The BEAT News June 30, 2010

Governors Commit to Completing Regional, Trans-boundary Wildlife Maps in Three Years

BEAT Question – Could we do this in the Northeast

Whitefish, Mont. – Western Governors reaffirmed their commitment to work across political boundaries to tackle landscape-scale wildlife conservation through the Western Governors’ Wildlife Council and committed their state agencies to complete wildlife decision-support systems within the next three years.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, who was elected as WGA’s new Vice Chair today, moderated the session. 

"As environmental issues grow more challenging, we need to look more often at opportunities for cooperation across state borders and with Canada and Mexico," she said.  

The governors have been working to conserve crucial wildlife habitat and corridors through the   council, which has brought states together for the first time to coordinate their data and produce more accurate wildlife counts and maps. 

"Balancing wildlife conservation with development is only one piece of the puzzle," said C.L. "Butch" Otter, WGA’s new Chair.  "The Western landscapes we treasure also are facing threats from wildfires, drought, pine beetle infestation and invasive species."

Experts offered advice on ways states can expand and integrate their efforts to improve conservation of water, wildlife and forest resources.

Sally Jewell, President and CEO of REI, said, "Ecosystems don’t know political boundaries, so conservation of the most important wildlife corridors, water and forest resources require cooperation across multiple public and private entities."  

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $3 million for 17 states to develop their wildlife decision-support systems.   The information will be accessible not only to governmental entities, but also landowners, conservation groups, industry and agricultural interests. Eight pilot projects across the West were launched earlier this month to begin developing these compatible systems. 

The systems will be developed in coordination with diverse interest groups that will be the ultimate users of the wildlife information.  This month the WGA Wildlife Council formed a stakeholder advisory group to act as a sounding board for council activities and products.  The group’s first meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 29 in Whitefish.   

Wildlife Pilot Project Descriptions

Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona are identifying areas of wildlife conservation potential at a landscape scale.  Their goal is to develop a useful and consistent source of mapped biological information across the states.  At the end of this two year pilot project, each of the states will be positioned for designing, building and implementing a publicly available mapping tool that can be used to encourage energy development that minimizes impact to wildlife. 

New Mexico and Colorado are working to implement an MOU signed by Governors Ritter and Richardson last December.  Their joint pilot will identify and prioritize crucial habitat and important wildlife corridors in the region, and will evaluate potential threats to those corridors from future development.  The creation of publicly available wildlife mapping tools will guide the development of strategies to aid the management of crucial wildlife habitat and important migration corridors shared by these two states. 

Idaho and Montana are partnering in the coordination of a transboundary wildlife mapping tool for fish, wildlife and habitats along the Idaho-Montana Divide. The pilot will focus on shrub-steppe, high desert and coniferous forest ecosystems and associated fish, wildlife and plant species in the Bailey’s Ecoregional Sections of the Beaverhead Mountains, Idaho Batholith, Bitterroot Mountains and Flathead Valley.  The joint development of this mapping tool will make it easier for developers and the states to identify areas where development can occur with minimal impacts on wildlife. 

South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska are identifying important habitat for priority grassland species.  Habitat mapping will be combined with energy site planning to allow for improved risk assessment and/or mitigation planning of future energy sites.

Oklahoma and Kansas are identifying crucial Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat across the five LPC states, which includes Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.Once crucial habitat for the species is identified across the five-state region, the states will work together to assess risk of habitat loss in relation to various threats, such as wind energy development and agriculture. Ultimately the states will be developing a range-wide mapping tool that could be used to identify areas important for LPC conservation, as well as connecting corridors for population maintenance.

Washington and Idaho are partnering in the conceptualization and coordination of a transboundary wildlife mapping tool for fish, wildlife and habitats that occur along the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The pilot will focus on the Arid Lands shrub-steppe, high desert, and associated fish, wildlife and plant species in those states. The joint development of this mapping tool will make it easier for developers and the states to identify areas where development can occur with minimal impacts to wildlife.

Wyoming is building a wildlife mapping tool that will function seamlessly across all political jurisdictions within the state.  They will develop a centralized database for housing important wildlife information and will make that information publicly available to help identify areas where development, particularly energy development, can occur with minimal impacts to wildlife.

Alaska will be working with local and federal governments, NGOs, industry and university partners to prepare and consolidate spatial data for respective aquatic/resident fish and arctic migratory caribou herds.  Through this effort they will demonstrate capabilities to define crucial habitats and corridors using common definitions outlined in a Western Governors’ Wildlife Council white paper. 

More detailed descriptions of the state wildlife projects are available on the Web at: www.westgov.org.
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South County RX Round Up

CHP-South Berkshire Community Coalition joins forces with the Great Barrington Police Department and Fairview Hospital to establish the South County Round Up initiative. The South County Round Up will lead to a safer community for our youth and protect the environment.

How the initiative works:
Berkshire County residents will bring in their unused, unwanted or expired medications to the Great Barrington Police Station and dispose of them in a DEA approved disposal container. All contents are then collected and properly destroyed. The initiative has two phases. The first involves two one-day take back opportunities, the first of which is on July 10, 2010 from 9am-2pm at the Great Barrington Police Station; the second will correspond with a national take-back program that is set to launch on November 13th, 2010. The second phase will establish an on-going prescription drug take-back program.

Why the initiative is important: Our Youth
Properly disposing of unused, unwanted or expired prescription medication ensures that they are not readily available to our youth. Non-medical prescription drug use rates second highest amongst all youth illicit drug users. Their source is primarily friends’ and relatives’ medicine cabinets.-SAMHSA 2008.  10 percent (nationally) of youth aged 12-25 reported non-medical use of prescription drugs in the last 30 days.-NSDUH 2005. 20 percent of South County youth report having used prescription drugs non-medically in their lifetime as compared to 16 percent in Berkshire County and 13 percent nationally.-2009 PNAS

Why the initiative is important: Our Environment
Discarded medication also is getting into the nation’s waste water treatment plants and getting into drinking water supplies. Scientists with the United States Geological Society conducted a study of over 130 rivers, streams and other waterways in the U.S. and found antibiotics, anti-depressants, birth control pills, seizure medication, cancer treatments, pain killers, tranquilizers and cholesterol-lowering compounds in over 80 percent of those tested.

Groundbreaking:
The South County RX Round Up is the first medication disposal program in Berkshire County. The program is open to anyone who wants to dispose of medication.
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Officials Announce Effort to Boost Energy Efficiency in State Buildings

WHAT:
Join officials of the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and its Enterprise Energy Management System (EEMS) contractor EnerNOC Inc., on a tour of state-owned buildings and their energy systems – including electricity, natural gas, oil, steam and renewables – as the first phase of a federal stimulus-funded project to improve energy information available to state building managers. When fully operational, EEMS will lead building managers to energy savings of up to 15 percent. Public building managers will accompany DOER and EnerNOC as they explore the innards of state buildings scouting locations for installation of energy meters and state-of-the-art technology to track energy use in real time.

WHO:

  • DOER Leading by Example Director Eric Friedman
  • Dr. Paul Raverta, President, Berkshire Community College
  • Nick d’Arbeloff, Vice President of Enterprise Energy Management, EnerNOC

WHEN:
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 11 a.m.

WHERE:
Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield

DIRECTIONS:
http://www.berkshirecc.edu/MapsDirections
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EPA Proposes Requiring the Use of Sufficiently Sensitive Test Methods for NPDES Permit Applications and Reporting
from Water Headlines for the week of June 28, 2010

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing minor amendments to its Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations to codify that under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, only “sufficiently sensitive” analytical test methods, i.e., those that are capable of detecting and measuring the pollutants at, or below, the respective water quality criteria or permit limits, can be used when completing an NPDES permit application and when performing sampling and analysis pursuant to monitoring requirements in an NPDES permit.    
   
This proposal is based on requirements in the CWA and existing EPA regulations. It also would codify existing EPA guidance on the use of “sufficiently sensitive” analytical methods with respect to measurement of mercury and extend the approach outlined in that guidance to the NPDES program more generally. Specifically, EPA is proposing to clarify the existing NPDES application, compliance monitoring, and analytical methods regulations. The amendments in this proposed rulemaking affect only chemical-specific methods; they do not apply to the Whole Effluent Toxicity methods or their use.

EPA and state permitting authorities use data from the permit application to determine whether pollutants are present in an applicant’s discharge and to quantify the levels of all detected pollutants.  These pollutant data enable the director of the permitting authority to make a sound reasonable potential determination and, if necessary, establish appropriate permit limits. It is critical, therefore, that applicants provide data that are measured with a precision and accuracy that will be meaningful to the decision making process.  The same holds true for monitoring and reporting relative to permit limits established for regulated parameters. 

The public will have 45 days to comment on the proposed rulemaking after publication in the Federal Register.
   
For more information: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/
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Enviromental, health groups back alternative to biomass ballot question

By Michael Norton/Statehouse News Service
Wicked Local Dover-Sherborn
Posted Jun 23, 2010 @ 12:45 PM
BOSTON —

Environmental advocates will press House members Wednesday to back a legislative alternative to a proposed ballot question aimed at preventing biomass energy plants from receiving public subsidies by limiting carbon dioxide emissions at those plants.
Four major environmental groups delivered a letter to House members Tuesday urging them to pass a bill quickly, with the hopes of adopting a compromise and preventing the issue, which has complex energy and environmental implications, from being decided by voters in November.

Groups supporting the legislative alternative include the Environmental League of Massachusetts, the state chapter of the Sierra Club, the Conservation Law Foundation and Mass Audubon.

In the letter, the groups said the alternative legislation is supported by the ballot question sponsors, “many members of industry that would be affected by the ballot initiative,” carbon accounting experts and others “concerned about the potential impacts of utility-scale electricity generation from forest and woody biomass fuel.”

“We are writing to urge your support for alternative legislation which, if it reaches Governor Patrick’s desk by July 7th, would avoid the petition going to the ballot,” organization representatives wrote in the letter. Environmental advocates plan to lobby House members due at the capitol for a formal session today.

The state chapter of the American Lung Association also supports the draft legislation.
“It is important to realize that not all renewable sources of energy are clean. Burning wood, like burning coal or oil, will release pollutants that will worsen our state’s already poor air quality and high asthma burden,” Scott Keays, public policy manager of the ALA in Massachusetts, wrote in a letter also dated Tuesday.

Ballot question sponsors and Environment Committee co-chairman Rep. William Straus told the News Service Tuesday talks were heating up over the legislative alternative, which the environmental groups say would create performance-based standards for biomass “to ensure that renewable energy investments are targeted only towards truly beneficial technologies and practices” and towards “environmentally responsible” waste-to-energy methods.

“In requiring eligible biomass facilities to have significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions as compared to fossil fuel energy generation, the alternative follows a growing body of science and is consistent with the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act as well as findings of the recently released state-commissioned biomass study from the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences,” the groups wrote.
The bill amends the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard to require that renewable energy sources that rely on biomass be more efficient and ensure the sustainable harvesting of biomass fuel, the groups said. The bill also allows for ongoing eligibility for technologies already in use, such as anaerobic digestion used by agricultural operations and wastewater treatment facilities like Deer Island, which is run by the MWRA, the groups said.

Straus on Tuesday predicted waste-to-energy industry groups may not be on board with the draft language, which he called "more limited in its scope" than the "rather severe" ballot proposal.

"It’s a good piece to work with," Straus said. "It may need some tweaking. I think open-minded people could still work this out. I do think it makes sense to try to resolve the potential ballot question, if it can be done."
 
Copyright 2010 The Daily News Transcript. Some rights reserved
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BPA Hearings a Success; Help Us with Final Push for Comments to DPH by June 30 Deadline
AHT staff in front of a giant baby bottle in Northampton
The hearings for the proposed Bisphenol A (BPA) regulation are over, and they went very well! Out of the 26 people who testified, 23 testified in support of expanding the proposed regulation and only three were against the regulation.

Supporters came from all over the state to testify before the Department of Public Health (DPH). Some brought their children. Others talked about their fight with cancer. Still others explained that news stories and advisories had not reached their communities, so no one knew to avoid it. But every single supporter asked the DPH to expand the proposed regulation, and that will carry a lot of weight when the Public Health Council makes its final decision in September. For a full report on both hearings, read our latest blog entry.

The public comment period will end next Wednesday, June 30, at 5:30 pm. We all need to take advantage of this opportunity to speak out for a safer and healthier Massachusetts. If you have not yet submitted your comment to the DPH please do so now. If you have already submitted a comment, help us reach our goal of 1,000 comments by getting everyone you know in Massachusetts to submit a comment as well. So far 567 comments have been submitted.

It was truly inspiring to see so many people take time out of their busy day to fight for better protection from BPA. I hope this wave of support we have witnessed over the past two days inspires you to add your voice, and to ask others to add their voices, to the campaign.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Saunders,
for the AHT team

Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow
262 Washington Street, Suite 301
Boston, MA 02108
(617)338-8131

P.S. Before the hearing in Northampton, we were able to get the attention of locals with our 20-foot inflatable baby bottle in the center of town. Right: Namasha Schelling, Darylle Sheehan, and Elizabeth Saunders of Clean Water Action.  Photo courtesy of Bill Ravanesi from Health Care Without Harm.
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Director of Forest Stewardship

BEAT Note: This job posting is a result of the Forest Visioning Process. BEAT is hopeful that the successful candidate will be an excellent steward of the biodiversity within our state forest ecosystems.

Program Manager Specialist VII


Agency Name: Dept. of Conservation and Recreation
Official Title: Program Manager Specialist VII
Functional Title: Director of Forest Stewardship
Occupational Group: Not Used
Position Type: Non-Civil Service
Full-Time or Part-Time: Full-Time
Salary Range: $44,590.00 to $102,222.36 Annually
Bargaining Unit: M99
Shift: Day
Confidential: No
Number Of Vacancies: 1
City/Town: Boston
Region: BOSTON
Facility Location: DCR Bureau of Forestry, 251 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114
Application Deadline: 07-07-2010
Apply Online: No
Posting ID: J21884

This position is funded from the Commonwealth’s annual operating budget.

Link

Duties:

The Director of Forest Stewardship holds a critical role in ensuring long term conservation of the state‘s forest resources so that they provide a continuing and never declining stream of forest ecosystem services such as biodiversity, watershed protection, local forest products, climate change mitigation and adaptation, recreation and aesthetics and nutrient cycling and soil conservation to current and future residents of the Commonwealth. The Director oversees the DCR’s state-wide forest conservation program, including the stewardship of the more than 300,000 acres of forested lands within DCR’s Divisions of State Parks and Recreation and Urban Parks and Recreation, as well as encouraging and regulating sustainable stewardship of the more than 2 million acres of private forest lands in Massachusetts.

SPECIFIC DUTIES:

The Director of Forest Stewardship replaces the Chief Forester position with an elevated senior management position. This position will direct the development and implementation of a new strategic direction for the Bureau of Forestry, based on the 2010 Forest Futures Visioning Process recommendations, which will include reorganizing the Bureau programs and staff around an ecosystem services model. The reorganization will also ensure improved coordination and communication with other DCR divisions and bureaus as well as fostering enhanced public participation in DCR forest stewardship programs.

Under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner for Park Operations, the Director of Forest Stewardship will work closely with DCR Division Directors of field operations, Bureau Chiefs and regional staff to communicate and collaborate on priorities, implement strategic initiatives, carry out day-to-day responsibilities and allocate resources to ensure that agency priority goals are met. In collaboration with these entities, the Director of Forest Stewardship will complete the landscape zoning of all DCR Division of Urban Parks and Division of State Parks properties into parklands, woodlands and reserves. Participate in agency-wide team to develop management guidelines for these zones based on the ecosystem services they provide. In partnership with other DCR Divisions and Bureaus, contribute to development of management plans to guide all DCR staff and the public in the stewardship of these lands.

The Director of Forest Stewardship coordinates among Department staff involved with forest stewardship including planning, research, monitoring, forest land conservation, forest management, and forested state and urban park management, forest fire prevention, detection, suppression and related programming. Directs, implements and integrates all program and activities of the Bureau of Forestry including the following: Service Forestry; Forest Stewardship Program; Forest Legacy Program; State Management Forestry; Forest Health Management; Forest fire prevention and control; Urban Forestry; Utilization and Marketing; Shade Tree Management; Arboriculture Services; and Forest Licensing Support. To accomplish this, the Director of Forest Stewardship is responsible for the effective management, supervision, leadership, and deployment of a diverse group of professional staff comprised of planners, foresters, scientists, arborists, natural resource specialists, and GIS technicians. This work is managed through annual work plan development, strategic goals and objectives, performance evaluation and monitoring, professional development and training, and regular staff meetings.

Manages Bureau programs on DCR and private forest lands by developing policies such as ecosystem and biodiversity management, updates to forest cutting practices regulations and policies, Chapter 61 and Forester Licensing regulations and policies, and working with DCR and the Dept of Agricultural Resources staff to encourage local benefits and utilization of Massachusetts Forest Products from state and private forests.

Manage, supervise, review, and approve silvicultural prescriptions, and cost-share agreements for private and state forest lands. Oversee and supervise forest stewardship staff job duties including but not limited to development of integrated forest zoning, management guidelines and plans, maintaining forest access roads, conducting continuous forest ecosystem inventories, overseeing timber sale best management practices and layout, conducting insect and disease surveys and forest pest prevention and invasive outbreak management on state and private land. Manage and administer timber sales, cost-share agreements for private and state forest lands and other contracts. Manage community forestry, forest health and other forestry related activities. Manage regulations and program implementation for Chapter 61 and 132.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must have at least (A) five years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, supervisory or managerial experience in the particular specialty (i.e. scientific, professional, or technical) and (B) of which at least one year must have been in a managerial capacity. The above entrance requirements are to be used only for positions for which educational and/or experience requirements have not been established by the General Laws. Entrance requirements established for particular positions by law must be used.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must possess current licensure and/or registration requirements established for the performance of the duties of the position.

Preferred Qualifications:

Applicants must have at least ten years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in the practice of forest management, land management, wildlife management, forest ecology or conservation biology, four of which are in a supervisory capacity, and should have exceptional leadership skills to meet the needs of the agency; familiarity with forest fire control and prevention techniques, methods and guidelines ; understand and administer overall forest stewardship program based on ecosystem services, resource management, protection and conservation needs, statutes, and rules; establish program policy direction, standards, and guidelines in consultation with the Commissioner and senior management team.

Exercise sound judgment and discretion; administer and oversee multiple programs; establish annual program targets based on forest stewardship needs, policy, agency strategic plan and budget; and otherwise manage and allocate program budgets in excess of $17.2 million. Prepare proposed rule amendments; supervise, direct and evaluate multiple subordinate staff; conducts interviews and makes hiring decisions; initiates personnel actions. Serves on state, regional, or national committees which develop program policy and direction; represents the Commissioner, Secretary or Governor on technical or specific assignments; develops operational policies and directs policy and programs.Maintains necessary certifications and licenses.

Bachelor or higher degree from an accredited college or university in forestry, wildlife management, forest ecology or conservation biology required. Knowledge and experience in environmental planning techniques, resource conservation, land management and preservation planning; in-depth knowledge of the natural, cultural and historic resources of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations governing protection of forest resources. Clear understanding of and comfort with matrix management approach to design and implementation of projects and strong ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams in achieving program and project goals. Superior interpersonal, written and oral communication skills; exemplary ability to communicate and work effectively with the public.  Strong experience in managing diverse groups of professional and technical staff; proven track record of successful change management; ability to identify issues and resolve conflicts; ability to work as a team member; ability to foster an environment of creativity, accountability, professional development and respect among staff.

Comments:

About the Department of Conservation and Recreation:

The Department of Conservation and Recreation manages one of the largest and most diverse state parks systems in the nation and protects and enhances natural resources and outdoor recreational opportunities throughout Massachusetts. The DCR system includes over 450,000 acres of parks, forests, water supply protection lands, beaches, lakes, ponds, playgrounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, trails and parkways.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation seeks qualified applicants for the position of Director Forest Stewardship.

How to Apply:

Interested persons should respond in writing, accompanied by a resume, cover letter and a DCR application for employment, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date to:

Patricia N. Vantine, Director of Administration and Finance
Department of Conservation and Recreation
251 Causeway Street, Suite 600
Boston, MA 02114
Attn: Harry Pierre-Mike

An application must be completed and returned with a resume. Resumes will not be considered without an application. Applications are available on the DCR WEB site at WWW.state.ma.us/DCR.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation, is an affirmative action employer, is committed to ensuring that all of its programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public. It is the policy of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation not to discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. Inquiries regarding compliance by the Department of Conservation Title IX and other civil rights laws may be directed to Human Resources at 617-626-1282. This document is available in other formats to accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities.

Agency Web Address:

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/

Diversity Officer:

Ms. Agatha Summons-McGuire, (617) 626-1282

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
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Westside Farm Project: garden hours, puppets, parade, thanks!

Dear Food & Farm Fans,
The Westside Farm Project has new open garden hours.  Honestly, there hasn’t been enough gardening to go around lately.  Neighbors are pitching and we may soon have an intern.  You are welcome to swing by, play with kids, drop off seeds or transplants, and share your thoughts.  Stay tuned for when we get an acre…

Join us in planning a special event: We are planning a harvest parade and celebration for mid-October.  This event will involve music, dance, poetry, food, theater, and whatever else comes our way.  We welcome your creative act.  Like our block party, this celebration should be a good opportunity to meet new people, share your talent and raise everyone’s spirits. 

We are looking for puppeteers to help us create harvest puppets with kids this summer, and to join our parade.

Lastly, thanks to the local gardeners and farmers who showered us with very useful donations of seeds and transplants!  We would have very little food, if it weren’t for you.  Nearly all we grow goes directly to community meal sites.  Special thanks to Hand Hollow Farm, Caretaker Farm, Adamah Farm, Woven Roots Farm and Pittsfield Garden Tour.  Every one of your transplants found a happy home in our plots, or in one of the new gardens run by neighbors.  May this continue!  Feel free to view our wishlist.

Warmly,
—
Becky Rushford
www.westsidefarmproject.org
[email protected]
(860) 230-1409
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Calling all Citizen Scientists: Join our Fire Fly Watch!  Every Thursday, May 25 to August 5 at 9:15 p.m.

We all have a fondness for the way fireflies light up the summer sky, but are our beloved lightning bugs disappearing? If so, why? Help scientists answer these questions by becoming a Firefly Watch Citizen Scientist. This summer, every Thursday through August 25 at 9:15 p.m., join Berkshire Museum’s Natural Science Coodinator, Scott LaGreca, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to count fireflies in a meadow. The Firefly Watch meets at Mount Greylock Visitors Center, 30 Rockwell Road inLanesborough, 1.5 miles off US Route 7. You will want to bring a flashlight, and a pencil and pad of paper, in order to participate. Remember to dress appropriately for evening conditions, as bug spray is not recommended. (You don’t want to drive away the fireflies!) This activity is friendly for all ages and is wonderful way to spend a family night out.

Scott LaGreca, PhD
Natural Science Coordinator
Berkshire Museum
39 South Street
Pittsfield, MA  01201  USA
TEL 413-443-7171, ext. 17
FAX 413-443-2135
[email protected]

Wrapped! Search for the Essential Mummy unravels the mysteries of ancient Egypt’s most fascinating artifacts. Proudly sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union; on view at Berkshire Museum from June 19 to October 31, 2010.
For more information, please visit www.berkshiremuseum.org
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EWG’s (Environmental Working Group’s) Cancer Prevention Tips

You may have heard that the President’s Cancer Panel issued a landmark report last month suggesting that public health officials have "grossly underestimated" the extent of environmentally-induced cancer among the in 1.5 million Americans diagnosed with the disease annually.

While we were not surprised by this high-level acknowledgment of the environmental connection to cancer, we know that hearing news like this can raise questions. So we put together nine practical tips for consumers like you to reduce the risk of environmental cancer. They’re easy and could make a difference.

As EWG President Ken Cook said, "Consumers can’t wait for the government to take action or for companies to act responsibly by removing carcinogens from their products."

So, go ahead and take matters into your own hands. Click here to use our nine tips to reduce your exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.

Thanks for reading,
Environmental Working Group
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Job Opening: Executive Director

American Wildlands is seeking a dynamic and highly motivated person to become its next Executive Director (ED).  The ED is responsible for strategic development, implementation and oversight of all functions within the organization, including conservation activities, fundraising, communications (both internal and external) and administration (financial management, human resource management and compliance). The ED also leads both internal and external partnerships and represents the organization in all high-level initiatives. The ED supervises the Directors of Development, Conservation, and Communications/Operations and reports to the Board of Directors.

The successful candidate will have the following competencies and qualifications:

  • Relevant training in non-profit administration, Biology, Ecology, Wildlife Management or another conservation-related field;
  • An ability to develop relevant and effective conservation projects and partnerships;
  • Solid understanding of non-profit organizational and financial reporting;
  • Proven personnel and project management success;
  • Demonstrated mastery of written and basic multimedia communication;
  • Proven ability to develop and deliver regular program plans;
  • Skilled and willing team player;
  • Maintains high ethical and professional standards.

American Wildlands’ mission is to leverage our science leadership through partnerships to link vital wildlife habitat within the U.S. Northern Rockies. Since 1978, we have been using science, respectful advocacy and community engagement to identify and conserve critical wildlife corridors and habitat connectivity connected habitats and ensure healthy populations of Rocky Mountain wildlife. 

Based in Bozeman, Montana, our staff puts our mission into action through our Corridors of Life, Safe Passages and Community GIS Services programs. Working in partnership with conservation organizations, state and federal agencies, county planners and citizens, we are creating an environment for wildlife to survive and thrive in the U.S. Northern Rockies.

Review of Applications will begin immediately, and the position will remain open until filled. To apply, send a resume/CV and cover letter to: [email protected] 
No telephone calls, please.

For more information on American Wildlands visit: http://Wildlands.org
For more information on the ED Position visit: http://wildlands.org/about/careers
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Mosquito Control Presentation
People have been asking me “when are they going to start spraying?”.  The mosquito control program starts July 1, but there is more to it than just spraying.  Much of the effort involves ditch maintenance and treatment of standing water such as in catch basins.  Spraying is only done when absolutely needed.  To learn more,  tune in to PCTV channel 18 tonight at 7:30 for a presentation from Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project, first item on the Public Health & Safety Committee agenda.

Other items on the agenda include an update from Dr. Adamo on PCB remediation efforts in the city as well as an overview of a new county-wide Hazard Mitigation Plan being undertaken by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.  The BRPC will be seeking public input in the weeks ahead regarding potential hazards in our community – anything from natural hazards to man-made structures such as dams.

Correction!
Thank you to those who caught my mistake last week in reporting the results of the survey of interest in passenger rail access from Pittsfield to NYC.  I wrote “Boston” in the follow up message.  New York City was the correct destination, as stated in the original message.  No need to take back your vote:-)

Mike Ward
City Councilor Ward 4
Pittsfield, MA
ward4ward4.com
413-499-0462

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