Posted by TinaC - Tue, Sep 11, 2007, 7:48 A

HOORAY! Boston Globe Editorial supports protecting the Aquifer!!

Bill, I ask you not to label or malign others for not sharing your point of view.

Jeff, I appreciate your concern for the economic well-being of everyone in Montague. It’s quite wonderful of you. Unfortunately, trying to latch on to Nestle as our sugar daddy doesn’t seem likely to work. Our society is not going to have an easy, single solution to our many economic troubles. Desperately selling off rights to our water and giving up local control over a resource critical to local citizens, business, recreation and ecosystems -- in the process violating public land protection -- are not good solutions.

Nestle is a powerful, global corporation with a track record of maximizing private, company profits at the expense of the general good. We would be naiive to assume otherwise, and we have testimonials from communities in the U.S. and around the world to warn us.

Furthermore, any money Nestle would pay would likely flow to MAss Fish and Wildlife, not Montague. The fishy smell in this whole thing is how a state agency appears to be preparing to financially benefit from selling off assets that belong to the public.

Finally, Kirt Mayland of Trout Unlimited reports that the financial burdens placed on a town that hosts a Nestle water bottling plant are too high to make the small number of jobs (in the dozens, not hundreds) worth the expenses, troubles and uncertainties.

To stop the rip-off of our local water to line the pockets of Nestle shareholders, we must quickly act. Please write to:

George L. Darey, Chairman / Western Wildlife District
Fax 413-298-3235
Mail c/o Director, MA Division of Fish & Wildlife, One Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough MA 01581

Wayne MacCallum Director wayne.maccallum@state.ma.us
MA Division of Fish & Wildlife, One Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough MA 01581
ph (508)389-6340 fax (508)389-7890

John Creedon, Vice Chairman / Southeast Wildlife District jfcreedon@gmail.com
Michael P. Roche, Secretary / CT Valley Wildlife District mike.roche3@verizon.net
Prof. Joseph S. Larson, Endangered Species Habitat larson@tei.umass.edu, 27 Arnold Road, Pelham, MA 01002
Ernest W. Foster, Jr., Central Wildlife District ewfosterjr@aol.com
Brandi VanRoo, Ph.D. vanroo@frc.mass.edu
Frederic Winthrop, Northeast Wildlife District / Agriculture fredericwinthrop@comcast.net

Sen. Stan Rosenberg-Hampshire & Franklin Cnties
State House, Room 320
Boston, MA 02133 LOCAL
Tel: (617) 722-1532 Tel: (413) 584-1649
Fax: (617) 722-1062 Fax: (413) 582-0113
Sen.StanRosenberg@senate.state.ma.us

Rep. Steve Kulik- Conway, Deerfield , Leverett, Montague,
New Salem, Shutesbury, Sunderland , Wendell, Whately
State House, Room 236
Boston, MA 02133 LOCAL:
Tel: 617-722-2430 413-665-7200
Fax: 617-722-2436 413-665-7101
Rep.StephenKulik@hou.state.ma.us