Attendees
Present: Emma Ellsworth/Vice Chair, Ernie Foster/Secretary, Sasha Dyer, Kyla Hastie, Matthew Sisk, Mark S. Tisa/Director, Tom O’Shea/Commissioner/DFG, Eve Schlüter/Deputy Director, Kris McCarthy/ Chief Fiscal Officer and Associate Director, Todd Richards/Assistant Director/Fisheries, Mike Huguenin/ Assistant Director/Wildlife, Trina Moruzzi/Assistant Director/Operations, Emily Myron/Assistant Director/Land and Habitat, Rebecca Quiñones/NHESP Conservation Science Program Manager and SWAP Coordinator, 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, Andrew Madden/Western Wildlife District Manager, Nicole Keleher/Habitat Restoration and Management Program Manager, Jim Burnham/Program Coordinator, Jim Pollock/ Facilities Specialist, Jennifer Sulla/General Counsel/DFG, Christine Smith/Assistant General Counsel/DFG, Major Kevin Clayton/MEP; Public: James Cardoza, Steve LaRivee, Chris Giglio, Mike Robinson, Ron Amidon
Commissioner O’Shea’s announcement of the resignation of Steve Sears and introduction of a new Fisheries and Wildlife Board member
Vice Chair Ellsworth recognized Commissioner O’Shea, who introduced new Board member Kyla Hastie, who is the at-large member on the Board who is a wildlife biologist. The Commissioner said he first worked with Ms. Hastie when he was the Assistant Director of Wildlife and looked forward to her participation on the Board. He reported that she had made her career in conservation, most recently as Deputy Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Region 5. She led 750 employees to implement and enforce federal wildlife laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, to manage 82 national wildlife refuges and 13 national fish hatcheries, and to administer funds through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act and Federal Aid in Sportfish Restoration Act. He also stated that Ms. Hastie had previously directed communications with news media, Congress, and partners, had worked as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Georgia, and for The Nature Conservancy developing partnerships with landowners.
Director Tisa stated that he has worked with Ms. Hastie for the previous decade in her role as Deputy Regional Director, as well as when she served as Acting Regional Director. He reported that it was an honor to sit and work side by side with her on a number of committees for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and noted that Ms. Hastie brings many skills, much experience, and a new array of contacts to the agency.
Ms. Hastie thanked the Commissioner, the Director, and the Board members for their welcome. She stated that she has worked with many members of MassWildlife’s leadership team for years and has always been very impressed by the quality of work, so when she learned there was an opportunity to join its Board, she was very pleased. She stated that she has retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is currently working on a master’s degree.
Ms. Hastie said she wanted to introduce herself as a person and talk briefly about the values that brought her to this point. She said that her top value is family; her husband Keith is also a retired wildlife biologist, and they have two daughters. The family moved to Shutesbury when the girls were little, and Ms. Hastie stated that she is grateful they did. The quality of life is excellent, and they have enjoyed many outdoor activities together as a family. She said that hope is another value she holds, noting that, for her, conservation is an active hope. She relies on resiliency, empathy, close listening, and tapping into other people’s perspectives, and said she has a lot of learn from everyone. Two other values are inclusion – ensuring room for everyone at the table – and respect, which she said everyone deserves. Ms. Hastie wanted to acknowledge and thank John Organ, with whom she visited recently and has worked for many years. She knew he had served in the wildlife biologist position and thanked him for it. Ms. Hastie remarked that this is a very exciting time in conservation, and while the federal landscape has a lot of uncertainty, it gives her hope to see the leadership in Massachusetts.
Commissioner O'Shea then reported that Steve Sears had resigned his position on the Board the previous week with a letter to Governor Healey, noting that Mr. Sears had made significant contributions during his tenure as a leader in the Berkshires with a lot of passion for his board position. The Commissioner confirmed that he is seeking a replacement for him. Stating that it was a surprise when Mr. Sears left the Board, Commissioner O'Shea said he is very glad and appreciative that Ms. Ellsworth is temporarily leading as vice chair.
Commissioner O'Shea reported that he had had discussions with the Chair and board members about taking a pause so the Board can reconsider several recent proposals for regulation changes, and noted that Mr. Sears had been upset by this, saying that it was the Board’s prerogative to bring forward any regulations it chose and send them to a public hearing. Commissioner O'Shea stated that he would discuss each proposal and explain the reasons for calling for a pause.
One proposal called for a catch-and-release-only area and a ban on barbless hooks on a portion of the Quinapoxet River. He stated that there were many questions about moving the proposal forward, from his office and from MassWildlife staff, which was opposed to the proposal. Staff felt a catch-and-release area wasn’t necessary to protect the fishery in that stretch of the river, which primarily has very warm water and can have low flow. At the same time, the Commissioner reported, the Department and MassWildlife are actively trying to promote fish as food and protein from the state in general as good sources of food, as in the Share the Harvest program and in the Division of Marine Fisheries’ developing program to share the saltwater catch. He asked that it be paused and reconsidered because of those reasons. Further, he noted that anglers have the option to crimp the barbs on their hooks now, and they can release their catch now if they wish.
The other proposal was to ban the use of thermal imaging for big-game hunting. Commissioner O'Shea reported that, in fact, MassWildlife staff did not have consensus on the issue, and he was not made aware of the proposal before it was brought to the Board. The Commissioner reported that when he asked John Organ about the regulation, since it was his proposal, it became clear that there was some confusion about the technology. Commissioner O'Shea reported that thermal imagery can be important for hunter safety and for hunting in low-light conditions, and it can also be an aid in retrieving harvested game. In fact, he reported, it is not a fair chase issue in Massachusetts and not a hunter-safety issue, and therefore warranted a second look at what was specifically being proposed.
Director Tisa seconded the Commissioner’s remarks, saying the action was not eliminating the proposals; it only recommended a pause. He reported that it is not atypical at all that MassWildlife will get questions all along the approval line, from the Department to the Secretary’s office and beyond. He noted that he can answer questions about proposed regulations that come from staff, but this time he was not able to do so. He added that both staff and the Board members need to be able to feel comfortable answering questions about any proposed regulation. During an earlier meeting with him, he reported that Vice Chair Ellsworth had made an excellent suggestion, which was that he arrange a site visit for the Board members to the area proposed for catch-and-release on the Quinepoxet and they can start a reexamination from there. Relative to the thermal imagery proposal, she had advised that they should put a subcommittee together, to make sure the Board was looking at the whole issue. The Director reported that he was in support of both these suggestions.
Commissioner O'Shea continued by thanking Director Tisa and Vice Chair Ellsworth. He reported that he thought it would be helpful to briefly explain the regulation process. In terms of setting regulations, he stated that it is required that all the people involved, the Administration, the staff, the Board, are on board, before amendments are brought to the public. If a proposal is approved by the Board, it must go up to him and his Department staff, to the EEA Secretary’s office, to Administration and Finance, and then to the Governor’s Office. All along the way, he and the Director need to answer all outstanding questions. He pointed out that Board approval is just one step of the regulatory process under Chapter 30A and Executive Order 562. When a proposal does eventually go to public hearing, he reported that each office takes another look, based on the public comments.
Commissioner O'Shea offered a presentation from the Department’s General Counsel Jennifer Sulla on the regulatory process, so that everyone is clear. Vice Chair Ellsworth thanked the Commissioner and said that it was a very good idea and would be very welcome. Commissioner O'Shea stated that he had spent 15 years at MassWildlife; he felt very close to its staff and to former members of Board, and he stressed that the Fisheries and Wildlife Board is an important part of MassWildlife.
Mr. Foster stated that in his 10 years on the Board he had never heard of putting proposed regulations on pause. He thought it would be helpful for the minutes to note the dates when each regulation was approved to move to public hearing. Regarding the Quinepoxet proposal, he stated that he thought it would forward the Governor’s Biodiversity Initiative by increasing public use of the area.
Vice Chair Ellsworth stated that she will appreciate the opportunity to have a site visit at the proposed site on the Quinepoxet because she is unfamiliar the river, and she is anxious to start the work of reexamining the regulations.
Ms. Dyer reported that when she first joined the Board she was glad to have had Mr. Sears to ask questions of as she worked to get up to speed and she had greatly appreciated his help.
Mr. Sisk thanked Commissioner O'Shea for addressing the regulations and for being available to him when he had questions. Speaking to staff, and, he said, especially to Assistant Director of Fisheries Todd Richards, he stated that it was the dream of his life to serve on the Board and that it was not his goal or intention to cause difficulty for Mr. Richards or for his staff.
Acceptance of minutes
Vice Chair Ellsworth called for a motion on the July minutes. Mr. Foster moved acceptance of the minutes of the July business meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Dyer; the vote in favor was unanimous.
A motion was made by Mr. Foster to accept the minutes of the August business meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Dyer; the vote in favor was unanimous.
Vice chair's updates
Vice Chair Ellsworth reported she had enjoyed her vacation. She had heard about his resignation on Sunday night from Mr. Sears, and she was grateful for being able to sit on the Board with Mr. Sears. She stated that she needed to go into the history of boards and commissions, and that members need to work with sportsmen’s groups and the public. She reported that Dr. Organ had shared Aldo Leopold’s 1930 American Game Policy and she shared his words on the role of commissions. She stated that his words resonate with her thinking about today, and she called for collaboration, for coordination, and for engaging with the public. Stating that this was hard to do, she said she would take Leopold’s words to heart.
Director's updates
Director Tisa stressed the importance of being able to answer questions all along the approval process, from the members to the administration to the public. Director Tisa also reminded the Board that he has repeatedly cautioned the members that the amount of time it takes to get regulation proposals approved for public hearing has always been long, at least 6 months and sometimes almost a year, so this is not new.
Commissioner’s updates
Commissioner O'Shea thanked the vice chair for the words from Aldo Leopold, adding that Leopold would say that commissioners can also be champions. The Commissioner reported that the vice chair had joined the Governor’s Biodiversity Plan celebration on the Cape and that 250 people attended in total. He also reported that Mass Audubon has added $5 million to the Governor’s funding commitment. He was gratified by the public groups coming back saying the plan didn’t miss anything, and he credited the fact that the Department listened to everyone who commented. He thanked the vice chair and the Board for being champions of the plan.
The Commissioner reported on a bill filed to create forest reserves, noting that he has had some questions about it. He reported that similar bills have been filed every year since 2021. Currently, there are 119 bills in the state legislature that affect the Department or MassWildlife. He is happy at any time to give updates to the Board on particular bills if they wish. He noted that, as part of the Forests as Climate Solutions Initiative, EEA and the Department and EEA have been working on a number of options, including expanding the network of reserves. He stated that the plan is to formulate a coordinated plan and come to the Board with proposals for reserves and for updated habitat goals and observed that in an outside section of the MassReady Act, the current Environmental Bond Bill, there is language requiring that the Fisheries and Wildlife Board approve both reserves and habitat goals.
Law Enforcement updates
Major Kevin Clayton, head of the inland bureau and of its special operations unit, provided the comments for MEP. He greeted the Board on behalf of Colonel John Monaghan. Major Clayton reported the outlines of a recent incident with a bear up a tree in Westfield and was happy to report a good outcome. He also provided the Board with a brief overview of actions connected to the current hunting and other recreational seasons and activities and of other recent MEP activities, including fish-and-wildlife-related examples of calls for service that Environmental Police officers had responded to in the previous month.
Confirm October business meeting date and time: October 22, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters and in a Zoom webinar
After a brief discussion, the Board members confirmed the existing details of the October meeting on October 22, 2025; at 10:00 a.m.
Members’ comments
Matthew Sisk reported that he was very close friends with Mr. Sears who was a very nice man and answered Mr. Sisk’s questions. He extended a welcome to Ms. Hastie and reported he had had a conversation with Mr. Haith. He reported that the Braintree mayor had proposed a herring and fisheries commission, noting that Braintree has had a herring warden for over 100 years and the town is committed to stewardship.
Sasha Dyer reported she had attended the dedication of the boat ramp on the Millers River and was glad to see a project many years in the making come to fruition. She had attended the Franklin County Fair, visited the MassWildlife building, and saw Connecticut Valley District Technician Shasta Slade talking with a huge group of children who were completely engaged. Noting that this was wonderful to see, she stated that the MassWildlife displays provide an excellent opportunity to engage young people at the fair. She closed by relating a recent treestand issue she had had and reminded everyone of the importance of treestand safety.
Ernie Foster reported that the Plymouth County League of Sportsmen is rebranding itself, having hired a consultant to find a new name, get more young people involved, expanding the geographic area of service for clubs, and improve communications with members. After reading a tribute to Steve Sears, he moved to dedicate the meeting to him. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Ellsworth and the vote in favor was unanimous.
Comment Summary and Final Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan Update (Eve Schlüter and Rebecca Quiñones)
Deputy Director Eve Schlüter and NHESP Conservation Science Program Manager Rebecca Quiñones provided a summary of the public comments received during the recent public comment period and an overview of additional revisions being proposed in response to those comments. Dr. Schlüter reminded the members that the SWAP represents a blueprint for conservation in each state and must be updated every 10 years in order to ensure eligibility for certain federal wildlife grants. As discussed during the July presentation to the Board, SWAPs must address 8 required elements, including re-evaluating the list of SGCN and their habitats, assessing threats and key conservation actions; developing updated monitoring plans; and the encouragement of public participation. She also briefly reviewed the entire process of updating the SWAP to remind the members and to note that the final SWAP will be submitted to meet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s deadline of September 30, 2025.
Dr. Schlüter then detailed the extensive public outreach staff had engaged in to solicit comments on the SWAP, including through the recent BioMap process, since BioMap is now a core part of the SWAP, wherein staff conducted extensive outreach to conservation partners and municipalities across Massachusetts. She also reported on the public information session staff held on July 17 of this year that was provided with ASL, CART captioning, and translation into four of the most common languages in the state, which had a total engagement of almost 300 viewers. The outreach was also conducted via targeted emails to over 1,000 conservation partners and announcements in the newsletter, on social media, and with five Tribes through the DFG Environmental Justice Coordinator.
Dr. Quiñones then provided an overview of the comments received and the revisions that resulted from them. Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommends a 30-day public comment period, MassWildlife accepted comments before and after that window, through both an online form and emails. In total, MassWildlife received 135 submissions from 107 individuals and 28 organizations. Individuals represented most parts of the state, from Williamstown to Barnstable; organizations represented a couple of towns, several environmental state agencies, and several NGOs, including Mass Audubon, TNC, the Cape Cod Commission, the American Bird Conservancy, and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. Dr. Quiñones reported that all comments were carefully reviewed and considered by a team of staff.
She reported that the overwhelming majority of comments were positive, and pointed to the ease of finding information, the quality of visuals in the web pages, and the clarity of the information, although one commenter preferred a PDF format rather than a web-based product. Dr. Quiñones stated that she would outline the substantial comments received and how staff addressed them, noting that those comments referred to four of the SWAP elements. She displayed a pie chart that grouped the themes of the comments and reported that 79% addressed “threats to SGCN and their habitats,” 17% addressed “conservation actions,” 10% asked for a consideration of some “Species of Greatest Conservation Need,” and 7% of their “habitats.”
Revisions resulting from comments were incorporated into SWAP elements, Dr. Quiñones reported, and she began her discussion with those addressing Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Three species and one taxonomic group, mosses, were recommended as additions to the list of SGCN. Of these, one species was added as an SGCN, white perch, which came from a comment from the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). MassWildlife worked closely with its sister agency to develop new content, and white perch now has its own species fact sheet outlining the species’ description, its habitat and threats, and recommended conservation actions. Although white perch was historically introduced throughout the state, the native diadromous population of white perch is considered in steep decline by both DMF and MassWildlife and it is these populations that are now SGCN. Staff also incorporated suggested edits from TNC into the bog turtle fact sheet. One of TNC’s biologists worked closely with our State Herpetologist, Dr. Mike Jones, as a coauthor on this document and we wanted to get their input right, which led to some refinements.
She then reported that two other species and one taxonomic group that were recommended in the comments did not meet the criteria for inclusion as SGCN. The cougar is extirpated in Massachusetts and so is not included as an SGCN, which is consistent with other extirpated species like Atlantic salmon. One organization recommended the inclusion of eelgrass (Zostera spp.) as an SGCN. After discussions with DMF and other experts, the team determined that it did not warrant inclusion at this time. However, staff recognizes the importance of this ecosystem for sustaining a variety of species, so it had been incorporated into our habitat sheets and noted as an important natural community. Lastly, a couple of comments called for inclusion of mosses as SGCN. Dr. Quiñones reported that staff recognizes that mosses are declining regionally. However, MassWildlife lacks specific information to determine their conservation status, such as abundance trends, distribution trends, etc. Consequently, the team incorporated mosses as a group needing ongoing research and staff hopes to place greater emphasis on monitoring and conservation of this group throughout the next 10 years.
Moving on to “Habitats,” Dr. Quiñones stated that several habitat fact sheets were updated based on public feedback. Staff received a few comments regarding marine habitats, which were added for the first time in this SWAP, and staff have also added language related to the state’s Ocean Management Plan. In particular, they wanted to highlight again the importance of submerged aquatic vegetation to SGCN and biodiversity in the state. Staff will continue to update information on this habitat as more conservation research is conducted. A couple of comments received related to freshwater habitats, primarily floodplains and rivers, asking for more information on conservation actions. In response, the threats and conservation actions sections of these habitats have been expanded. For instance, the SWAP now references the Franklin Regional Council of Government’s guidebook on River Restoration Design and Permitting in Massachusetts and calls out the importance of land conservation and terrestrial habitat restoration for the conservation of these habitats. Lastly, one comment was specific to Mature Forests and asked staff to point out species that are more abundant in this habitat than in other forests. Interestingly, Dr. Quiñones reported, mature forests have few SGCN obligates, or those SGCN that are only found in this habitat. However, there are a few moss species that are considered Mature Forest obligates and so these were added, especially in light of needing additional monitoring of bryophytes in the state.
Addressing comments related to “Threats,” staff made two major revisions. The first is that “Threats” is called out as its own section on the SWAP landing page, to highlight this element and to point out where threats can be found. The second was the addition of rodenticides, and plastic and light pollution as threats to specific species in species fact sheets. Staff also address relevant conservation actions in the fact sheets.
The last element that was revised is “Conservation Actions.” In addition to expanded language specific to conservation actions in marine and freshwater habitat fact sheets and to species fact sheets that face threats from rodenticides, plastic pollution and light pollution, staff also expanded the list of other relevant plans that should be considered when weighing conservation actions, e.g., the Ocean Management Plan and the FRCOG guidebook. Staff also received several comments asking for more specific information regarding conservation and management practices. Dr. Quiñones reported that some of these are already available, e.g., on dam removal, but MassWildlife is still working on others because staff recognizes the importance of sharing these tools. This is not a SWAP requirement, however, so this additional information will be coming soon after the SWAP is submitted. Lastly, staff received one comment asking for specific restoration goals. Dr. Quiñones acknowledged that restoration goals are important and that’s why high-level restoration goals were identified in the recently released Biodiversity Goals for the Commonwealth. She reported that staff will be engaging with partners to establish more refined restoration goals for 2030, 2040, and 2050.
Dr. Schlüter stated that staff is asking for the Board’s endorsement of the 2025 SWAP so it can be submitted to USFWS by the end of September. Once submitted, MassWildlife will move into the implementation phase, though Dr. Schluter pointed out that staff has never stopped implementing the SWAP's key conservation actions, and will keep implementing them in close collaboration with conservation partners across the state. Although the SWAP is the product of decades of foundational work and learning, that work and learning never stop. The SWAP is now more accessible than ever as a living document, and she reported that staff will continue to be open to feedback from our partners and the public to incorporate more information and knowledge over time. Finally, Dr. Schluter highlighted that finalizing and implementing the SWAP comes at an exciting time, as it will help refine the Governor’s new Biodiversity Goals for Massachusetts.
Dr. Schluter offered MassWildlife's thanks to the many individuals and organizations that reviewed and provided comments on the SWAP. The agency took all comments very seriously and has made many valuable updates to address them. She also thanked MassWildlife's many conservation partners, saying that staff deeply appreciates our partners' engagement and commitment to helping implement the SWAP and that Massachusetts can only succeed with everyone doing the work together. Finally, Dr, Schluter thanked the dozens and dozens of MassWildlife staff and contributors who worked tirelessly on the effort, and she thanked the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee and the Fisheries and Wildlife Board for their support throughout the process.
Mr. Sisk made a motion to endorse the 2025 SWAP as presented; Mr. Foster seconded the motion. There being no discussion, the vote in favor was unanimous.
Adjourn
There being no further business, Mr. Sisk moved to adjourn. Ms. Dyer seconded the motion.
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 August business meeting packets
September agenda
July and August monthly meeting minutes drafts