These instructions are for those that have already enrolled in the Marstons Mills River Herring Counting Project. If you have already communicated with us either by email or phone that you are going to count in 2010 and we have acknowledged that, then you are enrolled and these instructions are for you.

If you think you have enrolled but haven't heard back from us, email Kevin Galvin at HCP@MMRWA.org or call him at the number at the very bottom. If you are not enrolled and would like to participate in this project, please go here and sign up. We'll get you set-up and then direct you back here.

You might find it easier to read this page if you print it on paper, click here to print. If you have problems printing it let us know.

After the initial emails to kick things off have been sent, we will then use collaboration tools that are offered by Google, called Google Docs, to communicate back and forth. These are:

Online spreadsheets to communicate your preferences and availability, the schedule that we assign to you and also the counts that you take.

A blog to communicate other information about the project. You can visit the blog here.

You must have an account with Google to use these tools. If you have a Google Account then you are all set. If you do but your email has changed then you may need to update your Google Account with your new email.

If you don't have an account with Google then you'll have to establish one [we'll tell you how later]. It's easy and it's free!

BTW: Establishing this account with Google won't impact any email or other online accounts you have with anyone else - they will all continue to work the same way. While you could use this Google account to access all of the other services that Google provides, you could use it for just our Herring Counting Project and not affect anything else at all.

This section provides an overview of what's involved and each of these steps are explained in detail below:

On this end, we will create a Google Docs spreadsheet for each enrolled counter. That spreadsheet will be the means by which you specify your preferences, where we will do all of the scheduling of your counts and also where you will report back to us the results of your counting.

The counter's preferences at the top left - these were entered by the counter at the outset.

The days/hours the counter is unavailable - these were "X"ed out by the counter at the outset.

The yellow and green cells are when the counter is scheduled to count - these were assigned by us after the Master Scheduling task was completed.

The yellow and green cells with numbers contain the tally - these are entered by the counter after the count is taken.

We will send you an email when this spreadsheet has been created for you and the first thing you will do is enter information into it about your counting preferences and indicate when you can't count.

When you've completed that step, you'll respond to that email to indicate so and then wait for the next message from this end.

After we've received these updated spreadsheets from all of the counters we'll develop a Master Schedule on this end, and then update your spreadsheet with the dates/times that you are to count.

Then, after each time that you count you will go back into your spreadsheet and post that count in the appropriate cell.

These following sections describe each of these steps in detail and cover the counting process as well.

When you receive the email with the subject 2010 - Counter nnn - your name, click on the link in that email to access your spreadsheet.

If you are currently signed-in to Google you will go right into the spreadsheet and you can start to enter you preferences. Skip to Step 1-A, below.

If you are not signed-in or you don't have a Google Account, you'll see a yellow block at the top of the screen:

If you already have a Google Account, click on the Sign-In link, then skip to Step 1-A below.

If you don't have a Google Account [or if you forgot your password], you must create one now:

You'll then arrive at the screen titled Google Accounts - Create An Account. Here, enter your existing email address, choose a password and answer the rest of the questions on the screen. You'll get a confirmation that your account has been created.

If you get lost go back to the email and click on the link to start again. If you have difficulties, contact Kevin Galvin at the number at the very bottom.

In the cell to the right of "Max in total" enter the total number of times you want to count in the whole program. For example: 25.

In the cell to the right of "Max per day" enter the total number of times you want to count in any given day. For example: 2.

In the cell to the right of "In a row" enter how many times in a row you want to count in any given day. This is for people who may be traveling a distance and may want to do, let's say, two counts in a row.

In the cell to the right of "Preferred Site" enter where you prefer to count. Choices are Either, Mill for Mill Pond and Middle for Middle Pond. We'll be as accommodating as possible.

The cell "Cyber-buddy" is used for the offline counters only and indicates who does the online work for them. Don't enter anything here.

Next, put an "X" in each time slot that YOU CANNOT COUNT, so you are essentially blocking out the hours that you are not available to count.

That means that the cells without an "X" in them are the days and hours that you can count.

So, for example, if you can't count after 4:00 on Tuesday and Thursdays, put in "X" in 4pm, 5pm and 6pm on those days. The time in the heading is the hour in which the count is taken, so if you can't count before 9am, for example, you would put an "X" in 7am and 8am.

When working online, all of your changes are saved as you work, so when you are done with your updating there is nothing that needs to be saved - just leave the site.

Do so by replying to the email that you received and say that you are done with Step 1.

Very Important: Please DO NOT change your spreadsheet after you've sent this email to us saying that you are done! If you need to make changes to your preferences or availability please email us here for instructions on making these changes.

If you should start to make changes to your spreadsheet after we start building the Master Schedule we'll get all screwed-up! This doesn't mean that your schedule is set in concrete, it's just that we need to control the changes from a global view.

After we've received the spreadsheets back on this end from all counters we'll prepare a Master Schedule considering everyone's preferences and availability.

When it's completed we'll then update your spreadsheet and highlight, in yellow and/or green, each Date and Time that you are scheduled to count and then we'll send you an email saying that it's complete.

We may do this scheduling in two phases: one for the first couple of weeks and a second for the remainder. This is because some folks are slow in responding or are unsure of their availability and some are still away for the winter.

If you'd like to see the in-process/completed Master Schedule spreadsheet or watch the counts get posted as they occur, you can do so from the link that at the Herring Counting Blog [here].

When you receive the notification from us, it means you have been scheduled and you can then access your spreadsheet and print it out and you'll have an easy reference of when you are scheduled to count.

Return to your spreadsheet and enter the number into the yellow [Mill Pond] or green [Middle Pond] box.

When working online, all of your changes are saved as you work, so when you are done with your updating there is nothing that needs to be saved - just leave the site.

A yellow cell means to count at Mill Pond and a green cell means to count at Middle Pond. You may have all yellow cells, all green cells or a mix of both on your spreadsheet. At the bottom of the spreadsheet there is a legend to remind you which color means which location.

The counting for YELLOW cells will be done at the Herring Run on Mill Pond at the junction of Routes 149 and 28. If you aren't familiar with this location, it is a small, paved park and you can easily walk right up to where the count will take place, which will be at the top rung of the ladder, right where the herring slip into Mill Pond. There will be a white board at the bottom of this step to help you see the fish as they pass.

The counting for GREEN cells will be done at the control gate [this map shows approximately where the unpaved road is] where Middle Pond feeds the flume going to the Marstons Mills River. This is located off Flume Avenue in the Indian Ponds neighborhood. Detailed directions are:

Take Mistic Drive [the "Indian Ponds" signs] off Route 149 and stay to the right all the way to Flume Avenue.

Just after # 90 Flume Avenue is an unpaved road on the right which leads to the counting area. Park on the pavement if you are driving.

Walk down and to the right on the unpaved road and you'll see the concrete control gate [about 300' from the street].

At the far right end of the concrete control gate, where the water enters it from Middle Pond, you'll see a white board lying across the highest control board.

You may count at any time in the indicated hour. But count for just 10 minutes.

If you need a hand tally counter [clicker] to count with, contact Kevin Galvin at the number at the very bottom.

Oftentimes, when you arrive to count there will be people at the herring run and children will be playing in the area where we are doing the counting. Don't be bashful about asking them to step away for 10 minutes while you count.

Ideally, no one is hovering over the area where you are counting as shadows cast into the pool before this last step into the pond could frighten the herring away.

A: If its days into the future, then email Kevin Galvin at HCP@MMRWA.org. If there's little time to react call him at the number at the very bottom. If you get the voice mail, leave a message with your name and the date/time of the slot you can't do. We'll adjust your schedule.

A: To the statistical model a count of zero is just as important as one of 50 or 100. We need exact, accurate counts from everyone for all of the sampling periods to get a reliable projection. Don't be discouraged by zero counts!

A: Count the best you can at the specified time, then contact Kevin Galvin at the number at the very bottom.

A: This may be a problem at Mill Pond on weekends, but even when it’s busy there is usually room on the grassy area across Route 149 from the Herring Run. If you can't find a spot you can park at the William Marston House at 71 Route 149 - the red house beside Mill Pond.

A: We have flexibility as to what times of the day we do the counts and can adjust to when people are available.

A: If you remember within the hour, call Kevin Galvin at the number at the very bottom as the 9 slots we count during the day are at random times and maybe we can adjust.

If it’s too late for that please don't just make up a number! Put the letter M in the cell to indicate that you missed the assigned count and the statistical model will take this into consideration.

A: Yes. The possession of herring, regardless of where, how or when it was caught is against the law! This will continue through at least 2012 .

A: If you see someone interfering with or taking herring, don't approach them. Do the following instead:

Record the date, time, vehicle description and registration number and what it was they were doing.

Call Doug Kalweit at his direct line: 508-294-1378. He’s at the town’s Natural Resources Division.

Again, thank you for helping out in this counting program and I'll be posting updates from time to time on a blog that's been established just for our Herring Counting Project. You can access that blog here.

I'll also be at the flume and the herring run quite a bit, so I hope to see everyone during the next couple of months.

If you have any problems or questions, be it with your Google account, accessing the spreadsheet or any aspect of counting, contact me either by email at call me as below.