Members of some of the many nonprofits invested in the lower Blackstone River wish to respond to the article Hidden in Plain Sight: Neglect Along Lower Blackstone River and share a more optimistic view of the river and the incredible work that is ongoing. We’d like to clarify the record that partner organizations believe in coalition-building and are active, coordinated, and committed to making the Blackstone watershed a better place for us all to live, work, and play through our dedicated efforts around restoration, stewardship, and access of this Blackstone River. We recognize that our future depends on a healthy watershed – for recreation, tourism, economic development, and public safety.
There has been an incredible history of grassroots organizations in the Blackstone River Valley that have made great strides in cleaning and protecting the Blackstone River (just look up ZAP the Blackstone in 1972 – it wasn’t just a one-time effort; it still stands as the largest one-day clean up event in U.S. history, removing 10,000 tons of debris from the river), but due to low capacity from communities and organizations, those efforts were opportunistic instead of comprehensive. There was a need for a centralized group with sustained internal capacity to organize across the 475-square-mile watershed, encompassing a population of more than 1 million people along the river’s 48 miles – much like the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, Mystic River Collaborative, and many others have done so successfully in other regions.
The Blackstone Watershed Collaborative began in 2021 to serve as an umbrella organization to encompass the 100+ diverse existing partners already committed to protecting the river, including nonprofits, state agencies, tribes, and others that have been working tirelessly for decades to improve the health of our region. Capacity building, convening through our monthly, open public meetings, and supporting shared priority projects remain a central role that the Collaborative provides from Worcester to Pawtucket. (Need help on something related to improving our shared watershed’s resilience? Let us know – we respond to nearly a hundred technical assistance requests each year.)…