July 8th Letter to Mayor and City Council

Dear Mayor Macksey and members of the North Adams City Council,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak in the public comments section at the end of last Tuesday’s (6/24) City Council meeting.  I'm sorry I cannot attend tonight's meeting. Here is a recap of my comments, slightly expanded. I presented a petition from our citizens’ group, "Save Notch Forest".  That petition, with signatures, is attached.

I am here tonight to present a petition to the Mayor and City Council from the North Adams' citizen group, "Save Notch Forest."  

I'm sure you remember last year's controversy over a plan to log the Notch Reservoir Watershed forest.  We are thankful that Mayor Macksey stopped that plan.  However, logging in watershed forests continues, particularly in Massachusetts, and we are concerned that our North Adams water supply remains vulnerable.

1. Our petition, signed by roughly 360 people, asks the mayor and local officials to join us in requesting state funds and state legislative assistance for protection of our watershed forests. The Notch and Mt. Williams reservoir watersheds combined, total roughly 1,600 acres. Massachusetts has designated millions of dollars for the protection of forests similar to our city watershed in its  “forest reserves” program. Five million dollars of state grant money was designated to protect less than 1,500 acres in 2025. Our city watershed is almost perfectly qualified for this program, except for one thing - it already has nominal protection under Article 97. We ask you to consider joining us in requesting that the EEA and the Division of Conservation Services modify the grant criteria so that inadequately "protected" lands, like the Notch/Williams watershed lands, will become eligible for the Forest Reserves Grant Program.

2. Why worry, knowing the Notch Forest has been logged in the past?  The Notch Reservoir appears heavily silted, and its function is likely compromised by this. The less volume of water in a reservoir, the less time there is for sediment to settle. The more sediment is in the water, the more chemical treatment is needed.  Any further logging will be detrimental. The Notch Reservoir may appear insignificant in size compared to the Mt. Williams reservoir, but the Notch collects more water from a greater surface area, and is directly connected to the Mt Williams Reservoir by a pipe. Both reservoirs are important for our drinking water supply. Wise management would include full assessment of the reservoirs by a competent entity to both 1) determine what percentage of the system storage capacity has been compromised, and 2) provide an estimate of how that potentially impacts water quality now and projected into the future.

3. We ask, who can we work with? We are an organized group of volunteers eager to help the city with planning and watershed protection.  Members of our group with relevant professional experience and connections are offering to donate their time and services.   Perhaps the Conservation Commission and the Planning Board could offer appropriate guidance? Perhaps a new Watershed Protection Committee?  (I note that Massachusetts General Law (Title VII, Section 7, Chapter 8) specifically states that Conservation Commissions can work with unofficial citizen groups in order to protect city watersheds.)  

We are looking forward to meeting with Mayor Macksey tomorrow, July 9th, presenting more information, and finding common ground on which to continue working for the good of our city.

Sincerely, 

Doone MacKay

With Save Notch Forest