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Communities Connected by Water Biodiversity & Stewardship Plan |
The SuAsCo Watershed Community Council annually holds a watershed-wide conference called the River Visions Forum. The Forum attracts a large audience from all across the watershed representing a diversity of interest groups from businesses to environmental groups, from state and federal government to municipal officials, and from academia to concerned citizens. The River Visions 2005 Forum was hosted by Intel Massachusetts in Hudson on May 11. The Forum was a tremendous success with over 100 registrants, dynamic speakers, excellent presentations, informative exhibits, and valuable networking. As with every year, attendees gave the Forum rave reviews. The 2005 agenda is posted below. Please click here for details on the ninth annual forum to be held in the fall of 2007.
Ambient Engineering In bestowing these awards, the Council not only honors individual special achievements, but also recognizes and celebrates similar efforts on the part of businesses, towns, and volunteers in all of the SuAsCo Watershed's 36 communities. Community Council Chairman Joe Mullin and Executive Director Nancy Bryant presented the 2005 SuAsCo Watershed Community Council Awards at the River Visions Forum on May 11. 
The Volunteer of the Year Award is given in memory of its first recipient, Barbara Mudd of Concord, one of the original founders of the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council. Kevin Gilligan of Billerica is known to many of us as the coordinator and a founding member of the Concord River Environmental Stream Team, in which role he has organized the collection of tons of trash and thousands of tires. He is also a member of the Watershed Community Council Steering Committee, and has served as a volunteer for Sudbury Valley Trustees, Mass Audubon, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, and the Lowell Canal Cleaners Organization. Within Billerica, Kevin is the liaison to the Citizen's Research and Environmental Watch, a RiverFest tour leader, and a Town Meeting Representative. He is the one most likely to remind us to remember the interests of Cambodian fishermen in our rivers, and to raise money for Russian wildlife and wilderness protection. For his excellence in community and watershed volunteerism, the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council is proud to bestow its Volunteer of the Year Award to Kevin Gilligan. 
The 2005 SuAsCo Watershed Community Council Outstanding Municipality Award goes to the Town of Framingham. As a town with a large population with potential for even greater growth, Framingham is taking a proactive role in dealing with the environmental impacts of current and future land use. For instance, they have adopted highly protective measures in their erosion control bylaw and wetlands regulations, are currently working on a low impact development bylaw and are applying for a 319 grant to improve the water quality of Lake Waushakum. Town planner Kathy Bartolini has been an active member of the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council serving on the Executive Board. Framingham has participated in the Council's Storm Water Community Assistance Program and has also been a supportive participant in the development of the SuAsCo Watershed Action Plan. Our highest praise however, derives from Framingham's education and outreach activities to foster environmental awareness. They hold an annual "Big Night" where a road is closed and citizens can witness frogs and salamanders making their "midnight crawl to vernal pools". Framingham is currently working with the Sudbury River Watershed Organization on a storm drain stenciling project and middle school students are conducting stream assessments and vernal pool investigations. For their fine work on environmental stewardship, the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council is proud to bestow its Outstanding Municipality Award to the Town of Framingham. 
The 2005 SuAsCo Watershed Community Council Outstanding Business Award goes to Ambient Engineering in recognition of their commitment to the environment in our Watershed. Ambient Engineering has devoted many pro-bono hours to our Watershed. Ambient has been an active participant in the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council and has contributed extensively to the Council's Stormwater Community Assistance Program. Ambient invited the Council to partner on its proposal to the State to develop the Watershed Action Plan for the SuAsCo Basin. Ambient has tirelessly worked on the Action Plan, developing the mandated assessment report, collecting environmentally-related documents from SuAsCo municipalities, producing GIS maps, and assisting in the public forums. As a consulting and engineering firm, Ambient has conducted projects all across the Watershed, such as Level I environmental site assessments and stormwater drainage and wastewater treatment system designs. Ambient's clients include private landowners, developers, non-profit organizations, businesses, and local governments. Ambient's particular strengths are its knowledge of regulatory processes and its experience in facilitating public understanding and participation. For its many contributions to the SuAsCo Basin, the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council is proud to bestow its Outstanding Business Award to Ambient Engineering. |
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The Watershed Action Plan, James Stergios, Undersecretary for Policy, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
