CHAPTER SIX :

Consultation

and Coordination

Public Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Consultation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

List of Preparers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
CHAPTER SIX : CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION | 97

Introduction

This chapter describes the required consultation procedures and public meetings and comments related to the 

preparation of the Blackstone River Valley Special Resource Study.

Notice of Intent

A notice of intent to conduct a Special Resource Study/

Environmental Impact Statement was published in the Federal Register on October 6, 2008.

Public Involvement

A public information brochure outlining the study process was posted to the project website, the John H. Chafee 

Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor 

(Corridor)’s website, and was made available in brochure 

racks at the Corridor’s visitor centers in 2007. The general public was fi rst made aware of the study process at the 

Scholars Panel Discussion in February 2008, when a brief 

introduction to the study process was presented during the 

opening remarks. The public information brochure was reissued with an updated schedule in 2009. Also in 2009 a 

Project Update highlighting the signifi cance fi ndings was 

created and distributed in a similar manner. 

In spring 2008, Ranger Chuck Arning of the Commission produced a 16-minute video presentation entitled 

“What’s Special about the Valley?” that described the valley’s resources, the scholars’ site visit, and the special resource study process. The video was aired at the Commission’s Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony in May 2008 

and at numerous other meetings since that time. A 30-minute version of the video is being produced and is expected 

to air on local cable stations in Rhode Island and central 

Massachusetts in spring 2010. 

A newsletter describing the full range of management 

options was distributed in June 2010, followed by a series 

of four public meetings held at various locations throughout the Blackstone River Valley in July 2010. Fourteen 

hundred copies were distributed via the project mailing list, 

and a pdf version was made available for download on the 

project website. 

Following the release of the newsletter, a series of public 

meetings was held on July 7 and 8, 2010. On July 7, meetings were held at Cumberland and Slatersville in Rhode 

Island; on July 8, the meetings were held at Whitinsville 

and Hopedale in Massachusetts. The meetings were publicized in local media as well as through the Corridor’s 

electronic newsletter. Nearly 100 people participated in the 

meetings. The meetings were also videotaped and edited 

for broadcast on local cable access stations throughout the 

Blackstone River Valley. In addition to comments offered 

by meeting participants, the study team received nearly 40 

sets of written comments. 

The evening meetings were taped and their content 

made available on local cable access stations throughout 

the Blackstone River Valley from July 23 through July 30.

Based on feedback received at the public meetings, and 

via comment cards, electronic mail, and formal correspondence, a number of key points emerged. They are summarized below:

• There was overwhelming support for the designation 

of a national park unit in the Blackstone Valley. 

Roughly two-thirds of respondents indicated their 

support for a new park unit, a majority of whom 

expressed particular support for Management Option 

3.

• About two-thirds of respondents supported a 

broader regional/ geographic and thematic scope 

that considers the many layers of historical and 

ecological values and embraces the whole Corridor. 

• Many respondents expressed their desire to see the 

river and the canal included within the boundary of 

the proposed park. The bikeway and the recreational 

values of the river and canal were also elements for 

which respondents wanted to see NPS support.

• Several respondents expressed concern that the 

northern portion of the Valley was not adequately 

represented in any park proposal.

• There was also substantial and continuing support 

for a regional, community-based management 

structure that worked collaboratively in partnership 

with NPS.

• A number of respondents expressed their support for 

the Commission and “keeping things the way they 

are” and felt that keeping the Commission should be 

among the alternatives considered.

Consultation

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 

of 1966, as amended, and National Park Service Management Policies 2006, require formal consultation with State 

Historic Preservation Offi ces when special resource studies are conducted. Section 7 of the Endangered Species 
98 | BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY

Act requires all federal agencies to consult with the United 

States Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that any action 

authorized, funded or carried out by a federal agency does 

not jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or 

critical habitat.

Consultation was conducted through the direct involvement of the State Historic Preservation Offi cers of Massachusetts and Rhode Island or their respective staffs in 

the evaluation of resources and development of alternatives. Per the direction of the New England Field Offi ce of 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Section 7 consultation 

was undertaken by correspondence with the Massachusetts 

Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program and the 

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. 

NPS received a written response from the Massachusetts 

Natural Heritage and Endangered Species program indicating that there were no federally-listed threatened and endangered species in the Massachusetts portion of the study 

area. However, numerous state-listed species have been observed in the same area.

Tribal consultations have been or are in the process of 

being undertaken with Native American tribes associated 

with the Blackstone River Valley. Letters informing the associated Native American tribes of the Special Resource 

Study process were sent out in April 2009. The associated 

Native American tribes include the federally-listed Narragansett, Aquinnah Wampanoag, and Mashpee Wampanoag, 

and the Nipmuc Nation and the Nipmuc Indian Council. 

The Narragansett tribe based in Rhode Island was briefed 

on the study process at a meeting held in October 2009. 

The tribal representative for the Narragansett expressed 

particular interest in ceremonial landscapes that may occur in the Blackstone River Valley as well as a study being 

undertaken on a King Philips War site in North Smithfi eld. 

They are interested in working more with the NPS and the 

National Heritage Corridor to explore Native American history and culture in the valley. In June 2010, representatives 

of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe were briefed. Many of 

the same ideas were discussed, but a greater emphasis was 

placed on the continuing presence and involvement of the 

Native American community in the social, political, and 

economic history of the valley. The tribal representatives 

noted that it was important to acknowledge that the Native 

American community did not disappear after King Philip’s 

(Metacomet’s) War. A formal consultation meeting with the 

Nipmuc is anticipated in spring 2011.

List of Preparers

Core Team 

National Park Service

Chuck Arning,

Park Ranger, Blackstone River Valley NHC

Ellen Carlson,

Project Manager, NER/Boston

Joanna Doherty,

Community Planner, Blackstone River Valley NHC

Duncan Hay,

Historian, NER

Diane Keith,

Landscape Architect, Blackstone River Valley NHC

Kevin Klyberg,

Park Ranger, Blackstone River Valley NHC

Jan Reitsma,

Executive Director, Blackstone River Valley NHC

Lisa Kolakowsky Smith,

Architectural Historian, NER/Philadelphia

Paul Weinbaum,

History Program Manager, NER

Massachusetts Historical Commission

Michael Steinitz,

Director of Survey and Planning, Massachusetts 

Historical Commission

Rhode Island Historic Preservation

and Heritage Commission

Edward Sanderson,

Executive Director, RI Historical Preservation 

and Heritage Commission

Richard Greenwood,

Deputy Director, RI Historical Preservation 

and Heritage Commission

Consultants

Larry Lowenthal,

Consulting Historian and Planner

Susan Ferentinos,

Public History Manager, Organization of American 

Historians

National Park Service Advisers/Consultants

Dennis R. Reidenbach,

Regional Director, NER

Michael Reynolds,

Deputy Regional Director, NER

Maryann Gerbauckas,

Associate Regional Director for Heritage 

Preservation, Planning & Compliance, NER
CHAPTER SIX : CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION | 99

Allen Cooper,

Branch Manager, Park Planning & Special Studies, 

NER

Deborah DiQuinzio,

Regional Coordinator, National 

Natural Landmark Program

Robert W. McIntosh,

Associate Regional Director, Planning, 

Construction & Facility Management, NER

Terrence D. Moore, Chief,

Park Planning and Compliance, NER

Sarah Peskin, Director,

Special Projects, NER/ Boston

Chuck Smythe,

Regional Ethnographer, Northeast Region

John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley

National Heritage Corridor Commission 

Executive Subcommittee

Donna Williams,

Chair, Grafton, MA

Dick Gregory,

Vice Chair, Providence, RI

Paula Brouilette,

Secretary, Douglas, MA

Michael Cassidy,

Treasurer, Pawtucket, RI

Edward Sanderson,

Immediate Past Chair, Executive Director, RI 

Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission

Commissioners

Lee Dillard Adams,

Sutton, MA

Daniel Benoit,

Principal, Benoit Reardon Architects, Worcester, 

MA

Gregory Bialecki,

MA Executive Offi ce of Housing 

& Economic Development

Dr. Robert Billington,

President, Blackstone Valley Tourism Council

Paula Brouillette,

Douglas, MA

Janet Coit,

Director, RI Department of 

Environmental Management

Gary Furtado,

Warren, RI

Richard Gregory,

Providence, RI

Gaytha Langlois,

Bryant University, Smithfi eld, RI

Patricia Mehrtens,

Historian, Burrillville, RI

Richard T. Moore,

MA State Senator, 2nd Worcester District

Kevin O’Sullivan,

President, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, 

Worcester, MA

George N. Peterson,

MA State Representative, 9th Worcester District

Dennis Rice,

Executive Director, Alternatives, Inc., 

Whitinsville, MA

Brona Simon,

Executive Director, 

Massachusetts Historical Commission

Burton Stallwood,

U.S. Marshall, Lincoln, RI.

Michael Steinitz (alternate),

Massachusetts Historical Commission

Keith Stokes,

Acting Executive Director, RI Economic 

Development Corporation

Richard Sullivan,

Secretary, MA Executive Offi ce of Energy 

and Environmental Affairs

List of Recipients

Cities and Towns in Massachusetts 

Town of Blackstone

Town of Douglas

Town of Grafton

Town of Hopedale

Town of Leicester

Town of Mendon

Town of Millbury

Town of Millville

Town of Northbridge

Town of Sutton 

Town of Upton

Town of Uxbridge

City of Worcester

Cities and Towns in Rhode Island 

Town of Burrillville

City of Central Falls

Town of Cumberland

City of East Providence
100 | BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY

Town of Glocester

Town of Lincoln

Town of North Smithfi eld

City of Pawtucket

City of Providence

Town of Smithfi eld

City of Woonsocket

Business & Tourism Interests

Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce

Blackstone Valley Tourism Council

Greater Worcester Chamber of Commerce

Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce

Worcester County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Government Agencies

Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission

MA Department of Conservation & Recreation

MA Department of Environmental Protection

MA Department of Fish and Game 

MA Highway Department

Massachusetts Historical Commission (SHPO)

RI Department of Environmental Management

RI Department of Transportation 

RI Historical Preservation 

& Heritage Commission (SHPO)

RI Economic Development Corporation

RI Economic Policy Council

RI Statewide Planning

US Fish & Wildlife Service

Preservation/Conservation Interests

Audubon Society of Rhode Island

Blackstone Headwaters Coalition

Blackstone River & Canal Commission

Blackstone River Bikeway Association

Blackstone River Coalition

Blackstone River Conservation Alliance

Blackstone River Watershed Association

Blackstone River Watershed Council/

Friends of the Blackstone

Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce 

Corridor Keepers

Council for Northeast Historical Archeology

Grafton Land Trust

Greater Worcester Land Trust

Lake Singletary Watershed Association

Massachusetts Audubon Society

Metacomet Land Trust

National Trust for Historic Preservation

Northern Rhode Island Trout Unlimited

Preservation Massachusetts 

Preservation Worcester

Preserve Rhode Island

Providence Preservation Society

Rhode Island Conservation Law Foundation

Rhode Island Historical Society

Save the Bay

Society for American Archeology

Society for Historical Archeology

Society for Industrial Archeology

Trust for Public Land

Vernacular Architecture Forum

Worcester Canal Task Force

Historic Sites & Museums

Chestnut Street Meeting House 

and Cemetery Association 

Daniels Farmstead Foundation

Douglas Historical Society

Friends of Hearthside

Museum of Work and Culture

Slater Mill Historic Site

Waters Farm

Worcester Historical Museum

Academic Institutions

Boston University (Department of Archeology)

Brown University

College of the Holy Cross 

Clark University

Rhode Island College

Roger Williams University

UMASS-Amherst (Dept. of Anthropology)

UMASS-Boston (Dept. of Anthropology) 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tribal Interests

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Narragansett Indian Tribe

Nipmuc Indian Council of Chaubunagungamaug

Nipmuc Nation

Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah