Blackstone River Watershed Council / Friends of the Blackstone www.blackstoneriver.org Fall 2014 Mission: To restore, enhance, and preserve the physical, historical, and cultural integrity of the Blackstone River, its watershed and its eco-system, through public advocacy, education, recreation, stewardship and the promotion of our unique Blackstone Valley resource. John Marsland, President Bryce Jackson, Vice-president Joe Pailthorpe, Treasurer Alice Clemente, Secretary Frank Matta, Past President Board of Directors: Debra Baker, Kevin Burns, Robert Charpentier, Edward Ferreira, Roland Gauvin, Frank Geary, Judy Hadley, Keith Hainley, Raymond Pado, Arthur Plitt, Paul Roselli, Michael Scalzi, Randy Tuomisto Dear Member/Supporter, The Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone will mark 25 years of cleaning and restoring the Blackstone River in 2015. In 1990, the Friends of the Blackstone River was formed and helped to clean up the Wilbur Kelly house and the Blackstone River State Park in Lincoln. The FOB also led a major clean-up of the Fanning Wilderness Area in Valley Falls. Over 10,000 tires were removed and recycled by a group of hard working volunteers called the Valley Boys. A year later the FOB donated $2000 to RIDEM to stock trout for the first time in the Blackstone River. A study was also done to see if migratory fish like herring could survive in the Valley Falls Marsh. Herring were transferred from the Charles River and the hatching proved successful. In 2002, with common missions and Board members, the Friends of the Blackstone merged with the Blackstone River Watershed Council. Two years ago the Friends of the Blackstone River Environmental Center opened at Sycamore Landing between the bikeway and the river in Manville Today 25years later with a lot of hard work by volunteers and partnerships with local, state and federal organizations, the Blackstone River has made a huge come back. Trout now flourish and the Blackstone River is considered to have some of the best fly-fishing in the region. Many now enjoy the Wilbur Kelly house and the Blackstone River State Park and Bikeway. Construction of the first two fish ladders at Main Street and Slater Mill in Pawtucket will begin this spring. This is very important to restoring river herring to the Blackstone River and stabilizing the aquatic food chain. All these great results were achieved by a 100% volunteer organization that has a love for the river and the many wonderful recreational and natural opportunities that the Blackstone River can give back to a community. There is one problem that the BRWC/FOB must overcome to continue our mission into the future. Our dedicated volunteer Board of Directors and our general membership average over 50 years in age. We need to foster this same love for the Blackstone River in today s youth. We need younger River Rats. How can we do this? Our answer is organizing a River Rat program in partnership with Cumberland High School and Brown University. The goal of this pilot program is to offer a hands-on connection to the Blackstone River at the environmental center through water quality testing, river ecology, and canoe instruction. This curriculum will also be taught in the classroom at CHS. A lot of the great results that the BRWC/FOB has achieved during 25 years of stewardship have been accomplished on the backs of Cumberland volunteers, so we are looking towards Cumberland High School to pick up the ball and run with it. Run, CHS, run and make others want to join our efforts to make the Blackstone River the Jewel of the Blackstone Valley. John Marsland President 1
PETERSON PURITAN SUPERFUND SITE PROGRESS REPORT By Alice Clemente As our readers know, BRWC/FOB has for many years been concerned about the remediation of the Peterson Puritan Superfund Site and worked towards resolving some of the problems on or near the contaminated site. BRWC/FOB, for example, advocated for the removal about a dozen years ago of the excavator abandoned on the Unnamed Island and has for years maintained the access road to the Pratt Dam at the southern tip of the site for the use of first responders. With the help of GeoInsight, the engineering firm contracted under a Technical Assistance Grant, BRWC/FOB has for four years reviewed remediation documents as they were issued and submitted written comments and questions to the EPA on the Human and Environmental Risk Assessments, the Remedial Investigation Report, and now on the long-awaited Feasibility Study and Proposed Plan. These last two reports were presented to the community in August at the Cumberland Public Library and a hearing was held two weeks later to give the public the opportunity to present oral comments to the EPA. At the request of some who felt that the public was not yet adequately informed, a second hearing was scheduled for October 8. The due date for submitting written comments to the EPA was rescheduled to November 4. Throughout the review, BRWC/FOB has kept two basic facts in mind. First, the Peterson Puritan Superfund Site is fully within the flood plain of the Blackstone River. Second, the waste disposal operation that once took place on the site was not conventional community solid waste management but an industrial waste dump that included hazardous wastes. It was utilized by approximately 100 companies, some of them national mega-corporations like Unilever and Waste Management, all identified as the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) who will bear the cost of remediation. The Feasibility Study and the Proposed Plan confirm the fact that the wastes, including hazardous ones, will remain on the site. The challenge that now faces the PRPs and the EPA is to contain the harmful pollutants so that the risks to the public, to ground water and to the Blackstone will be minimized and to select the technical solution that will most effectively resist the impact of flood water once it is in place. While the PRPs are lobbying for a partial cap on the J.M. Mills and Nunes segments of the industrial dump, leaving the uncapped sides vulnerable to flood water that could wash out some of the pollutants, BRWC/FOB believes that a full cap in those areas would offer the most comprehensive and most lasting protection for the community and the Blackstone River watershed. The wastes now on the unnamed island in the Blackstone will be moved to one of the capped areas because of their relatively small volume. The island will then be restored for recreational use. The aesthetic impact of remediation on the entire site is shared by all parties. The capped areas are a challenge. Trees cannot be planted there; invasive root systems could damage the caps and release pollutants. But there are many options for landscaping that have been used elsewhere and could be used at Peterson Puritan. A full cap does not condemn the site to becoming the bleak and barren landscape imagined by the PRPs artists and presented at the recent hearing. (See EPA s Re-vegetating Landfills and Waste Containment Areas Fact Sheet.) BRWC/FOB is continuing to research other options. Additionally, BRWC/FOB has consistently supported and requested from the EPA and the PRP group a safe and reliable access to the Pratt Dam through the Nunes portion of the site for the area s first responders. The Pratt Dam is a place that attracts many adventurous young people wanting to shoot the tubes and is a serious public safety challenge for the first responders. At least two people have died there in recent memory. At the hearing in August, Valley Falls Fire Chief Brian Jackvony identified this as an issue of critical concern for his department. BRWC/FOB believes that what needs to come out of this review is a durable long-term solution that fully recognizes the hazardous nature of the site with the risks that it poses and that will be effective in containing the threats to the community and the watershed. BRWC/FOB will continue to advocate for such a solution. 2
BRWC/FOB A NATIONAL ROLE MODEL By Alice Clemente Running Silver Restoring Atlantic Rivers and Their Great Fish Migrations, a book published this past year by John Waldman, dedicated several pages (247-251) to the amazing and exemplary accomplishments of BRWC/ FOB. Waldman begins the section by stating: If I were to propose a bottom-up model for states to follow in pursuing stream restoration, I would choose the many informal and also the official Friends of the Blackstone. After meeting with President John Marsland and Frank Geary, the Fish Ladder Project Director, at the Slater Mill, he tells his readers: Their passion is evident, but now I sense their winning attitude. I am surprised that despite a minimal membership fee of only twenty dollars per year, and being based in the densely populated metropolis of Providence and Pawtucket, the Friends has little more than fifty dues-paying friends, and that the really active core group totals just a dozen or so. But because no one takes any salary, every project is lean and focused all resources go directly to projects. And instead of having to conduct time-consuming, low-return fund-raisers to keep themselves moving forward, they ve gone after large grants and they ve received them (249) Waldman concludes with a chapter entitled Toward a New Stewardship and once again with BRWC/ FOB, a group of people mostly middle-aged and older folk who had spent formative years mucking around in the river and who returned later in life when time, resources, and the confidence that comes with age allowed payback for childhoods well spent. He ends that chapter with a call for more engagement of the young: there is much to be said for encouraging young people to reacquire the wisdom and sense of adventure that comes from just mucking around rivers. (259) This encouragement of the young is in fact the impulse behind an important segment of BRWC/FOB s work for the coming year, the fish advisory, the fish in the classroom project and the River Rat program (name borrowed from Waldman) that is now being developed with Cumberland High School. FISH LADDER UPDATE By Frank Geary The BRWC/FOB is pleased to announce that we are transferring grant funds our organization has successfully raised over the years to the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). We are very grateful for the guidance and support we have received from RIDEM since the beginning of the project. We will continue our partnership with RIDEM on an advisory basis, as we transfer the final engineering for the Main Street and Slater Mill dams to the ACOE. One advantage of working with the latter is that it will allow our funds to receive matching funds that will be required to start the actual construction. Although this has been a long process, with ACOE involved, we are now on track to see final plans and soon after that, the start of construction. 3
SAVERS FUNDRAISER AND CLOTHING DRIVE By Judy Hadley The BRWC/FOB ran its first ever fundraiser/clothing drive August 16th through the 30th. By all accounts it was a success! Savers stores offer local non-profits and community groups the opportunity to hold a clothing drive. For every pound of clothing and other related soft goods, Savers will pay the non-profit.20 cents a pound. The BRWC/FOB ran the drive at three local Savers: Woonsocket, Providence and North Attleboro, Mass. Savers printed up the flyers which our board members then distributed. A notice was also placed in all the editions of the Valley Breeze. The drive was advertised on our website, and letters were sent out to our members. Paul Roselli, our Facebook guru, did an amazing job promoting it on our Facebook page. The North Attleboro store collected 510 pounds, the Providence store collected 648 pounds and the Woonsocket store collected the most at 888 pounds. All told, we collected 2,046 pounds of clothing and will receive a check for $409.20. The money will be used towards monthly building expenses and river clean-up expenses. A big thank you to Beth Strachan from Savers and to all those who donated. Start saving now for our spring clothing drive, when we hope to double these numbers! BRWC/FOB PARNERS WITH RI AUDUBON TO SHOWCASE THE BRANCH RIVER By Alice Clemente The Branch River is a tributary of the Blackstone River that has been getting less attention than it deserves. Under the leadership of Eugenia Marks of RI Audubon, the BRWC/FOB has begun a partnership with that organization to correct that lapse. On July 19, both groups set up tables at the Burrillville Farmers Market to promote the Branch River. Subsequently, a RI Audubon intern conducted a survey of Burrillville to gather information on its residents recreational use of the river. The informative but surprising results revealed the following: Activity Percentage Fish 30.16 % Canoe 4.08 Kayak 14.29 Boat 16.33 Swim 2.04 Walk 16.33 No activity 16.33 A third event, a public program entitled Branch River: Past, Present, Future was scheduled for October 15, from 6-8, at the Burrillville Middle School. The announced mission was to Celebrate Our Use of the River and Engage in Keeping it as Clean as it Should be. The three presentations were: Paddle Across RI by Chuck Horbert DEM s Role in Cleaning the River by Heidi Traves URI s Help to Citizen Guardians by Linda Green BRWC/FOB hopes that this will prove to be a fruitful partnership, calling the attention to all those in the watershed to one of its natural treasures. 4
RHODE ISLAND RIVERS COUNCIL GRANT By Judy Hadley Each year the Rhode Island Rivers Council gives out grants to each of the authorized watershed councils that apply for project funding. This year the BRWC s application sought funding for two projects. The main project was a continuation of last year s Fish in the Classroom Project. For many years the BRWC has been supporting local middle and high schools by coordinating with the DEM and delivering trout and/or salmon eggs to the schools. The students then raise the eggs to fry stage and release them into either the Blackstone River, if they are Trout, or the Ashaway River for the Salmon. Fish in the Classroom Project: $330 was given to the following schools: Woonsocket High School, McCourt Middle School, North Cumberland Middle School, and Central Falls High School. This money was used to purchase supplies directly related to the program. Central Falls and Woonsocket raised and released a total of 140 Salmon into the Ashaway River. McCourt and North Cumberland schools raised and released 185 Trout into the Blackstone River. Membership and Marketing: The second component of this grant was used for marketing and outreach for the BRWC. With this $500 we were able to do a special membership mailing to 200 people on our contact list. This special mailing directly resulted in a 33% percent increase in the number of our members and a significant dollar amount increase. We also had our very first rack card designed and printed. This rack card is designed to be inserted in special display units that are placed in key locations throughout the Blackstone River valley. It will add another way for us to visually promote our organization. The card was designed by Lincoln resident Kathy Barton and printed by Formatt Printing of North Providence. It is ideally sized for handout and mailings. The third item purchased with these funds was a retractable banner. The banner measures 33 by 90 and is made from a durable vinyl. It is very colorful and shows our name, logo and a map of the watershed along with the names of all of the cities and towns in our watershed. Also on the banner are pictures of some of our board and members doing what they do best, cleaning up the river! Parts of the banner were designed by American Beauty Sign works of Woonsocket and Bruce Hooke. 5
TWO NOTABLE EVENTS AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER 2014 By Alice Clemente The Friends of the Blackstone River Environmental Center once again partnered this past year in regional activities designed to promote the Blackstone Valley s natural and recreational resources. Two notable events were Bike and Blues the Blackstone and Paddle Across RI. Bike and Blues, an afternoon and evening event organized by the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, was scheduled for May 31. The Bike part was promoted as a family-oriented event, a ten-mile ride along the Bikeway from the Depot in Woonsocket to the Blackstone River Theater in Cumberland. Participants collected stamps at scheduled stops along the route to qualify for prizes and ended the day at the Blackstone River Theater with an evening of live music and refreshments provided by regional breweries. The Environmental Center was one of the stops along the way that provided water and another stamp for the official passport. Sycamore Landing and the Environmental Center also provided rest, refreshment, encouragement and a portage area for the four intrepid paddlers (Chuck Horbert, Jim Cole, Bill Luther, and Dave Smith) who in early July set out to paddle the inland route across the state from North Smithfield to Westerly. BRWC/FOB president John Marsland and his daughter Sarah paddled with the four from Sycamore Landing to their next stop in Albion as they set off once more on route to the very successful conclusion of their 101-mile trip the following week. For a day by day record of that trip, please see our Facebook page. 6
BRWC/FOB STEWARDSHIP 2014 By Keith Hainley Our stewardship on the river this year seems a little light probably due to the lack of any high water events. This year we were able to spend most of our time working with natural things that were clogging the river or canal. The canal has a lot of downed trees and even with the efforts of a number of volunteers and 2 or 3 planned projects we still have a lot of work to do to declare it cleared. It is passable but there are still tight spots. We weren t able to get to the Tubes to clear them out until this fall but it didn t have very much brush in it this year. What I consider really excellent news as far as how the public is treating the river is the results from trips from Blackstone MA to Albion and from Mendon Road to the Central Falls Landing. In this almost 10 miles of river I observed only minimal trash. There was only sparse flotsam and no indication of illegal dumping. This is really great news and I believe a testament to the work we have done over the years. Our war on knotweed has shown one great result. Because of the work last year and some continual attention we have held the knotweed in check at the Albion access point. Short report but mostly good news. HISTORIC CEMETERY STEWARDSHIP By Michael Scalzi We reached a new milestone at the Elder Ballou Cemetery this summer. A long desired goal of Lester Hilton and Mike Scalzi was to see the Elder Ballou Cemetery become part of a Historic District. Joe Pailthorpe made a formal proposal before the Historic District Commission in August on behalf of the Cumberland Land Trust with the assistance of Mike Scalzi and Matthew Goyette. The hope is that the Elder Ballou Cemetery, the Cumberlandite Quarry and adjacent properties could be preserved as one and be added as a Historic District within the Town of Cumberland as part of the town s updated Comprehensive Plan. Also, in the spring, we applied for and obtained a legislative grant of $1,000.00 for the purpose of purchasing a heavy duty steel gate to allow for easy and safe access to the cemetery for our cemetery stewards Mike Scalzi, Matthew Goyette and Bud Kinniburgh and their vehicles. The project was successful through a pooling of a variety of resources from fellow board members Frank Matta, Joe Pailthorpe, Ray Pado, Mike Scalzi and fellow National Park Service volunteer Matthew Goyette. This gate will serve both current and future cemetery stewards by keeping their persons and vehicles safe along Elder Ballou Meeting House Road. With the summer being extremely dry, there was less of a need for trimming and cutting. The result was more time dedicated to the straightening and resetting of leaning and fallen gravestones. Also, we were able to professionally clean and restore many lichen-covered stones enhancing the cemetery s appearance. In addition to the Ballou, we were able to dedicate more time to the cemetery across the street, the Whipple Cemetery. The Whipple was completely brush cut allowing for full visibility from the road. This year marks the third year in a row that the Friends of the Ballou will partner with the young men and women from Mt. St. Charles Academy for our leaf cleanup on 11/1/14 and 11/15/14. These volunteers are part of an annual program at that school which requires community service credits for graduation. These young men and women have been a tremendous help in our efforts to preserve the history and beauty of the Elder Ballou Cemetery. At each event, we have tried to instill historic knowledge and the importance of stewardship within the community. 7
Blackstone River Watershed Council / Friends of the Blackstone P.O. Box 8068 Cumberland, RI 02864 & Visit Our Website www.blackstoneriver.org Thanks to Jesse Costa (layout) and to B & M Printing for their fine service. Alice Clemente, Editor