Friends of the Palmer River - A River Runs through Us, the Palmer

It has been an exciting first year for the Friends of the Palmer River and I’d like to thank everyone who joined us in 2021. There were many highlights, but the meeting between Mr. John Ferreira and the Friends at the Anawan Grange was the most meaningful for me because it highlighted the Rehoboth my husband and I moved back from Maui to raise our kids in: a Rehoboth where everyone’s voice is respectfully listened to; a Rehoboth where yard signs are not necessary because we know our neighbors; a Rehoboth that comes together to discuss the challenges we face and brainstorm the best way to move forward; a town that values it’s important role as the “Birthplace of Public Education.”

The river and its wetlands are the primary reason people settled and lived here throughout human history and is what connects us all to the history of this place. After watching the various Planning Board and Conservation Commission meetings that took place around “The Fairways” subdivision at the old Rehoboth Country Club recently, I can tell you that Rehoboth lacks the legal backbone to protect our greatest natural resource. While our neighbors in Attleboro fight to increase their “No-touch Zone” to 75 feet, Rehoboth has a 0 foot “No-touch Zone".

The protection of our greatest asset, the only reason any of us can live here at all, is not a partisan issue. No clean water = no life. We cannot tell a home or business owner with private access to the river not to put fertilizers, oil, animal excrement etc. into our water and yet that private choice affects the future of us all. Denying that we are all connected and that we collectively rely on the shared natural resources is to the detriment of us all.

Last summer preliminary testing indicated that there were places on the River that would not support any fish and certainly not the minimum Dissolved Oxygen of 6 ppm that cold water trout need to live. Since Mass Fish and Wildlife has been releasing trout into the Palmer, it would be really valuable to know if any of you readers have caught a trout in the Palmer over the last couple of years and the location, which the Friends would keep confidential. If so, please email any relative info to palmerriverfriends@gmail.com  or call us at 774-565-4767. We intend to ramp up our testing next year. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us.

We have reached a great precipice in the history of our town. Do you want your children’s great-grandchildren to grow up in this magical forested agricultural town we have all enjoyed? If so, the time to start supporting the creation of by-laws that reflect that concern is right now. Come join us for a walk by the river in 2022! No time for hate! Time to INNOVATE!