Attendees
Present: Emma Ellsworth/Chair, Ernie Foster/Vice Chair, Malcolm Haith/Secretary, Matthew Sisk, Sasha Dyer, Kyla Hastie, Tom O’Shea/DFG Commissioner, Mark Tisa/Director, Eve Schlüter/Deputy Director, Todd Olanyk/Central Wildlife District Manager, Trina Moruzzi/Assistant Director of Operations, Nicole McSweeney/Assistant Director of Outreach and Education, Jim Pollock/ Operations Specialist, Todd Richards/Assistant Director of Fisheries, Jesse Leddick/Assistant Director of Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Andrew Madden/Western District Manager, Nicole Keleher/Habitat Restoration and Management Program Manager, Emily Myron/ Assistant Director of Land and Habitat, Mike Huguenin/Assistant Director of Wildlife, Jason Zimmer/Southeast District Manager, Jody Simoes/Human Dimensions Coordinator, Kris McCarthy/Chief Fiscal Officer and Associate Director, Pat Huckery/Northeast Wildlife District Manager, Joe Rogers/Connecticut Valley District Manager, Jennifer Sulla/DFG General Counsel, Tori LaBate/DFG Assistant General Counsel; Christine Smith/DFG Assistant General Counsel, Bob Greco/DFG Chief of Staff, Julia Hopkins/DFG Communications Director, Matt Lyons/McLaughlin Hatchery Manager; Public: Dave Morin, Steve LaRivee, Ron Amidon, Melinda Mackendrick, Tony Schuko
Acceptance of the minutes of the September monthly business meeting
Vice Chair Ellsworth called for a motion to approve the September minutes. Mr. Foster moved acceptance of the minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Dyer. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Acceptance of the minutes of the October monthly business meeting
Vice Chair Ellsworth called for a motion to approve the October minutes. Mr. Foster moved acceptance of the minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Dyer. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Vice Chair's comments
Ms. Ellsworth commented on the search for MassWildlife’s new Director and confirmed it will be a national search. She said she will share more details at the next meeting, but she is working with the Commissioner to ensure the search follows all HR policies and open public meeting laws. Ms. Ellsworth also commented on the extraordinary hunting opportunities we have here in Massachusetts, sharing that she had the opportunity to hunt in both Kansas and Montana this fall. While hunting out west is a phenomenal experience, she remarked that public opportunities are largely limited. She shared her appreciation for all of the public lands and state lands open for hunting here in Massachusetts.
Director’s updates
Director Tisa did not have any updates.
Commissioner O’Shea’s updates
Commissioner O’Shea also affirmed that he would share updates about the search process for MassWildlife’s new Director at the December Fisheries and Wildlife Board meeting. He confirmed it will be a national search to ensure the best range of candidates is considered.
Commissioner O’Shea said that while he doesn’t know the specific impacts to the Department yet, he is anticipating that fiscal year 2027 will be a tough budget year.
He reported that New York State recently passed legislation to legalize the use of crossbows for hunting. While a few counties were not included, in most of New York crossbows will be legal hunting implements. Given the interest in making crossbows legal for hunting here in Massachusetts, he stated that it’s good to be aware. The Commissioner also said that it’s worth noting that in Massachusetts we’ve had significant expansion in deer and bear hunting opportunities in recent years, with much longer seasons.
The Commissioner also reported that the Department hosted a session on biodiversity at the recent Climate Beacon Conference, attended by many different environmental and energy professionals. The session was organized by Deputy Commissioner Jen Ryan and was the most well-attended session of the conference. The Commissioner also shared that he will be giving a TED Talk at MIT on Saturday about biodiversity and remarked that it is an honor to get global recognition for Massachusetts’ legacy of conserving biodiversity.
Law Enforcement updates
Vice Chair Ellsworth reported that a member of MEP could not be present and Major Kevin Clayton, head of the Inland Bureau and of its Special Operations Unit, had provided a written report to the Board, including information about a hunter fatality, MEP officers providing support for the deer hunt for paraplegic hunters, and the first hearing under the Mass. Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact.
Personnel report
Assistant Director of Fisheries Todd Richards provided information about the qualifications in support of Mr. Lyons’ promotion to Hatchery Manager of McLaughlin Hatchery.
Vice Chair Ellsworth called for a motion to approve the promotion. Ms. Dyer moved acceptance of the personnel report as submitted. The motion was seconded by Mr. Foster. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Set December business meeting date and time
After a brief discussion, the December meeting was set for Wednesday, December 10, at 2:00 p.m., at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters and on a Zoom webinar.
Board elections
Mr. Foster made motion to turn meeting over Secretary for the purpose of holding the annual election of officers. Mr. Sisk seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Mr. Foster called for nominations for Chair. Mr. Sisk nominated Ms. Ellsworth for Chair. Ms. Dyer seconded the motion. Mr. Foster asked if there were any other nominations. Hearing no more nominations, Mr. Foster requested a motion to close the nominations. Mr. Sisk made motion to close nominations. Ms. Dyer seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous and Ms. Ellsworth was elected Chair.
Mr. Foster called for nominations for Vice Chair. Ms. Ellsworth nominated Mr. Foster for Vice Chair. Ms. Dyer seconded the motion. Mr. Foster asked if there were any other nominations. Hearing no more nominations, Mr. Foster requested a motion to close the nominations. Mr. Sisk made motion to close nominations. Ms. Ellsworth seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous and Mr. Foster was elected Vice Chair.
Mr. Foster called for nominations for Secretary. Mr. Sisk nominated Mr. Haith for Secretary. Ms. Hastie seconded the motion. Mr. Foster asked if there were any other nominations. Hearing no more nominations, Mr. Foster requested a motion to close the nominations. Mr. Sisk made motion to close nominations. Mr. Foster seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous and Mr. Haith was elected Secretary.
At the conclusion of the elections, the Secretary returned the meeting to the chair.
Members’ comments
Mr. Sisk provided an update from the recent Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee meeting, commenting that personnel issues related to the state’s hiring freeze were discussed. Mr. Sisk commented that Assistant Director Leddick and the NHESP staff are doing a great job despite these challenges. Mr. Sisk said the advisory committee discussed the best ways to accommodate requests for guest speakers from the public and said they plan to follow a similar procedure to what is used by the Fisheries and Wildlife Board. Mr. Sisk also commented that State Herpetologist Mike Jones gave a great presentation about the state’s diamond-backed terrapin conservation project and wished more members of the public were aware of this work. He also said members of the committee discussed setting goals for presentations, so that the committee could be more proactive about species that may be considered for list changes under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. Mr. Sisk concluded by praising the staff’s efforts for pheasant stocking, in particular the Southeast District staff at Myles Standish.
Ms. Dyer began by complimenting an engaging social media post made recently by MassWildlife, which quizzed followers on identifying the skull of a raccoon. Ms. Dyer commented that it brought back positive memories of her time in college when she learned about skulls. Ms. Dyer said she was looking forward to the afternoon’s Sargent Award presentation to Mike Roche, commenting on fond memories they shared patterning turkey loads when she was a child. Ms. Dyer shared condolences with the family of the hunter who recently passed away due to a reported treestand accident. Ms. Dyer encouraged all hunters to take precautions to be as safe as possible in the field and reach out if you need help learning these important safety skills.
Mr. Foster congratulated Mike Roche as the Sargent Award recipient and praised Mr. Roche’s many accomplishments including his long tenure on the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, as well as his work as a volunteer Hunter Education instructor, educator, and member of DU, NWTF, and the Ruffed Grouse Society. Mr. Foster also commented on Mr. Roche’s skill as a bird hunter and with his bird dogs. Mr. Foster also commented that he has done a lot of mentoring this season with upland birds and ducks and suggested that bird hunting is a great tool for recruiting new hunters. Mr. Foster complimented the staff who work on the pheasant stocking program and the great experience they provide for hunters.
Ms. Hastie provided an update from the Regional Conservation Partnership gathering at UMass, and commented that there were productive conversations about how partners can collaborate to plan for both biodiversity conservation and housing together. Ms. Hastie commented on the federal government shutdown, and how that has impacted work at the state level to keep projects moving. Ms. Hastie said the new USFWS Director is prioritizing work to ensure hunting and angling can continue on USFWS national wildlife refuges and finding opportunities to better streamline regulations on refuges and align them with the state regulations to reduce confusion. Ms. Hastie also shared that she and Chair Ellsworth attended an event with the Kestrel Land Trust and The Trustees to celebrate the protection of over 2,000 acres of forest in the Belchertown/Shutesbury area. This area is important for biodiversity, as well as hunting, fishing, and hiking.
Public comment
Meg Sheehan of Plymouth from the Community Land & Water Coalition was not present at the meeting and did not make a public comment.
Executive session for the purpose of discussing land protection projects that might be compromised by discussion in open session
Ms. Ellsworth moved that 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 that the Board does not return to open session afterward. Mr. Sisk seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous and the open session ended at 10:37 a.m.
Executive session
The executive session opened at 10:44. Three parcels were presented by staff, and each was unanimously accepted by roll-call votes of the Board members.
Adjourn
There being no further business, Ms. Ellsworth moved to adjourn. Ms. Dyer seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken.
Ms. Dyer: Yes
Ms. Ellsworth: Yes
Ms. Hastie: Yes
Mr. Foster: Yes
Mr. Sisk: Yes
Mr. Haith: Yes
The vote in favor was unanimous, and the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ernie Foster
Secretary
List of documents presented to the Board in its November business meeting packets
November agenda
September and October monthly meeting minutes drafts
MEP monthly meeting report
November personnel report
Fisheries and Wildlife Board election procedures
Supporting packet for executive session