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FAll 2001 Currents

Around the Watershed The Metropolitan District Commission is offering education programs for k-6 at Camp Nihan in Saugus. The first program, “Terrific Trees” includes activities and games to teach children about the life of a tree and its contributions to the lives of people and animals, and how to identify trees. The second program, “Biodiversity Discovery” will teach children about the plants and animals that live in Camp Nihan’s 65-acre woodland forest which includes a marsh, river and pond. For information or to register for a program, please contact Matthew Nash at (617) 727-5380 x 205. If you want to enjoy hiking before the winter, try one of these events at Breakheart Reservation this November. A moderate two hour hike of the Fox Run Trail will be held on Sunday, 14 November, 11:00 a.m. A night hike exploring Breakheart followed by campfire will be held on Friday, 16 November at 7:00 p.m. Hike off trail to seldom visited sections of the park during this “bushwhacking hike” on Saturday, 24 November, at 10:00 a.m. For all hikes meet at the park entrance off of Lynn Fells Parkway in Saugus. For information call the MDC at (617) 727-5380, x 212. Governor Jane Swift and Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Secretary Bob Durand recently announced that 100,000 acres of open space have been protected throughout the state since 1998. Congratulations to them in reaching the halfway point to their overall goal of protecting 200,000 acres of open space by the year 2010. The Massachusetts Riverways Urban Rivers Program and Green Futures will host an Urban River Advocates Forum on 3 November 2001 at the Dept. of Environmental Management’s Fall River Heritage State Park. The keynote speaker will be William Warner, architect and driving force behind the re-emergence of the Providence River as a focal point for Providence, Rhode Island. Workshops will focus on water quality, environmental justice and other topics. To register or find out more information about this free forum, please call (617) 626-1540. Friends of Lake Quannapowitt have several upcoming events. On Saturday, 17 November, FOLQ President Meg Michaels will lead a Lake Walk highlighting architectural features of homes along the east shore - walkers should meet at the gazebo at 10:00 a.m. The next Park Fund Breakfast will be held on Sunday, 18 November at the Comverse cafeteria overlooking the Lake from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Proceeds from the breakfast will support creation of a the Gertrude Spaulding Park at the former Lanai Island restaurant site along Lake Quannapowitt. Wakefield DPW crews have already removed the asphalt from the old site. For ticket information, call Jim Scott at (781) 245-3282. Long-time Friends of Lake Quannapowitt board member Dick Dennis died on Wednesday, 17 October. He will be remembered especially for running a wonderful canoeing program in cooperation with Wakefield’s Recreation Department and for being the backbone of FOLQ’s water quality monitoring program since its inception. MASSPirg’s Open Spaces organization, which works out of North Shore Community College, will host a hike through Lynn Woods on Sunday, 28 October, at 2:00p.m. Hikers should meet at the Pennybrook Road entrance. The purpose of the hike is to encourage passage of Senate Bill 1109, the Public Lands Preservation bill. In other Lynn Woods news, Ranger Ken Dague became a “2,000 miler” after hiking the entire length of the Appalachian Trail last year. He talked about the hike during the Friends of Lynn Woods annual membership meeting in September. The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management has recently announced over $50,000 in Coastal Pollution Remediation Grants for areas within the Town Line Brook (a sub-watershed of the Saugus River watershed). The City of Revere was awarded $22,860 for the Trifone Brook Stormwater Design Project, and the City of Malden was awarded $30,000 for the Linden Brook Stormwater Assessment and Conceptual Engineering Project. This summer Governor Swift filed a $750 million environmental bond bill, the largest environmental bond bill in Massachusetts history. The bill includes $258 million for open space protection, $205 million for park and recreation infrastructure, $57 for watershed protection, $88 million for pollution protection, and $36 million for public safety. Questions about the bill can be directed to Sarah Joor, EOEA Legislative Liaison, sarah.joor@state.ma.us.

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Editorial: MDC Purchase on Wiley Street a Winning Solution
Exploring Nature with Children
Saugus River Water Quality Update
SRWC Public Outreach
New Education Coordinator
New Education Programs Begin
Saugus River Flow Study
25 Years for “Areas of Critical Environmental Concern”
Fishing News
Identifying Brownfields
Arsenic Use in 1960s Still Impacts Lake Quannapowitt
Around the Watershed