The latest from the Environmental League of Massachusetts:

August 2008

As a member of the Taunton River Watershed Campaign, we are happy to announce that the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on July 16th to designate the Taunton River as a Wild and Scenic River. The bill designates 27 miles of the Taunton River as "recreational" and 26 miles as "scenic." Other Massachusetts rivers designated as "Wild and Scenic" are the Sudbury, Assabet, Concord, and Westfield rivers. To be eligible for this designation, a river must be free-flowing (no dams) and have at least one outstanding value (recreation, scenery, wildlife, or history). Congressmen Barney Frank and Jim McGovern were our lead advocates, and we owe them a big thank you for their leadership. Senator Edward Kennedy is our sponsor in the Senate (S. 868). We hope the Senate will act quickly to protect the Taunton River.

July 2008

The Jones River Watershed Association is a member of the Taunton River Campaign. Pine duBois, Executive Director of JRWA, serves on the Campaign's Advocacy sub-committee and is "wildly" in favor of the "Wild & Scenic" Designation for the Taunton River, an effort that has been creeping through the long steps toward designation for nearly a decade. There are innumerable reasons to support this designation for the Taunton, the longest un-damned river in Massachusetts, home to a vast array of wildlife and endangered species, stunning scenic views and important water supply areas. The designation would bring an added level of protection to the entire designated area (not the industrialized port area) and would help preserve important natural amenities now and in the future. Please write a note to support the designation of the Taunton River as a federally protected Wild and Scenic river! Help beat back ignorance! To email Representative Barney Frank: http://www.house.gov/frank/contact.html

Taunton River Wild & Scenic Stewardship Committee: http://www.house.gov/frank/contact.html

Taunton River Watershed Alliance: http://savethetaunton.org/

National Park Service Report on the Nomination: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/

Fall River Herald-News article: http://www.heraldnews.com/

What's Happening:

The legislation to designate the Taunton River as a Wild & Scenic River was scheduled for a vote in the House on a day that lead sponsor Rep. Barney Frank was not able to be in Washington due to his work on other important legislation. Rep. Frank withdrew the bill from the schedule and is currently working to get the legislation back on track. In the meantime, opponents took advantage of this scheduling issue to run ads in some Washington newspapers attacking the proposal and Rep. Frank.

The July 9th edition of the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article) editorialized against the Wild and Scenic and repeated the erroneous claim that the boundary of the Wild and Scenic would include the industrial waterfront at the mouth of the Taunton. A photo of the lower river, including the industrial zone below the Braga Bridge, was run in the Journal. This photo has been distributed by the proponents of the Weaver's Cove LNG facility and does not accurately represent the area of the Wild and Scenic designation. Taunton River Watershed Campaign organizations will be sending letters stating our continuing support for the Wild and Scenic River nomination to Rep. Frank and we urge you to do the same. See below for instructions on how to write to Rep. Frank. The Taunton River is an excellent candidate for Wild and Scenic River status and meets all the criteria of the Wild and Scenic program. The work of so many citizens, municipalities, and organizations up and down the River goes back many years. The Taunton is a unique natural resource with incredible habitat for fish and wildlife, important historic sites, fantastic recreation opportunities and is a stunning scenic asset of our region. Please take a moment today to send an email of support to Rep. Frank and also comment on line to the Wall Street Journal and other news media.

How to Respond:

Rep. Frank's office requests citizens and local organizations to send supportive comments on the record through the website comment form at Rep. Frank's website: http://www.house.gov/frank/contact.html

State where you live, how long you've been involved, reiterate your support for the Wild and Scenic River nomination. In your own words, explain the many natural, scenic, historic etc resources at risk, etc.

Clearly state that the Wild and Scenic application does not include the working waterfront at the mouth of the Taunton River in Fall River. The boundary begins on the north side of the I-95 Braga Bridge, where Fall River Heritage State Park and the public riverwalk attracts visitors and families.
This would be a great time to mention how your family personally experiences the lower river for recreation: do you boat, paddle, sail, swim, fish or water ski on the Taunton? Say so!

If you also comment on line to the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets, the boundary issue should be mentioned. Much of the Journal piece hinges on the visual impression of the industrial waterfront.

Short, factual, pithy statements will be most effective in responding to published errors and opinions. If you also wish to address the energy argument, one idea to include could be the fact that citizens all over Massachusetts are mobilizing to help the Bay State become one of the cleanest, most energy efficient states in the US. Our energy future does not depend on this one LNG terminal - others are being built to supply whatever natural gas our region will need after we conserve and become more energy efficient throughout our economy.

Thank you for your help!

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