From the Ipswich River Watershed Association:
The annual Winthrop Street to Riverbend paddle trip has been set for May 19th. Chris Sandulli and Susie Winthrop will be leading it, and it will end at Riverbend for the Annual Dock Opening event (with DownRiver Ice Cream). They would love to attract a good crowd for this paddle and use it to engage new Ipswich Stream Team members. This will be a good opportunity to let people know about the acquisition of the new property next door to Riverbend and the new town landing (at our canoe dock) with a parking lot and better access to the river. There is also have a new Ipswich River Paddling Map coming out this spring! Tell all your friends and come on out for a great paddle on Sunday, May 19th from noon to 2pm. Let Cynthia Ingelfinger know if you can make it to either the paddle or the Dock Opening (2 to 5pm).

Many times while fishing during the warmer months we happen upon what I call, fresh water permit, also known as sunfish, bluegill, pumpkinseeds or kibbies. But most of us don't really know exactly what we have caught. There are several different types of fresh water sunfish in our area and Jim MacDougall has compiled a list of some of the most frequent visitors to our fishing nets. He focuses on the species found in the Ipswich river. Let us know if you know of other species in this area. Jim's Identification guide can be found at his website. Click here to find it.

This year's "Dirty Dozen - plus 2.5" beneath the IRWA's Deck House Headquarters

Front Row Left to Right; Sally Mann "the wonder dog," Tim Twombly, Tim Martell, Kevin Correa, Mike O'Neill. Back Row; Chett Walsh, Bill Mann, Matt Keating, Roger Martell, Jim MacDougall, Bob Torkildsen, Jack Monaghan, and Bruce Bromby. Thomas Wooldridge and John LeJeune also participated.

On April 22nd chapter members successfully completed another punch list for the Ipswich River Watershed Association. This year a railing was put in at the dockside stairway to complement the steps the chapter installed last year. The driveway was patched and cleared of all winter brush. Many down trees and limbs were cut and stacked in the meadow. The driveway pavers were moved and restocked for an upcoming driveway repair. Brush was cleared in the parking area. Finally a new Wood Duck box was installed on the river trail. Many hands made light work of it all and the impending rainfall held off until all the work was completed. Thanks to all the members that participated and especially to Jim MacDougall for guiding the chapter in moving the tasks along from the IRWA task list. Our work for the watershed association is meager compensation for the chapters use of the headquarters building for chapter meetings throughout the year.

The April Newsletter was sent out and there are lots of dates to put on your calendar. You can download a copy of the calendar here. Events include river clean-ups, fishing, camping, river restoration, cookouts, paddling and fellowship. Here is a summary of what to look forward to.

April 17, 2012
Shawsheen River Restoration
Presentation
Andover Conservation Commission
Hosts a meeting on Shawsheen
River dam removals. (See Newsletter Article)
Andover Town Offices
36 Bartlet St., 3rd Floor
7:00PM

April 22, 2012
IRWA Work Day
Come pitch in on a little spring
cleaning at the Ipswich River Watershed
Assn. (See Newsletter Article)
143 County Road
Ipswich
9:00AM

April 28, 2012
Parker River Paddle
Meet at Thurlow Street Bridge in
Georgetown at 8:30AM. Cookout
to Follow. (See Newsletter Article)
8:30 AM

May 18-20
Indian Hollow Weekend
Mark your calendars for the Mass/RI
Council’s annual camping weekend
at Indian Hollow on the banks of
the Westfield River. More details to
come.

All events are posted to our calendar which you can view by clicking on this link.
You can also view it on the Google Calendar website by clicking here.
If you have a Google Calendar and want to subscribe to our Google Calendar and view our events within your calendar click here.

Macroinvertebrate Workshop

Saturday, January 14th, 1 - 4 pm at Riverbend, 143 County Road, Ipswich


Join us for a workshop about the fascinating world of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Learn about what collecting and studying these seldom seen creatures entails and how they can be used to measure water quality. Expertise in invertebrate taxonomy is not required. Learn how to get involved with the Ipswich River Watershed Association Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Program.
RSVP to Ryan at rodonnell@ipswichriver.org or call – 978-412-8200 ext. 15

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Towards A Free-Flowing Ipswich River

Wednesday, February 8th, 7 - 8 pm at Riverbend, 143 County Road, Ipswich

Interest in river restoration has grown exponentially in Massachusetts over the last few years. Dam owners, communities, non-profits and government agencies are removing dams in order to restore rivers and eliminate threats to public safety.  Beth Lambert from the MA Division of Ecological Restoration and IRWA’s Brian Kelder will explore opportunities to restore the Ipswich River by removing aging dams. They will discuss 1) the role and function of dams; 2) how dams impact river ecosystems; 3) the dam removal process; and 4) dam removal projects in the Ipswich River Watershed.

RSVP to Cynthia at cingelfinger@ipswichriver.org or call – 978-412-8200 ext. 15

The Canoe dock is in for the season!

You're Invited to the Canoe Dock Opening
Saturday May 22, 2011
Join the Ipswich Stream Team for an opiional morning paddle from Winthrop Street to Riverbend or start with ice cream at 2:00

2:00 Downriver Ice Cream
2:30 Paddle, Explore, Enjoy the river
4:00 Bring your own picnic supper

143 County Road, Ipswich
contact: cingelfinger@ipswichriver.org or 978-412-8200 ext.13

Click the image to read a larger copy

The Dirty Dozen

Front Row L to R: Bruce Bromby, Art Howe, Thomas Wooldridge, Harris Krinsky Jim MacDougall
Back Row L to R: Bob Young, Matt Keating, Kevin Correa, Neil Wermouth, Chett Walsh, Gary Uhring Behind the Lens: John LeJeune

Our Nor'East TU chapter had a wonderfully successful day at the Ipswich River Watershed Association. They met Saturday and completed the tasks on a beautiful but chilly April Saturday morning. A new trail was completed that will bring folks to the riverside. Work included brush clearing, stump removal, tree pruning and the installation of six railroad tie steps at the bottom of the trail. A trail sign was installed to mark the entrance next to the IRWA headquarters. The many shrub beds around the property were also cleaned and mulched which has given the property a crisp spring look. There was also a quick waterside trash pick-up. The team was well represented by new Chapter members Chett Walsh, Neil Wermath and Bob Young. Chett's extensive construction knowledge and power tool selection made the step installation go smoothly. Neil's Alligator brush cutter made light work of limbing many of the trees that needed to be cleared and Matt's youth and strength helped complete the work in a timely manor. Finally the gas grill was cleaned and christened for 2011 with a tasty cookout prepared by Art Howe for the trail crew. The Chapter wants to thanks all the members who participated. It was a great opportunity to thank the IWRA for the use of the facility over the past year and for all their support in revitalizing the chapter.


Chett Walsh uses his hand grinder to put a point on re-bar used for the trail steps.

This Saturday, April 16th, we will be gathering for a work day at the Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA). IRWA has been instrumental in helping the chapter grow over the past year. In addition to support and guidance, they have provided the chapter with a wonderful meeting place. To show our gratitude for their generosity, we've pledged to help them with a little spring cleaning. We urge anyone who can spare some time on Saturday to pitch in and help us thank IRWA.
Some of the projects that we will tackle include:

Clearing a foot-trail to the dock
Installing some railroad tie steps in the trail
Installing chains/locks on the canoes
Cleaning the gas grill

We need shovels, a pickaxe, large loppers and grill cleaning brushes, so if you have any of these, please bring them along. If you've never been to the beautiful Riverbend property during the day, this is a great opportunity. I can't over-stress how important our relationship with IRWA is. If you can spare even an hour or two to help, I encourage you to do so. Once we're done with our work, we'll relax with a lunch cooked up by Art Howe. To help us get a headcount, if you plan to attend, please reply to this email to let me know you will be helping out.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for all that you do for the chapter.
Warm regards,
Kevin Correa
President
Nor'East Chapter | Trout Unlimited 

Event Details:
What:
Ipswich River Watershed Association Work Day
When:
Saturday, April 16 at 9 a.m.
Where:
Ipswich River Watershed Association
143 County Road
Ipswich, MA
Directions Here
Cookout to follow the cleanup. 

Meeting tonight at 7:30 pm, Ipswich town Hall

Meeting before the Ipswich Board of Selectmen to gain their endorsement of an application for a federal matching grant to study the feasibility of removing the Ipswich Mill Dam. It cannot be overstated how important your attendance at this meeting will be. It is important that fishermen show their support by attending such key meetings.



Meeting Tomorrow at 7:30 pm, Newbury Library on Lunt Street in Byfield

Newbury Selectman hearing on Larkin Road Dam removal on the Parker. Feasibility study is complete, and now is the time to get in front of the selectman and push for removal of the Larkin Road Dam.  Again, let’s show up in numbers for this meeting.

Hi all,
Those of you who are interested in learning about local projects on the Ipswich and other local streams, then keep reading.
March 7 : 4:30pm
Riverbend, 143 County Road, Ipswich
Calling all friends of the wonderful waterways of Ipswich! Would you like to be part of a team that plans and carries out local projects to help protect the Ipswich River and our local streams? If so, please join us for a potluck dinner on Sunday, March 7 to kick off the new Ipswich Stream Team. For more info or to RSVP, please email IpswichStreamTeam@gmail.com or call 978-412-8200.
www.Ipswichriver.org