On a September morning, I joined fisheries biologist Steve Hurley of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife near Waquoit Bay on Cape Cod. I had been invited to participate in one of the state's biannual electrofishing surveys on the Childs River. The Childs River once teemed with brook trout, but by the early 2000s they were nearly gone. After almost twenty years of conservation efforts, including a large-scale restoration project to remove a dam and abandoned cranberry bogs, the river is coming back to life. The survey would provide a sense of just how well it’s doing. While there were promising signs of recovery, challenges still remain. The Childs River restoration project demonstrates the power of conservation and the importance of protecting our natural resources. Ongoing monitoring and adaptive management are crucial for ensuring the long-term health of the river and its fish population.

Here in my backyard on Cape Cod, I've seen firsthand how abandoned cranberry bogs are being transformed back into healthy habitat for brook trout and other native species. This ignited a passion in me to use my scientific background to make a more direct impact. While donating art to conservation efforts was rewarding, I craved a deeper involvement. This spring, an opportunity arose to join the Association to Preserve Cape Cod as a restoration ecologist. I’ll now have an opportunity to work on fish passage and restoring rivers and bogs in the Waquoit Bay area and beyond. To make it work, I'll be scaling back some things at the Waquoit Bay Fish Company. The good news is that I'll keep creating new art. I'm truly grateful for your support, and excited about this next chapter for the Waquoit Bay Fish Company!

Too often things are left unsaid between fathers and sons. My inability to say it and show it doesn’t lessen the admiration, respect, and love that I have for my dad as a father and a friend. He’s been a role model and mentor, showing me what it is to be a great dad. I only hope that I can be half the dad to my kids that he has been to me. Wishing my dad the happiest of Father’s Days.

I journeyed to Barnstable Harbor on a beautiful May afternoon for a tour of Mark Begley’s shellfish farm. Here he and his team grow their Beach Point Oysters. Mark and I waded through the farm while he explained some of the finer points of oyster aquaculture and what makes for a quality oyster. We sampled a few of the oysters, savoring their briny sweetness and tasting the cold waters of the Gulf of Maine. It was my first tour of a shellfish farm, and it left a lasting impression about the care and work that goes into bringing this harvest to table.

This was the week that I learned to catch Cape Cod’s native sea-run brook trout. I started the pursuit of these unique and beautiful fish about a year ago. Until this week every outing has been met with frustration and failure. Dozens of outings, countless hours - not a single fish, barely a nibble. That was until a chance meeting with a river angel this past Tuesday. We bumped into each other in the parking lot at the trail head, negotiated our fishing locations on the river, and then he gave me a fly and said “Fish this.” And that has made all the difference.