Q&A with the unofficial guardian of the Shawsheen RiverQ: When did you first get involved with the Shawsheen River and what did you do? Ken: In the early days, over twenty years ago, I was with the Shawsheen River Watershed Association (SRWA). Our focus was to try to do things for the river where you could see the results. We would take water samples, check for chemical, waste, collect trash, open navigation, and make the river better so people would want to paddle it. Back in the early days we'd use hand saws and clippers. We eventually graduated to chainsaws to get the clearing done. Q: What your main activities now as the “Riverkeeper”? Ken: The main activities are to keep the river clear for navigation and recreational use and to remove things that are major safety items. Trees fall down, trees are in the wrong places, all this needs to be addressed. In the past, we've done lots of work with picking up trash and things that have been thrown in the river. We use to get 40-yard dumpsters and fill those up. We have taken thousands of tires out of the river. Much of that work has been done. So today, most of the work involves keeping certain sections open for recreational boating. Q: How did the Shawsheen River get to be so polluted over the years? Ken: Rivers in the United States, in general, have been the dumping grounds for industrial waste since the middle 1800s or even before then. Paper mills are probably the classic of all times, but there was lots of industry on the river, and lots of the stuff just got thrown in there. But with the Clean Air and Water Act in 1972, we stopped dumping raw sewerage and chemicals. People aren't putting washing machines and trash in there. So things have gotten much better. Q: What are some of the challenges you face with clearing these sometimes massive trees? Ken: When I do the clearing, I have to make a plan. Usually, the tree is already down across the river, I start at the top and work down towards the base, taking off all the branches, and then figure out how to cut the trunk into pieces and where to put. Then it's a crew of people moving the debris. In the beginning, there's a lot of instruction, but once the team has done this once or twice, they know how to do it and where it goes. I need two to three people at least, to move all the wood as it gets cut. Q: Have you had any harrowing moments removing the debris? Ken: I did have one scary moment. It was in March many years ago. I was with Bob Rouseo, and I cut a branch that hit the canoe, we flipped and ended up in the river. The chainsaw went to the bottom of the river. We got to shore, wring out our cloths, and then paddle a mile downstream to our car. It wasn’t pretty. A week later we sent a diver in to retrieve the saw. I brought it home and got the saw running. That was an interesting time. Q: What motivates you to continue to devote so much time maintaining the river? Ken: I seem to have had the drive and skills to use the saws, but it's not about me. I'm part of a team. It's the excitement of everybody working together. It’s a big team that includes members of SRWA, the Greenway, and Andover Trails. Now the town has the canoe launches, we have places to store boats. These are some of the things that drive me to want to go ahead and do all of this. Recently, there was a double ash tree down in one of the most canoed sections. The river was impassable and, you know, the word gets out quickly! Somebody always sends me a picture and where it is on a map. So knowing that you've got it open again, and it's available for people to use, is very satisfying. Q: Are there any plans in the future to expand the paddling areas? Ken: We’ve been working with Groundworks Lawrence. We're trying to get a section of river in Lawrence and I've been scouting out where it should go. It's going downstream from the Holiday Inn on Route 114 and go down to Costello Park. This will be a little less than two miles of river, and that's the next section we're talking about for expanding paddling areas. Q: Will there be a walking path along the shore? Yes, there are other people that are working on a path for both the North Andover and Lawrence's side. There are more people from City of Lawrence getting involved in participating in planning activities. I went ahead and sent a proposal to Steve Golden, who is getting things written up about where it would go, why it is a good area, and what will be required for clearing of some trees. Q: Is there anything else you would like to mention about the Shawsheen River and your work there? Ken: The Shawsheen River has a lot of history that many people don't know about. It's just fascinating --everything from the Andover Canoe Club to their powerboat that went up and down the river with passengers. We use to have a number of dams and Andover is here because of the river. During the American Revolution, we had a gunpowder mill at the location of Powder Mill Square. We had the Redmond Card dam where they did carding of wool. There were dozens of mill buildings in Ballardvale that made all kinds of items, including train locomotive engines for a few years. There is a lot of local history -- and it all had to do with the river. VIEW GALLERY OF RIVER CLEANUP |
ArchivesAuthorChris Bensley, Andover Trails |