Saugus River Watershed Council elects 2026 board, honors two local environmental leaders

Water · Meeting of March 16, 2026

Saugus River Watershed Council elects 2026 board and presents annual Stewardship Awards. President Deborah Panetta presided over the brief business meeting, which seated Alison Simcox, Steve Fantone, Karen Raddick, Mary Robley, and Vinnie Serino alongside returning officers Panetta and Vice President Douglas Heath, all by unanimous voice vote. Board member Mary Lester reported the council's 19-year eel monitoring program continued through a drought year that kept American eel passage below the typical count of 5,800 fish, and said the council is pursuing a continuation water quality grant targeting stormwater runoff along Fitton and Southside avenues.

The Stewardship Award was given to William Lucey, a longtime town meeting member, Conservation Commission member, and 30-year member of the Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment, and to Stephanie Schalkowski, co-president of SAVE since 2021, whose parents accepted on her behalf after a flight cancellation kept her in Florida.

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Source: the Water meeting of March 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.