September 2009

Merrimack River Watershed Council

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In This Issue:  from the Director  | Board Snap-Shot | Sponsors | New Members | Paddling Trips | Office Update | Events

   ...from the Executive Director

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

Ever wonder what exactly we do at the Merrimack River Watershed Council? You?re not the only one. I have been asked many times and usually it involves a long answer. The short version is as follows: we protect the river for those who depend on it. How we do it, however, is rather complex.

You see, the pollution in the river that we see is the tip of the iceberg; it?s the pollution that we don?t see that is the nefarious enemy. Pollutants like nutrients, bacteria, metals and pesticides are all in the river. Our goal is to measure and track the source of the pollution and effect change in the community to reduce those pollutants. After all, the Merrimack River is the drinking water supply for over 400,000 people in the Merrimack Valley in southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts. We don?t just protect the river for the river?s sake, but also for the people who depend on it for drinking water, swimming, boating, fishing and the overall benefit of the Valley. 

In a phrase, you could say we are transforming the river for a balanced relationship within the river ecology - including the people who depend on it. And that, in a nutshell, is what we do. Want more information?  See our website and check out our programs. 

- Christine Tabak

Congressman John Tierney and MRWC Exec. Dir. Christine Tabak harborside in Newburyport prior to a monitoring trip on the Merrimack River.

On the River

The MRWC participated in Congressman John Tierney?s Summer of Service program by inviting him and his staff on the river as volunteers for a water quality monitoring trip on August 20. They learned more about the MRWC and the importance of the monitoring project (MAPP) and joined in with staff members Christine Tabak, Tracie Sales and Ryan Jennison, and volunteers Jody Klenk and James Riley (W. Newbury Harbormaster). 

  Board Snapshot - Ed Greene

Edmund A. Greene has been a member of the MRWC Board of Directors since February of this year. Residing in Beverly, MA, Ed brings with him an energy and enthusiasm, along with a background of over 15 years experience in the fields of environmental law, insurance, and commercial lending.

Attorney Greene built from the ground-up an environmental insurance brokerage firm - becoming the largest producer in the nation of environmental lender insurance. He successfully sold his business and is now focused on his solo practice.  Ed has expertise in environmental law, commercial lending (the securitization process), environmental insurance and real estate finance. 

Ed Greene and daughter Makayla with a great catch

For Ed, outreach and public awareness are areas of particular focus on the Board. He explains that, "If environmental stewardship of the Merrimack River watershed is one of our goals, we need to proactively spread the word and get our name and purpose out to the public." Ed is also concerned with MRWC outreach and awareness to businesses and corporations, "which help to make MRWC a sustainable and growing non-profit organization. These  are ways I foresee to protect the watershed for future generations."

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  Merrimack Mile Sponsors

  Renewing and New Members

New Members: AAA Merrimack Valley (5 Merrimack Mile sponsor), Arayik Arshakyan, Catherin G. Brennen, Jessica Bryan, Catherine Costanzo, Eric Hoang, Bill C. Loehfelm, Patricia McCann, Nexamp, Inc. (River Steward sponsor), Audie Quick, Doug Reed, Gulmira Sagdenova, Michele Spaziano, Christina Ward

Renewing Members: Thomas C. Abisalih, Agresource, Inc. (River Steward sponsor), Richard C. Aldrich, David L. Barker, Diane L. Bhattacharya, Linda D. Campbell, Douglas R. Huntley, Caren Jacobson, Jean T. Lambert, Bruce A. MacDougall, Kathryn A. MacWhinney, Denny Michaud, Pamela E. Parkinson, Bernard Prindiville, Daniel Shine, Linda J. Smith, Andrew Szendey, James S. Zelonis

Add your name to the list! On-Line / NewMember / RenewMember / Individual / Corporate / Donations 

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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.

See the complete listing of MRWC

Canoe & Kayak Trips

[schedule]

Merrimack River Watershed Council paddling trips are fun and relaxing, but a recent trip included a little more than the usual fare. This ?value added? popular trip on Sunday, September 6th led a flotilla of 30 boats down the Merrimack River, interspersing beautiful scenery with a bit of local river history thanks to the knowledge and story telling skills of trip leader Chuck Mower.

The trip began at Reeds Ferry (Merrimack, NH) where Chuck told of the days when bricks made locally were loaded onto 40 foot long river boats and floated down the Merrimackto help build the mills in Lowell. An unscheduled side trip up the Souhegan River gave the group a first hand look at the changes on that river since the dam removal in August of last year. A short paddle later and the group was at Thornton?s Ferry where Chuck told the story of Hannah Dustin and her brave escape from her native captives.

Chuck Mower

Lunch was a stop on an island at Cromwell Falls where Henry David Thoreau and his brother camped on their trip up the Merrimack River in 1839. While the group enjoyed their sandwiches, Chuck recited the poetic tale of a courageous native maiden who led a fierce Mohawk war party to their death over a raging waterfall, thus saving her village from certain slaughter. After lunch the group headed across the river for a paddle through the old canal and lock system that allowed boats to pass up and down the shallow Cromwell Falls.

Each MRWC paddling trip offers a new and unique chance to appreciate not only the serene scenic beauty of nature's waterways, but also the changes in our local rivers. On this trip, paddlers also learned to appreciate how important the Merrimack River was to the economic and social development of the Merrimack Valley.

- Denise Hurt

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A Good Time

A gathering of MRWC members and staff took place on Wednesday evening, Aug. 26, at the Lowell BeerWorks. Joining long-time Board of Directors member Alan Sherburne of Tyngsborough were member Dan Toomey, staff members Murielle Georges, Jim Magarian, Ryan Jennison, Cindy Morell, Water Resources Manager Tracie Sales, and Executive Director Christine Tabak. They welcomed new MRWC members Patricia McCann of Tyngsborough, and Dan and Susan Shine of Methuen. Lively discussion enhanced an assortment of appetizers and beverages making for a relaxing and enjoyable time. Programs of the MRWC were explained and memories and stories were told about the area. Members and staff also shared serious concerns and issues on current circumstances impacting both the MRWC and the health of the Merrimack River.

The next MRWC Social! will be announced soon.

All are welcome.

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

Contact Info

Mid-Stream eNewsletter

Archive

Photo Credits:

Denise Hurt

Ed Greene

Tracie Sales

Kathryn Hackett

J. Magarian

New Grad Student Intern Begins

Kathryn Hackett, a master's degree candidate at UMass Lowell's Department of Regional Economic and Social Development has begun an internship with the MRWC as part of her capstone project. Kathryn is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and completed her undergraduate work at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio majoring in International Affairs and Political Science. She now enters her final semester as a graduate student focusing on community outreach and advocacy. Already an added asset to the office, Kathryn explains that, "Some of my Projects will include updating presentation materials, and community events and outreach to help promote the MRWC. I'm very excited about this opportunity with the MRWC and hope to continue community outreach and environmental education in the future."

News Release

Playing Hooky for Work   by Tracie Sales

Written for the Mass. Waterworks Association Newsletter - 09/2009

While most people think of playing hooky as a way to escape work or school, for Lewis Zediana , Chief Operating Engineer at the Tewksbury Water Treatment Plant, playing hooky can actually make his job easier. 

<Read the whole article>

News Article

Be Careful of what's in the River  by Hiroko Sato

Lowell Sun - 09/07/09

I had never seen young children talk so seriously about dog waste until 2004, when I met some students from Garrison Elementary School in Dover, N.H., who were in a "Scoop the Poop" campaign poster contest.

<Read the whole article>

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  Quote of the Month:

No one has the right to use America's rivers and America's Waterways that belong to all the people as a sewer. The banks of a river may belong to one man or one industry or one State, but the waters which flow between the banks should belong to all the people.

-Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) 36th U.S. President,
signing the 1965 Clean Water Act 

MRWC Social! - TBA - Plans in the works for future gathering include the Andover and Nashua areas. 

MRWC Annual Meeting - TBA - Late October is the target time in the Newburyport area.

Club Day @ Eastern Mountain Sports - Nashua - Oct. 2 & 3, 12n to 5p

MRWC members can save 20% off any gear in the store.  Not a MRWC member yet? ...signup is *easy*

30th Annual Textile River Regatta - Sunday October 4th, 2009

On the Merrimack River and organized by the Merrimack River Rowing Association in coordination with the UMass-Lowell and Lowell High School Rowing programs.*Details*

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