2008 saw advances and losses in the So. N.E chapter. We lost 2 members over the last year but gained one new one. The chapter currently has 20 paid members and 1 comp member on the roll.

This past year saw every known lookout tower site in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and a good portion of CT's sites were put on the new National Lookout Site Register, which was started as a result of this chapters director pushing the NHLR leader into establishing it.

One new tower site was discovered and a second site is currently under investigation. One tower in CT was removed and a second in CT. is to be removed this spring, the latter is to be preserved by the state for public display as a result of the efforts of this chapters director, and the facility supervisor of where the tower currently stands. One tower in MA was sold for the 3rd time but was not yet removed due to the new owner being unable to afford the cost of removal, thus putting the tower back on to the for-sale block. One tower in MA is rumored to have been removed but as of this writting that has not been confirmed.

All staffed towers in MA were operating this past fire season but plans for a new tower to be built have been put on hold at this time. As per years past, no operating towers are in the state of CT, and RI only uses theirs in extreme fire danger days. This is unchanged from years past.

In the comming year I hope to continue helping to preserve towers within the chapter by promoting the state owners to preserve them for their historical value and to promote public awareness of these towers. To continue research into fire tower sites across the chapter and advancing the growth of the membership.

This report respectfully submitted Jan. 8th, 2009 by chapter director Henry Isenberg