Background InformationThe Blackstone River has been used for many years, as there are old mills all along the river. One of the problems that the river faces is the pollution of all the years prior to now. Companies would dump waste, dyes, and so much other into the river making it now unsafe to drink and swim in as there are so many chemicals in it. The Blackstone River used to be a hub for business and everyday life. As we try to clean up some of the mess that we made in the past by treating the water of the Blackstone to make it safer for everything around it, there are other things that could be done. I feel as if no one in our area really knows what has happened along the Blackstone and how it has affected so much of our area people should know more about it. I think that there could be outreach programs to help teach about the river. Another thing that I think should be done is cleanups along the river, as you look at the river beds you can see bottles, cans, bags, and just trash along the river that will make its way into the river at some point in its lifetime. By cleaning up the trash we can hope to stop further polluting the river. I live right down the street from the river I was confused as to why the river smelled like it did and why we could not swim in it. Now knowing what has happened and that it is not a huge priority to the public to help clean the river is saddening because it is such a big part of our history and what has made our towns the way they are in central Massachusetts.

The Pollution of the Blackstone River

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Continue storytelling with ArcGIS StoryMaps and keep your content. Request that Esri migrate your account to ArcGIS Online by May 31, 2025, and complete migration by June 30, 2025.

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After one year, you will need to purchase an ArcGIS Online subscription to continue using ArcGIS StoryMaps. Check out the StoryMaps <link>retirement page</link> for more information on the ArcGIS Online subscription options.

ArcGIS <link>StoryMaps</link> is the professional version of StoryMaps and is available as part of <link2>ArcGIS Online</link2>. Both products share similar storytelling capabilities, so if you are familiar with StoryMaps, you'll feel right at home with ArcGIS StoryMaps. Visit the <link3>retirement page</link3> for a detailed comparison between StoryMaps and ArcGIS StoryMaps.

If you do not migrate your account to ArcGIS Online, you can save any content you would like to keep before the June 30, 2025, retirement date. The options for saving content include saving stories as a PDF and saving frames using a screen recording. 

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Introducing ArcGIS StoryMaps and ArcGIS Online: <link>AGSM Introduction video</link>

You are invited to migrate your account and content to ArcGIS Online where you can continue storytelling with maps. With ArcGIS Online, you’ll get access to ArcGIS StoryMaps and the easy-to-use story builder you are familiar with, plus so much more!

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Both of these options include access to ArcGIS StoryMaps and the other ArcGIS Online apps and capabilities. Please note that there is a price difference between the two options that you will need to pay if you want to keep your account active when your free subscription expires. See the FAQs on the <link>StoryMaps.com retirement page</link> for more information about these subscription options.

Selecting Request migration below means that you are deciding to change your StoryMaps.com account to an ArcGIS Online subscription. During the free subscription, you will have access to your existing stories and collections via ArcGIS StoryMaps, as well as an array of additional capabilities offered by ArcGIS Online.

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