Northeast

2020 Trip Update: Allagash Wilderness Waterway Trip Postponed to 2021

Due to the continued uncertainties with COVID-19, the Northeast Chapter trip on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine has been postponed to September 2021.

Thanks to all who joined us for the September 6-8, 2019 Adirondacks Trip!

Check out this Adirondacks Trip Information Packet for more information!

Welcome to the Northeast Chapter of the River Management Society!
Our goal is to further the RMS mission by providing a network for members to expand their knowledge of river management through participation and involvement in RMS-Northeast Chapter activities in Maryland, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York up through the New England states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. We represent a variety of professionals in the private and public sectors, from federal, state and local agencies to edicational non-profits and consultants.

The impressive range of expertise among our members includes geomorphologic design, economic modeling, hydropower relicensing, and whitewater course development. RMS-NE has partnered with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, hosting webinars in support of their effort to educate watertrail users about aquatic invasive species, and has offered annual chapter trips that have served as the basis for lasting professional partnerships.

Chapter Bylaws explain how the RMS-Northeast Chapter guides our operation. Chapter accomplishments are many and we think you'll be interested in attending chapter activities such as those we have hosted in the past.

The most recent RMS newsletter with a Northeast Chapter focus was Spring 2018. All journal back issues are archived online, available with other Society publications on the members-only side of the website.

Northeast Chapter Officers (2018-2020)

Emma Lord (NH) - President - [email protected]

A new 2017 member of the River Management Society, Emma brings a background in environmental science and geomorphology. She received a BA in Environmental Studies from Green Mountain College (2013) and an MS in Geology from the University of North Dakota (2016). Emma is currently a Natural Resource Specialist with the National Park Service working on Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

"One of my goals as Northeast Chapter President will be to increase membership and participation among early career professional and student members. This might involve holding a river managers career panel at one or multiple colleges in the Northeast where representatives from federal and state government, academia, non-profit and private sectors can provide information, answer questions, and offer advice to students in preparation for a career in river management. As an early career professional, and a recent student, I can attest to the benefits of being part of an organization that helps to provide career guidance. Events like this that help to publicize RMS and engage young people will be valuable for recruiting the next generation of river managers and RMS members."

John Field, PhD, PG (ME) - Vice President - [email protected]

Dr. John Field, President of Field Geology Services, LLC, received a Ph.D. in 1994 from the University of Arizona with concentrations in fluvial geomorphology and hydrology. During eight years as a university professor, Dr. Field received two excellence in teaching awards and was active in training teachers and government agency personnel on techniques for identifying flood and erosion hazards and assessing the stability and habitat conditions of rivers. Dr. Field has over 20 years of professional experience related to river restoration and has designed and installed numerous projects throughout New England utilizing large wood to improve river function and aquatic habitat. John has also been involved in international work, most recently in Nepal working to prevent irrigation canal intakes from being eroded away by the Karnali River, the largest in Nepal.

Walter Opuszynski (VT) - Trip Coordinator - [email protected]

Not always choosing the easiest path to knowledge Walter learned how to paddle at an early age by taking a lake canoe through freshet rapids. A lover of the landscape and curious to understand the human creative and industrious impact on the natural environment. This curiosity directed Walter to attend Unity College in Maine where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in the Environmental Sciences. Recreation trails would not allow him to enter the field of education and for nearly two decades he has been steeped in this ever evolving world working at the private, non-profit, state, and federal levels. Nearly a decade was spent as Trail Director for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail stewarding a 740-mile water trail from the Adirondacks of New York to the northern reaches of Maine. This position exposed him to one of the most dynamic environments known; where the water meets the land. Currently Walter works for the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation as a Field Recreation Specialist supporting and managing recreation trails on Vermont’s State Land. Walter feels very fortunate to have a wonderful wife Kyle, a joyful newborn Haley, and an always watchful collie named Chloe. They reside in the hills of Adamant, Vermont where they like to look out the south facing windows and watch the apple trees go through the seasons.

Contact any Northeast Chapter officer to contribute to regional or national RMS activities!

2019 Northeast Chapter Trips/Events

Adirondacks Paddle - September 6-8, 2019

The Northeast Chapter enjoyed an early fall paddle along a portion of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) from Long Lake to Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks. The trip included ~30 miles of paddling, a 1.3 mile portage, and volunteering for the 37th annual 90-miler Adirondack Canoe Classic race. Chapter members helped hand out water, gatorade, and snacks to ~600 paddlers in 235 boats in the race. The group also had great campfire discussions about river management topics with staff from the NFCT and NY State Department of Environmental Conservation.

2018 Northeast Chapter Trips/Events

Washington, DC Environmental Film Festival Evening Celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of Wild and Scenic - March 21, 2018

These films represent a unique partnership among the national river organizations American Rivers, American Whitewater, River Network and River Management Society and Wild and Scenic Rivers administering agencies – Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Forest Service.

• Wild Olympics (9 min) - Dir. Colin Arisman
• The Wild President (7 min) - Dir. Will Stauffer-Norris
• Avanyu: Protecting the Rio Grande (8 min) - Dir. Dana Romanoff & Amy Marquis
• River Connections- Partnership Wild & Scenic Rivers (15 min) - Dir. Kate Geis
• Noatak- Wild & Scenic (8 min) - Dir. Jeremy Monroe
• Protected - A Wild & Scenic River Portrait (11min) - Dir. Jeremy Monroe

Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild and Scenic Rivers 50th Anniversary Paddle - October, 2018

2017 Northeast Chapter Trips

Potomac River Mather Gorge - September, 2017

2016 Northeast Chapter Trips

Anacostia River, MD/DC - October 23, 2016

Bronx River Trip - NY, Bronx River Alliance

2015 Northeast Chapter Trips

National Board Meeting Piscataqua River Trip - NH, October 11-12

Missisquoi River Trip - VT, June 27-28 (after Pedal / Paddle Race)

“Celebrate the Mississquoi!” with the Northeast Chapter!

The Missisquoi River in northern Vermont recently became Vermont’s first Wild and Scenic River. It is also one of the rivers that comprise the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT). On Saturday, June 27 the NFCT collaborated with the Town of Richford’s Conservation Commission to put on a River Fest and a Paddle & Pedal Race. The Paddle Pedal Race involved a 6 mile paddle and a 5 mile bicycle ride on the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail. The local library hosted a BBQ afterwards, and RMS Executive Director Risa Shimoda was the guest speaker at the River Fest event.

After the race the NE Chapter, led by member Walter Opuszynski paddled downstream and stayed at an official Northern Forest Canoe Trail campsite, enjoying a campfire and cameraderie as we learned about the river improvements that have been completed, challenges that have been overcome along the way, and future river management efforts. On Sunday we paddled approximately 8 miles to the town of Enosburg Falls.

2014 Northeast Chapter Trip - Connecticut River (NH, VT)

RMS-NE Chapter paddles the Connecticut River! On Saturday, October 4, paddled 7 miles from Cornish, NH Boat Launch to Wilgus State Park, VT. Along the way and at a group dinner, heard from the RMS members and other regional experts about the river management topics that both define the river today and which will impact the watershed immensely in the years to come. Here are our special guest experts:

Thomas J. Christopher, RMS Member - Mr. Christopher is a founding director and current Secretary of New England FLOW, the first organized coalition of recreational boating groups in the northeast. In addition, he is a former board member of American Whitewater, serving for 14 years and was its Conservation Chair from 1997 until 2004. He helped to organize the Hydropower Reform Coalition (HRC) in Washington, D. C. in 1991, and sits on the HRC Steering Committee, pursuing changes in hydropower policy and rulemaking through the FERC relicensing process. He is a signatory to multiple FERC relicensing settlement agreements throughout New England and is currently working on the relicensing of five dams on the Connecticut River in Vermont and Massachusetts.

Andrew Fisk, Ph.D., Executive Director, Connecticut River Watershed Council - Prior to joining CRWC in 2011 Andy served as Director of the Land and Water Quality Bureau at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for seven years. As Maine’s land and water quality director, Andy worked with municipalities, industry, and citizens to develop, finance, and implement clean water requirements that eliminated algae blooms, sewer overflows and maintained stream and river flows. He was also actively involved in enacting and implementing scientifically-based protections for hundreds of thousands of acres of significant wildlife habitats for tidal and inland waterfowl as well as protections for vernal pools.

Norman Sims, Ph.D. - Norman recently retired as an honors professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was a founding member of New England FLOW in 1988 when dams on the Deerfield River in Vermont and Massachusetts came up for relicensing. He later spent 12 years on the Board of Directors of the Appalachian Mountain Club, including several years as chair of the AMC Conservation Programs Committee. Along with Tom Christopher of FLOW and Ken Kimball of the AMC, Norm has worked on several hydropower relicensings in New England. As a volunteer, Norm currently represents the AMC in relicensing five hydropower facilities on the Connecticut River. He is also writing a book on the history of the North American canoe.

Thank you Lelia Mellen, Paul Beaulieu for coordinating the trip, and others for attending!

2013 Northeast Chapter Trip

The Great Egg Harbor River Council, hosted the North East Chapter of the River Management Society (RMS) and Friends to an overnight camping and paddle event on the Great Egg Harbor River in New Jersey September 28-29, 2013.. The trip featured two separate short paddle tours of the Great Egg Harbor River, often touted as the longest canoeable river in New Jersey: its wide flood plains and winding morphology present both hidden beauty and unique challenges for paddlers new to outer coastal plain rivers. In addition: 129 miles, including 17 tributaries, are federally designated as Scenic and Recreational Rivers in 1992. The Great Egg Harbor River Council sponsored the event, and group camping facilities at Atlantic County's Camp Acagisca was provided for Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday at no charge. Great Egg Harbor River Administrator Fred Akers coordinated the event, Thank you, Fred!!