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Be a Beetle Detective!– 8/17

August 17 6:30pm room 207 Hawthorne Hall, Berkshire Community College

Be a citizen-scientist “Beetle Detective”:  learn to find signs of Asian Longhorned Beetles (ALB) and Emerald Ash Borers (EAB).  Berkshire Natural Resources Council and Berkshire Environmental Action Team will train you to recognize signs of these insects as part of the USDA’s effort to control the beetles. Come to a training August 17, 6:30 pm in room 207, Hawthorne Hall, at Berkshire Community College.

The ALB is a broad-spectrum pest, feeding on wood of deciduous hardwood trees to the point that the host tree starves.  The EAB feeds exclusively on ash trees, killing the host within a few years of infestation.  Homeowners with shade trees, forest owners, hunters, birdwatchers, and all nature lovers should be aware of what to look for.

Scientists believe the emerald ash borer may reach the Berkshires soon; the Asian longhorned beetle was found in Worcester in 2008.  The Asian longhorned Beetle can be stopped, but we need to know if it is present in our part of the state.  Help us look for these pests.  Early detection will save trees!

For more information about the training contact Jane: jane@thebeatnews.org or 413-230-7321.

For more information on Asian Longhorned Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer:
beetledetectives.com
beetlebusters.info
stopthebeetle.info

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Sustainable Berkshires

During the month of July, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) hosted an exciting series of public visioning workshops for the current regional planning effort, Sustainable Berkshires. Over 150 local residents from across the Berkshires attended, sharing their hopes and concerns about the long-term future of our County.  Common themes included supporting clean, green businesses, enhancing the region’s agricultural production and consumption, and the need for improving connectivity – electronic and person-to-person.  

BRPC has partnered with Berkshire Creative to take the public’s verbal vision and translate it into graphic form. Berkshire-based creatives who are interested in developing a two-dimensional visual representation should start by filling out the one page application on the Berkshire Creative Website by Friday, August 12. If you are one of five finalists chosen, you’ll have two weeks to complete your vision. From there, the public will vote on the best representation. The final submission chosen will receive a $500 honorarium. 

Please visit Berkshire Creative’s webpage for more information and application instructions. You can also contact BRPC staff directly at 413-442-1521 x32. Forward this announcement to others who may be interested.  

Thank you!

Mackenzie M. Greer
Community Planner
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
1 Fenn Street, Suite 201
Pittsfield,  MA  01201
Phone:  413-442-1521  Ext. 32
Fax:      413-442-1523

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Public Hearing on Wind Siting Bill – Hancock – 9/7

The Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy will be holding a public hearing on the wind siting bills in Berkshire County on Wednesday, September 7th at 10am.  The hearing will be held in JJ’s Lodge, Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, 37 Corey Road, Hancock. 

The bills are: H. 1775; H. 1759 and S. 1666 – all titled An Act relative to comprehensive siting reform for land-based wind projects.
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West Stockbridge land preserved
By Clarence Fanto, Berkshire Eagle Staff

The state has completed the million-dollar purchase of a 290-acre open-space preserve in the southwest corner of town, a move intended to keep the land forever wild. "For the town, it’s an absolutely wonderful thing," said Robert Salerno, the West Stockbridge historian. Most of the land is accessible from the north side of Route 102 between Baker Street and the long-abandoned truck stop (not included in the deal).

It was acquired through a public-private partnership between the state’s Department of Fish and Game and the Berkshire Natural Resource Council (BNRC), which contributed $237,200 toward the $1,115,800 purchase price. The BNRC raised its share through a series of matching grants and private donations, said Tad Ames, president of the organization. The state financed the recent purchase through open-space bond funds and revenue from hunting and fishing license sales. <MORE>
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Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline

From August 20th – September 3rd Stop the Pipeline is planning a peaceful protest in Washington DC to defuse the largest carbon bomb in North America.

With people power and time-tested tactics of civil disobedience – join thousands of people from across the continent in a wave of sustained sit-ins. Together we’ll amplify our voices and escalate the movement and stop the Keystone XL pipeline to the Canadian tar sands.

Canadian Greenhouse Gas emmissions from tar sands may double by 2020.

For more information, especially if you can spend 3 days to be a part of the sit-in, visit the Stop the Pipeline website.
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Zebra Mussels Spreading in Housatonic River

Ethan Nedeau, Senior Ecologist with Biodrawversity out of Amherst, MA reports that his team has been collecting "veliger tows" periodically from May to July at several stations in the Housatonic River from Laurel Lake down to the CT border, and then continuing down toward Long Island Sound. Veligers are the planktonic larvae of many mollusks including zebra mussels. They also re-surveyed the Willow Mill, Glendale, and Rising Paper Mill dams for adult zebra mussels in May. They found adult zebra mussels in all three impoundments at low densities. They are also consistently finding zebra mussel veligers throughout the Massachusetts portion of the Housatonic River below the outlet of Laurel Lake and into Connecticut, with highest densities from the pipe alongside the Eagle Mill building in Lee, the Willow Mill impoundment, and the Glendale impoundment.
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Transportation Public Comment Period Open

On July 26, 2011, the Berkshire Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) initiated a 30 day public comment period on the following transportation documents:

2012 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) – The RTP outlines priority transportation projects and improvements in the areas of highways, public transportation, airports (though not air travel), railroads, and bicyclist and pedestrian options. The RTP, which includes both short and long range projects, is the guiding document for all regional, state and federal transportation planning and implementation efforts.

2012-2015 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) – The TIP is a prioritized, multi-year program for the implementation of federally funded transportation projects in Berkshire County.

2012 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) – The 2010 UPWP is a list, budget and description of all federally funded transportation planning work to be performed between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012, mostly by staff of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) and consultants working for BRPC, under the auspices of the Berkshire Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Copies of these documents can be downloaded from the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission’s website at www.berkshireplanning.org

Comments on these documents are due by August 29, 2011 and should be directed to the BRPC, 1 Fenn Street, Suite 201, Pittsfield MA 01201 or via e-mail to transportation@berkshireplanning.org

On August 18th at 5:30 PM, a public meeting and public hearing will be held at the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 1 Fenn Street, Suite 201, Pittsfield MA to provide the public an opportunity to gain a better understanding to the TIP, RTP and UPWP. The public may also provide comment on these documents at this meeting.
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