary, Sasha Dyer, Kyla Hastie, Matthew Sisk, Eve Schlüter/Director (Acting), Tom O’Shea/Commissioner/DFG, Nicole McSweeney/Assistant Director of Outreach and Education, Todd Richards/Assistant Director of Fisheries, Jesse Leddick/Assistant Director of Natural Heritage and Endangered Species, Michael Huguenin/Assistant Director of Wildlife, Trina Moruzzi/Assistant Director of Operations, Kris McCarthy/CFO, Emily Myron/Assistant Director of Land and Habitat Conservation, Joe Rogers/Conn. Valley Wildlife District Manager, Patricia Huckery/Northeast Wildlife District Manager, Jason Zimmer/Southeast Wildlife District Manager, Todd Olanyk/Central Wildlife District Manager, Andrew Madden/Western Wildlife District Manager, Martin Feehan/Deer and Moose Project Leader, Nicole Keleher/Habitat Restoration and Management Program Manager, Jim Burnham/Program Coordinator, Jon Brooks/Wildlife Population Ecologist, Jody Simoes/Human Dimensions Project Leader, Jen Ryan/Deputy Commissioner/DFG, Jennifer Sulla/General Counsel/DFG, Christine Smith/Assistant General Counsel/DFG; Public: Chris Giglio, Dave Morin, Steve Larivee, Mike Harris, Ronald Amidon
Acceptance of the minutes of the February monthly business meeting
A motion was made by Mr. Foster to accept the minutes of the February business meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Dyer; the vote in favor was unanimous. A roll call vote was taken.
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Chair's comments
Chair Ellsworth provided comments on her experiences attending a bear den survey. This included the work of the MassWildlife staff who was working with a film crew and the efforts needed to traverse the environment and deal with weather in order to get to the den. Comments included the dedication of the staff to this long-running DFG project and the positive comments given by the film crew related to DFG staff being able to assist in the capturing of the footage for their future film production.
Director’s updates
Director Schlüter thanked the members for attending the two deer public hearings on the deer regulations on February 23. She reported that she had remotely attended part of the NEAFWA Northeast Landscape Wildlife Conservation Committee along with Assistant Director of Fisheries Todd Richards. At this meeting, members from the region come together to identify and foster conservation partnerships, mobilize resources, and work together to reduce barriers for strategic landscape-scale conservation efforts. She also reported that she was the co-emcee with Priscilla Geigis of DCR at the Canopy Forestry Forum with over 400 people in attendance on March 5 at UMass Amherst. This year’s theme was “Rooted in Resilience,” and she reported a variety of great talks on resilient forests; biodiversity; and sustainable forest products, including from some MassWildlife staff. One key theme that emerged was the recognition that forests are complex mosaics of habitat types varying in age structure and species, and that thoughtful, site-specific management approaches are important to maintain resiliency in the long-term. She reported that Commissioner O’Shea gave the closing remarks and stated that they are already looking forward to next year’s event, which will have the theme, “Rooted in People.”
Director Schlüter also reported that the previous weekend she had given the keynote address at the Wildlife Rehabilitators’ Association of Mass. annual meeting. Related to MassWildlife’s activities, Director Schlüter reported that trout stocking had started in the Southeast District and would commence elsewhere in the state as conditions permit. She commended the hard work of hatchery staff for the quality and size of the fish being stocked, and she provided details about upcoming trout stocking events. She also noted that updates from the Massachusetts Environmental Police will be provided to the Board through written reports from Major Kevin Clayton.
Director Schlüter reported that the agency will present the Freshwater Sport Fishing awards on March 28. She planned to present in a Tufts University webinar on MassWildlife and conservation careers on April 2; and to participate in the NEAFWA annual conference, in West Virginia this year, in part to give a Mass. Biodiversity Goals presentation; and that there will be a public hearing for the 2026–2027 migratory bird hunting regulations on April 13 in a Zoom webinar.
Commissioner’s updates
Commissioner O’Shea shared his experiences listening to the woodcock and song sparrows around the Field Headquarters building as signs that spring is upon us. He thanked the MassWildlife team for their work on a bear den trip that other state leaders attended. He also reported on his testimony at legislative sessions related to the 2027 budget and the importance of the Hunters Share the Harvest Program for individuals experiencing food insecurity. He stated that he has been fielding questions about the proposed legislative changes related to hunting and is hoping that the Board will endorse the recommendations moving forward. He reflected on his attendance at the Canopy Forestry Forum, remarked on the diversity of the other attendees from a myriad of other agencies, and thanked the Department of Conservation and Recreation for its efforts in this collaboration. He also reported that the community biodiversity grants awardees would be announced soon.
Vote to finalize the job description for the MassWildlife Director position (Emma Ellsworth)
Chair Ellsworth made comments about the integrity of the agency in the state, the professionalism of its staff members, and the depth of commitment for the future of wildlife conservation in the Commonwealth.
Ms. Hastie moved to accept the job description as amended, and to post the position for MassWildlife Director. Mr. Sisk seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken.
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Comment review and vote to make permanent the emergency deer regulations at 321 CMR 3.02 (Martin Feehan)
Dr. Martin Feehan, the Deer and Moose Project Leader, presented the emergency regulations that were being proposed to be made permanent: extend the winter season 2 extra weeks, February 1–14, for primitive arms and archery, with the primitive arms stamp no longer required for winter season; add a 10-day early deer season in September to begin two Mondays before the youth deer hunt, for primitive arms and archery; remove the on-island deer check requirement; and remove the visibility requirement for harvested deer statewide. He reported that the regulations were supported by a majority of the commenters and by all the organizations that commented in the public hearing held on February 23 and in the written comments received before and after the hearing. He reported that the comments in opposition were generally from individuals who opposed hunting in general, and that the final recommendation is to make the emergency regulations permanent.
After a brief discussion, Ms. Dyer moved to make the emergency regulations permanent. Mr. Foster seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken.
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Comment review and vote on proposed deer regulations at 321 CMR 2.04 and 3.02 (Martin Feehan)
Dr. Feehan reviewed the proposed regulation amendments: allow MEP and MassWildlife staff to substitute confirmation numbers for metal seals, allow the use of only synthetic or other non-deer-based lures, create a winter deer season in WMZs 9, 10, and 11, extend the youth deer hunt to include the preceding Friday, and change the start of the Archery season to the Monday following the youth deer hunt. He summarized the comments received during hearing held on February 23 and in writing before and after the hearing, reporting that the majority of commenters and all the organizations that commented supported the substitution of confirmation numbers for metal seals. He provided a brief overview of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and stressed that the use of only synthetic and non-deer lures is strongly recommended to mitigate the spread of CWD and prevent it from being detected in Massachusetts. He reported that the change was supported, with the pattern of comments being split largely between supporting residents and opposed non-residents, with opposition from deer-lure businesses and from one Massachusetts organization. He also addressed and dispelled a number of common CWD myths raised in the opposing comments. He reported that the majority of commenters were in support of the creation of a winter deer season in zones 9-11 and of the season framework changes for the youth deer hunt and the Archery season. In conclusion, he affirmed that the final recommendation of staff is for the regulations to be accepted as proposed.
After a brief discussion, Mr. Foster moved to pass the regulations as proposed. Ms. Hastie seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken.
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
MassWildlife’s recommendations on hunting laws and vote to endorse (Eve Schlüter)
Director Schlüter recognized and applauded the tremendous amount of work done by many members of MassWildlife’s staff to respond to the request from the Healey-Driscoll Administration to hold listening sessions on possible hunting legislation changes and provide a recommendation. She reported on MassWildlife’s work to meet today’s conservation challenges and briefly reviewed the current hunting statutes. She reported on the listening sessions held and that over 11,000 written comments were received. Director Schlüter detailed the extensive outreach staff conducted, including postings on MassWildlife’s social media accounts, issuing newsletters, and press coverage received.
Director Schlüter provided a detailed summary of the public feedback received, including on the statewide distribution of the comments; the overall positive public feedback; and the analysis staff conducted on the feedback received, including the coding employed and the themes that emerged under the analysis. She stressed that the amount of public engagement was orders of magnitude higher than in most of MassWildlife’s public hearings and that roughly 7 out of 10 commenters support modernizing hunting in Massachusetts, which aligns with the majority of trends nationwide. She reminded the meeting of the safety of hunting compared to perceived concerns of conflicts with other recreation events and the importance of perceptions of safety and comfort when using outdoor spaces.
Director Schlüter reported that the recommendations are to repeal the statutory ban and allow MassWildlife to regulate hunting on Sundays, to remove the current prohibitions related to hunting with crossbow during permitted seasons, to reduce the minimum setback to 250 feet from a dwelling for archery equipment, and to eliminate the hunting setback entirely for falconry. She noted that there is no recommendation to decrease setbacks for other hunting implements and none for the setbacks related to roads, and she emphasized that the recommendations align closely with MassWildlife’s mission of wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation. She requesting that the Board endorse the recommendations to be presented to the Healey-Driscoll administration.
Ms. Ellsworth moved to endorse the recommendations to amend the hunting laws as presented. Mr. Foster seconded the motion. After a number of comments from the members in general appreciation of the work of staff and in support of the recommendations, a roll call vote was taken.
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Set the April business meeting date and time
After a brief discussion, the members set the April meeting on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 1:30 p.m., at the Field Headquarters and in a Zoom webinar.
After further discussion, the members agreed that a joint meeting with the DCR Stewardship Council would be scheduled on the same day as the May business meeting, which would be confirmed by staff and announced at a later date.
Members’ comments
Ms. Dyer provided reflections on her attendance at the Springfield Sportsmen’s Show and the staff that energetically represented MassWildlife, her appreciation for staff's handling of social media, the power of volunteerism for the agency, volunteering for MassWildlife events, recognition of March as International Women's Month and finding support for women in sporting clubs, and her attendance at the Mahar Fish N’ Game Club’s awards ceremony.
Mr. Foster provided remarks on his attendance at the Springfield Sportsmen’s Show, his enjoyment of teaching Hunter Education courses, his belief that stakeholders will be supportive of the recommendations made by the Board to the Healey-Driscoll Administration, and information on the new Massachusetts Sportsmen's Council reward for information on violations of fish and wildlife laws.
Executive session
Mr. Haith moved that the Board go into executive session for the purpose of discussing potential land acquisition projects whose negotiations might be compromised by discussion in open session and not return to open session. Ms. Hastie seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken.
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Eight parcels were presented to the Board for consideration. Each parcel was discussed and each was unanimously approved in roll-call votes.
Adjourn
There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Hastie and seconded by Mr. Foster. A roll call vote was taken.
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous, and the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Malcolm Haith
Secretary
List of documents presented to the Board in its March business meeting packets
March agenda
Draft February business meeting minutes
Draft job description for the Director of MassWildlife position
Draft recommendations to the Healey-Driscoll Administration on changes to hunting laws
Closing information on a gift of land to DFG/MassWildlife
Executive session packet