[W]ESTMINSTER – State Rep. David Deen has no intention of ending his quest to improve Vermont’s water quality.
But the Westminster Democrat is relinquishing one of his longtime job titles: On March 15, Deen will retire from the Connecticut River Watershed Association, where he’s been a river steward for almost 19 years.
Deen, 72, acknowledges that he’s looking for a little more free time to spend fishing. That’s one of his passions and, formerly, his career.
He also wants to be able to focus more on the state Legislature, which he calls “the most challenging of the arenas in which I work.” Deen is chairman of the House Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife Committee.
“The demands of these times have elevated the challenges in the public policy arena, and those challenges demand more effort and more concentration than ever before,” Deen wrote in a message announcing his retirement from the river council.
Deen is Windham County’s longest-serving current legislator. He spent two years in the state Senate in the late 1980s, and he’s now serving his 27th consecutive year in the House.
He and his colleague in the Windham 4 House District, Rep. Mike Mrowicki, D-Putney, easily fended off a challenge last year from two Republicans.
Deen has devoted much of his time in the House to natural resource issues. But that’s only one part of his environmental work: Since June 1998, he’s also been a staffer at the Greenfield, Mass.-based Connecticut River Watershed Council.
In an interview Wednesday, Deen noted that his longtime immersion in river issues – including experience as a professional fly-fishing guide and his involvement in starting the Connecticut River Joint Commission – led him to the watershed council.
Initially, he was a river steward assigned to the sprawling expanse of watershed between the Vermont/Massachusetts border and the Canadian border. Deen recalled with a laugh that “I did a tremendous amount of driving” at that time.
Deen now is responsible for the watershed’s Upper Valley area in Vermont and New Hampshire. And he has been a highly visible presence due to his work on issues like Vermont Yankee discharges and the pending federal relicensing of hydroelectric stations in Bellows Falls, Vernon and Wilder.
Andrew Fisk, the watershed council’s executive director, said Deen “has been a linchpin for our organization.” The council “wouldn’t be what it is today without his steadfast dedication and many hours of work on behalf of the river, its fish and the communities in the Upper Valley,” Fisk added.
Deen said he’s also monitoring the proposed sale of TransCanada’s hydro dams and the Vermont Yankee property. Too often, he said, the watershed’s well-being is not taken seriously by corporate interests.
“Big money keeps swapping these facilities around, and I’m not even sure they know there is a river there,” he said.
At the same time, however, Deen sees signs of progress. He measures that not only in terms of pollution reduction, but also in how many times he hears residents talk about the health of the Connecticut.
“That’s a success – people are thinking about the river,” Deen said.
He also noted that there are a variety of groups taking a growing interest in protecting the watershed. “It’s those local voices that are really important,” Deen said. “On both sides of the river, there’s a strong network of those local organizations.”
In spite of his optimism and enthusiasm, Deen said it’s time to pass the river steward baton “to younger advocates with more energy, time and expected longevity.” He’s particularly motivated so he can spend more time on his legislative work.
As a lawmaker, Deen has been at the center of major water initiatives. That includes the 2015 passage of a large-scale clean-water bill and ongoing efforts to find resources for Lake Champlain cleanup.
Also, Deen’s House committee was retooled at the start of the 2017 session, with duties such as land use and air quality now part of the portfolio.
“The agenda for the committee has broadened,” Deen said. “And there’s a lot more preparation work necessary to be able to handle the water agenda.”
Though Deen is happy to be able to focus on the Legislature, he confessed to one regret in retiring from the watershed council: “It’s that I’m leaving now, and that’s because of the federal situation,” he said.
There is widespread concern that the budget- and regulation-cutting policies of President Donald Trump will take a toll on environmental projects in Vermont. But Deen argues that, now more than ever, it’s “really important” for those involved at the state level to continue their work.
“Water is a state issue. Air is a state issue,” Deen said. “Despite what’s going on, and a massive change in attitude at the federal level, we have some control of our own in Vermont and New Hampshire.”
Deen said he expects to stay involved with the Connecticut River Watershed Council as an honorary trustee.
And council administrators said they are searching for candidates to fill Deen’s river steward position. The job will continue to focus on issues such as dam relicensing, water quality and environmental regulations, the council said.