eNewsletter - Merrimack River Watershed Council

October 2009

Merrimack River Watershed Council

Annual Meeting

MRWC Board of Directors
Cecilia Mazza, President
Kathryn Carter,
Vice President
Susan Sanborn, Treasurer
Steven Zelubowski, Secretary

Elizabeth Baker, Director
Joseph Bernard, Director
Edmund Greene, Director

Doris Peterkin,

Director
Alan Sherburne, Director
Gwen Whitbeck, Director

Annual Meeting Notice

Merrimack River Watershed Council, Inc.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

6 Plum Island Turnpike, Newburyport, MA 01950 / 978-465-5753 / http://parkerriver.fws.gov

NOTE: If you are planning to attend…

Send an email message to: info@merrimack.org

-or- Call: 978-275-0120 x-10

Please help us to properly plan for your participation and provide refreshments.

Annual Meeting Order of Events

- 12:30PM -

Dune’s Trail Refuge Walk & Talk

Meet at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and depart by car for a special guided walking tour in the Refuge. Free group parking.

- 2PM -

Refreshments Plus

Enjoy free time to stroll the Refuge Center exhibits and displays with free refreshments.

- 2:30PM -

Annual Meeting

Hear about how your river is being protected, the latest on the projects and ongoing activities of the Council. Vote for new board of directors slate.

River Monitoring

During the summer of 2009, Merrimack River Watershed Council staff, interns and volunteers measured water quality in the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire as part of MRWC’s Merrimack River Water Quality Monitoring, Analyzing, Protecting and Promoting (MAPP) Program. On four separate occasions, two in May and two in August, pH values were found to be considerably lower than normal, and well below the lower limit of 6.5 set by the state for safe swimming, boating and fishing. [For those whose high school chemistry class is a bit fuzzy, pH is a measure of acidity and ranges on a scale of 1 (acidic) to 14 (basic), where 7 is the neutral value for pure water. The Merrimack usually ranges from 6.5 to 6.8.]

On four days in May and August, pH values as low as 3.3 to 4.1 were recorded in various locations from Lowell to West Newbury - meaning the river was as acidic as strong vinegar, and low enough to potentially cause fish kills.

If you are interested in learning more about pH in the Merrimack or any of the other data we collected over the monitoring season, we will be summarizing our 2009 results at MRWC’s annual meeting at 2:30 on November 7, 2009 at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. Come join us and find out what MRWC’s been up to over the past year!

- Tracie Sales, MRWC Water Resource Manager

Board Snapshot - Doris Peterkin

Doris Peterkin joined the MRWC Board of Directors this past September. She has spent the majority of her career in the biotech sector where she has worked to make novel treatments available to patients with unmet medical needs. Doris is currently the CEO of Healagenics, a privately held, bio-medical device firm.

Doris lives in N. Andover with her husband Gordon and their over active dog Bruschi. She is an avid traveler and outdoor enthusiast. After spending many years enjoying the trails and conservation lands within Essex County , she is delighted to be part of an organization that is taking an active role in preserving the natural beauty of the Merrimac River and ensuring its safe use by those who work and play throughout the Merrimack Valley.

Doris looks ahead to actively serve on the Board, with one of her goals to advance MRWC’s ability to provide quick, accurate information on River water quality, as well as to continue to promote the need to protect this essential resource.

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Merrimack Mile Sponsors

5 Miles
AAA - Merrimack Valley web
4 Miles
Normandeau Associates web
1 mile
MKS Instruments web	Kennedy Foundation web
Hydrologics web	UMass Lowell web
*half-mile*
Waste Management web	Digital Credit Union (DCU) web
Toner Express of NH web	Environmental Compliance Services (ECS) web
Aramark web	Horsley Witten Group web

Members Speak Up

Patricia McCann is a new member of the Merrimack River Watershed Council, and introduced herself at the last MRWC Social! held at the Lowell Beerworks in August. "I became a member of the MRWC because of my growing concerns over the poor water quality in the Merrimack River, especially during the summer months," she explained.

Pat grew up in Lowell and has had a special fondness for the river since childhood. But now as an adult looking out the window from her home on the banks of the Merrimack, she knows first hand about direct and indirect water pollution. "I have lived on the Merrimack River in the town of Tyngsboro since 1995. The pollution is not just caused by storm-water runoff, but by reckless boaters who empty waste of all kinds into the river," she said with a passion in her voice while MRWC staff and other members listened.

Until a few years ago, Pat explains, "There was frequent patrol of the river by the Lowell and Chelmsford Police Departments," but because of budget cuts, both the police patrol and the EPA are rarely seen (if ever) upstream from the dam in Lowell. "It would certainly be in the best interest of the 300,000 people that depend on the Merrimack for drinking water and recreation to bring the patrol back on the river again. Just the occasional presence, or of known patrols, would give notice to boaters and others that the river is not a place to dump their waste and unwanted litter - both large and small."

The river has been an important part of Pat's life. "As a child in the 1950’s, I spent many wonderful days at the bathhouse in Lowell where I learned to swim." And with a touch of emotion in her voice she continued, " I remember when the bathhouse was closed because the water was unfit to swim in any longer, the same place I used to swim in so very often. That closing can happen again. We all should do whatever it takes to not let that happen!"

Thank you, Pat!

Have a thought to share, an idea, comment, or suggestion? Send it along to: info@merrimack.org

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Paddling Trips

Foliage from a water view!

The last MRWC trip of the season - October 10 on the Contoocook River, Peterborough, NH - the traditional and beautiful foliage paddle passing woods, meadows, under an old covered bridge into the scenic Powder Mill Pond.

We hope to see old and new members join in for next season's paddling trips. A new schedule will appear on the MRWC web site as the trips are organized and confirmed.

2009 Paddling Trips Sponsors

Charles River Canoe & Kayak

Polartec

Contoocook River Canoe

Kittery Trading Post

Plum Island Kayak

Paddling Trips are offered through Oct. 10th. [schedule]

Please remember our generous sponsors when in

need of their goods and services, and to recommend

them to your friends.

WANTED:

Sponsors for the

2010 MRWC Paddling Trips

Send your sponsorship ideas and suggestions,

or your willingness to help out, to:

info@merrimack.org

Merrimack River Fun Facts

300,000 people in Massachusetts get their drinking water from the Merrimack River;
The Merrimack is still used to supply power - electrical - via six major hydroelectric dams on the river - 2 in MA and 4 in NH - as well as almost 100 small power projects;
In the Merrimack there are a variety of fish including Atlantic Salmon, American Shad, River Herring, Striped Bass, Sea Lamprey, and American Eel to name a few.

- Kathryn Hackett, MRWC Intern

Office Update

MRWC Staff
Christine Tabak,
Executive Director
Tracie Sales,
Water Resources Manager
James Magarian,
Office Manager
Murielle Georges,
Membership Coordinator

Contact Info

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