David Deen
Not down the middle
Most waterbodies marking a boundary between two states or countries have an imaginary dotted line running down their middle. The Connecticut River does not because, as everyone "knows," the river belongs to New Hampshire.
However, as with all things human, the real circumstances are more complicated.
The fish everyone loves to hate
Sea lampreys are important in our watershed. Welcome them, as they are helping their species and our river.
It is spring, and the upriver migrations of shad, American eel, sea lamprey, and other minor players in the migration game are getting underway. Unfortunately, many people do not like sea lamprey - even if they have never seen one, they know they do not like it. Unfortunately, the...
River users: check, clean, and dry to keep invasive species at bay
Care in preventing further spread of these infestations is our only useful tool. All river enthusiasts should act as though every body of water harbors problem species.
Get ready, get set, and go: that is the usual refrain as river users are off at the start of river season on Memorial Day! The Connecticut River Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited would modify that refrain. Get ready, get set, and pause to think that it is up...
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Adjectives, hatefulness, politics, and fair play in rhetoric
As an elected official for some 30 years, I have had previous unproductive interactions with Emily Peyton and would like to respond to her latest attention grab - attacking Michael Mrowicki in a letter to the editor. I served in the Legislature with Mike for eight years. There is not a hateful bone in his body. As for some of the rhetoric to which Peyton was responding, many of us have been holding our emotional breath for four ghastly years...
Prehistoric wonder
Recent research is warning that the rapid loss of wildlife in recent decades shows the sixth mass extinction over the past 400 million years in Earth's history is underway. In the face of this warning, it is important to note that the Connecticut River watershed is the home range for five threatened or endangered species that rely on healthy clean water: the dwarf Wedgemussel, the puritan tiger beetle, the Northeastern bulrush, Jesup's milk-vetch, and the shortnose sturgeon. As of now,
Dam-age control
We have been reading and hearing a lot about dams lately. All in the news recently: the rehabilitation of the Bennington dams, the proposed purchase of the 14 hydroelectric sites by Green Mountain Power, the ongoing fuss about whether Vermont should buy the hydroelectric dams in the main Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers, the recent removals of two dams from the Wells River and one from the Third Branch of the White River. More than 1,000 active and remnant dams remain...
High praise for Minter and Smith from legislative colleague
There is a clear choice in the upcoming Democratic Aug. 9 primary election. This is a pivotal time in Vermont's history when we need to take stock so we can address effectively the challenges we face as a state. This is why I support Sue Minter for our next governor. Sue has been working for Vermonters for the last 15 years, and she understands the challenges that we all face, including the challenges facing our environment. Eleven years ago, when...
A once-in-a-lifetime process
The “class of 2018” does not refer to a graduation class from one of our area schools, but rather to licenses that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will issue to operate five Connecticut River hydroelectric facilities, all of which were set to expire in 2018. The real story about the class of 2018 is that each facility individually, and all five of them as a combined class, have an impact on the Connecticut River. The five facilities together affect...