- Party for Live Earth
- Call for Proposals: Managing Land & Visitors
- BEAT strongly supports Mass Audubon’s Environmental Bond priorities
- Heck Freezes Over; Energy Bill Passes
- GE sued over PCBs, vows vigorous defense
- Rushing Rivers Institute Offers Summer Course-MesoHABISM: Instream Data Collection and Modeling
- News from Rene Wendell, Naturalist at Bartholomew’s Cobble – a property of The Trustees of Reservations
- Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative bulletin – June 13, 2007 (pdf download)
- Environmental Grants Deadlines Approaching
- MA Environment Committee Hearing Schedule
Berkshires for the Earth is hosting a Party for Live Earth on Saturday evening, July 7. from 7-11pm in the “farmers’
market” at the Aspinwell Shops in Lenox.
Likely, you know that July 7 (7/7/07) will mark a day when 2 billion people around the planet are going to tune
into global warming. As a follow up to An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore‘s organization has lined up hundreds of
musicians to participate in Live Earth, 10 concerts on 7 continents – 24 hours of entertainment and learning – all
to bring attention to the challenge we face collectively. The events will be shown on NBC stations on television as
well as streamed on the Internet.
To bring this massive effort to our County, the Lenox Environmental Committee has created “Berkshires for the
Earth” on July 7, with a focus of showing our residents and visitors what we are doing here and urging them to l
earn more and take actions that will make a difference. There will be music, dancing, food, and all sorts of
educational information available. We will be screening some of the highlights of concerts from Sydney to Rio to
London and more!
Most importantly, come party with us! What a radical thing, to be together around this rather intense topic, and
celebrate together. Celebrate because we will find a way if we all work together.
Warmly,
Susan Olshuff
Berkshires for the Earth
413-637-2643
berkshiresfortheearth@hotmail.com
BEAT strongly supports Mass Audubon’s Environmental Bond priorities which include:
- Enacting a separate Environmental Bond in 2007. An omnibus bond merging transportation, housing, and
environment runs the risk of overshadowing environment capital needs. - Developing a meaningful capital-spending plan, which includes continued and increased funding for existing
programs, as well as new programs.- Existing programs include Self-Help and Urban Self-Help Grants, Agricultural Preservation Restrictions
(APR), Department of Fish and Game land protection, Department of Conservation and Recreation land
protection, Conservation Partnership Grants, and others. The bond also funds aquatic restoration
projects, including river restoration through dam removal and Riverways Small Grants program, salt
marsh restoration, terrestrial ecological restoration, water quality monitoring, technical assistance for
the Wetlands Protection Act, and planning tools including those produced by MassGIS. - Mass Audubon suggest that new programs include:
- The revision and implementation of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Statewide Conservation Plan as a smart first step in guiding the use of bond funds for habitat
protection and restoration. - Planning for the ecological impacts of climate change on aquatic and terrestrial plants and
animals and their habitats. This includes impacts on shoreline species that may be affected
by sea level rise, including shorebirds and the myriad of aquatic life found in estuaries and
salt marshes, cold water fisheries, anadromous fish those that mature in the ocean and return
to rivers to spawn, and addressing invasive species management. - Funds specifically targeted for rare and endangered species protection and recovery.
- The revision and implementation of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
- Existing programs include Self-Help and Urban Self-Help Grants, Agricultural Preservation Restrictions
- Addressing the need for a $100 million annual capital authorization for land protection. Bond spending for
land
protection peaked in 2002 at $73 million, and then plummeted in subsequent years. To read the recent
Boston
Globe editorial on the need for environmental bond funds for land protection, click here. - Increasing spending cap in annual capital budget for land conservation and aquatic and terrestrial habitat
restoration:- Increasing bond cap, or amount of bond funds available, would increase funding for protection of
important natural areas identified in the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife Natural Heritage & Endangered
Species Program’s “BioMap” and “Living Waters” as critical to the preservation of the Commonwealth’s
biological diversity, as well many other state funded conservation programs. Increasing bond cap also
boosts funds available for aquatic and terrestrial habitat restoration.
- Increasing bond cap, or amount of bond funds available, would increase funding for protection of
Mass Audubon has released these general priorities to the Administration and Legislature and is working on more
detailed priorities as we move quickly into the drafting and release of the bond, which is slated for early July.
From the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters (MLEV):
Heck Freezes Over; Energy Bill Passes
Yesterday the US Senate passed an energy bill that actually includes an increase in automobile fuel efficiency and
doesn’t exempt SUVs. This is
their first significant fuel-economy increase since 1987. The bill requires vehicles to
get an average of 35 mpg by
2020. The bill also calls for
limits in gas price gouging; new appliance and lighting
efficiency standards; funding for plug-in hybrid research;
and support for biofuels. The
Senate rejected
amendments to expand offshore oil drilling and increased use of liquid coal. All good things to defeat.
Unfortunately, the bill
does not set goals or provide incentives for increasing renewable energy. It is more
noteworthy for what it leaves out than includes. Next the bill
will be conferenced with the House and on to the
President for his threatened veto. Both Kennedy and Kerry voted correctly on the bill and
amendments.
GE sued over PCBs, vows vigorous defense
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer for the Albany Times Union
A lawsuit seeking billions from General Electric alleges the company was negligent when it exposed scores of
former and current employees to dangerous levels of a known cancer-causing chemical that caused them serious
health problems.
The two separate civil actions, brought by 486 past and 590 present workers at the company’s main plant in
Schenectady and in Rotterdam, were filed earlier in state Supreme Court of New York in New York County.
Rushing Rivers Institute Offers Summer Course-MesoHABISM: Instream Data Collection and Modeling During the last week in August 2007, the Rushing Rivers Institute (for more information about RRI, see below) will be offering a course on instream habitat modeling, titled MesoHABSIM: Instream Data Collection and Modeling. The course is open to students, professionals, and interested individuals, with graduate, undergraduate, and career development credits available. Course information is as follows: MesoHABSIM: Instream Data Collection and Modeling - August 27-31, 2007 (NAT-RESR 597A - 3 Credits – UMASS Continuing Education) Course participants will have an opportunity to conduct stream habitat mapping, grid-electrofishing, compute multivariate habitat suitability criteria for native fish species, create habitat suitability maps, create habitat-flow rating curves and habitat time series analysis (UCUT curves), develop flow augmentation scenarios and simulate habitat improvement measures. MesoHABSIM software will be provided. For registration information visit: www.umassulearn.net or www.rushingrivers.org/Courses/Courses.htm Please forward this information to anyone you think might be interested in the course. More information about the Rushing Rivers Institute: The Rushing Rivers Institute (www.RushingRivers.org) was founded in January 2007, and is a non-profit with a mission to help secure water resources for the environment and future human use. Rushing Rivers provides on-demand applied research to protect and restore rivers, offering engineering solutions that integrate physical and ecological sciences, professional training and project review services. It builds upon the expertise of the Northeast Instream Habitat Program located at Mt. Holyoke College, www.neihp.org , as previously located at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Rushing Rivers has seven years of experience in river restoration planning using the physical habitat model Mesohabitat Simulation Model (MesoHABSIM) and its associated software SimStream, which models habitat availability for aquatic fauna. SimStream has been applied on rivers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and New York. Rushing Rivers offers training courses in the MesoHABSIM method throughout the year.
News from Rene Wendell, Naturalist at Bartholomew’s Cobble – a property of The Trustees of Reservations:
Summer is here! Join us for canoe trips every weekend at Bartholomew’s Cobble. My favorite part of being the
naturalist here is that I get to guide the river all summer long! Looking at my records from last year, on almost every trip during July and August we saw bald eagles. That is not all though, we had regular sightings of bank swallows, kingfishers, muskrats, beavers, great blue herons, green herons, red-tailed hawks, black vultures, turtles, and spotted sandpipers. Want more? Try the Covered Bridge trip: nine miles of remote, gorgeous water. Or, you could come on one of my full moon canoe trips. When the weather is right, this trip is unbeatable!
Don’t miss Tom Ricardi and his Live Birds of Prey show on July 14th. This is the best bird show I have ever seen! You are literally just feet away from a bald eagle, turkey vulture, owls and hawks as he explains their natural history. It is so good that we ask him back every year. There are also other programs this season on insects, reptiles and amphibians, and wild edibles. We hope to see you at one of these events.
The Ashley House is now open for tours every Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am to 5:00pm, throughout Columbus Day. If you haven’t been on a tour of this historic house then you are missing the oldest house in western Massachusetts , dating from 1735, and its association with the Sheffield Declaration against British tyranny and the ending of slavery in the state, thanks to Elizabeth Freeman, Mumbet.
I am including a copy of our program offerings. If you want to register for one or have any questions, email me back or give me a call. And remember, the Cobble is open everyday, dawn to dusk for hiking and outdoor enjoyment.
Rene Wendell
Naturalist
The Trustees of Reservations
Bartholomew’s Cobble
rwendell@ttor.org
SELF-HELP, URBAN S-H AND LWCF GRANTS
From Ian A. Bowles, Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs:
“I am pleased to announce that my office, through the Division of Conservation Services (DCS), in anticipation of, and contingent upon, the availability of funds, will conduct the annual Fiscal Year 2008 grant round for the state Self-Help and Urban Self-Help Programs and for the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund Program. The filing deadline for each program is 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 31, 2007.”
Download the application package at:
http://www.mass.gov/envir/dcs/default.htm
Each application package contains both of those files, plus all application materials necessary for conservation
and recreation proposals.
Self-Help Program (Conservation Projects)
The Self-Help Program provides funds to municipal conservation commissions for the purchase of conservation land. The priority for this year’s Self-Help grant round will be for the protection of coastal and estuarine property; sensitive stream, river, lake and pond watersheds; and biological conservation (especially rare species habitats). Projects which fall under lands mapped in the Statewide Land Conservation Plan, and those that augment or connect to existing conservation lands, and thereby help to preserve the integrity and health of the local or regional ecosystems, will receive greater consideration for funding.
Urban Self-Help Program (Park Projects)
This year there is a particular focus on getting new parks built in underserved city neighborhoods. Small towns may qualify for these grants where projects are designed to provide statewide or regional recreational facilities or up to a maximum grant of $50,000 for smaller recreational projects.
Questions to Melissa Cryan, Urban Self-Help Coordinator
(617) 626-1171 or melissa.cryan@state.ma.us
Land and Water Conservation Fund Program (LWCF) (Conservation or Park Projects)
This federal grant program funds conservation or park projects submitted from both municipal and state agency project sponsors. The federal program is being announced in anticipation of a congressional appropriation. The federal program is open to the Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation and the Mass. Dept. of Fish and Game. Municipal projects may be considered for funding under both the federal LWCF program and the appropriate DCS program – but can only be approved for funding through one of the programs. Municipalities must indicate on their application that they wish to be eligible for either program.
NPS RIVERS, TRAILS & CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE GRANTS
National Park Service Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program
Deadline: August 1
If you’re working on restoring a river, building a trail, or making an urban park flourish, they would love to talk with you
about ways you might be able to work together. Could your project benefit from 1-2 years’ staff time and technical
assistance from a National Park Service specialist? They want to help you succeed.
Call today to determine if your project is a good fit.
DRINKING WATER SUPPLY PROTECTION GRANTS
FY08 Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant Program
Application Deadline: 3 p.m. Wednesday, September 5th, 2007
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, in coordination with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, is pleased to issue the FY08 Request for Responses for the 2008 Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant Program.
This grant program provides funding to public water systems and municipalities for land acquisitions that protect public drinking water supplies and drinking water quality. The direct recipient of a grant must be a municipality or public water system authorized by the Commonwealth to provide water to the public. Eligible land acquisitions include land located in existing drinking water supply areas. Land may be acquired through purchase of fee simple title, purchase of a conservation restriction, or purchase of a combination of fee simple title and conservation restriction(s).
The maximum grant award for a single project is $500,000. The maximum reimbursement amount available is 50% of the total project cost. This Request for Responses is being issued in anticipation of the availability of funding. Final grant awards are continent upon funding. There is no guarantee that monies will be awarded. Multiple contracts may be awarded by MassDEP.
Qualified applications will be selected on a competitive basis. We look forward to receiving your applications. Applications must be submitted no later than Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 3:00 p.m.
The complete Drinking Water Supply Protection Request for Responses (RFR) is now available on the Comm-PASS website: https://www.comm-pass.com/ Directions for negotiating the site are included below.
Questions? Contact Christy Edwards (EOEEA) via email at Christy.edwards@state.ma.us
FY08 Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant Comm-PASS Instructions:
1.) On the Comm-PASS home page (http://www.comm-pass.com/) select the “Solicitations” tab at the top-left of the page.
2.) Select “Search for a Solicitation”.
3.) In the “Search by Specific Criteria” section enter “BRP 2007-03” in the Document Number field.
4.) This search will yield one result. Click on the sentence on the top of the page that says: “There are 1 Solicitation(s) found that match your search criteria”.
5.) Select the spectacle icon on the far right-hand column to view all information available for this grant program.
6.) Click on the tab that says “Specifications” to view the grant Request for Response. Answers to questions and amendments to the original RFR (if necessary) will also be posted here. Click on the spectacle icon to view and print any document posted in this section.
Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture 2007-2008 Hearing Schedule. This schedule is subject to change. For questions please contact the Committee at (617) 722-2210
All hearings in State House Hearing Room A-1 unless otherwise noted
Agriculture and Milk – July 9, 2007 – 1:00 PM – Location TBA
Oceans – July 16, 2007 – 1:00 PM – Location TBA
Oceans and Waterways – July 23, 2007 – 1:00 PM – Location New Bedford
LAND CONSERVATION – July 30, 2007 – 1:00 PM – Location TBA
Pesticides & Hazardous Waste – September 10, 2007 – 1:00 PM
Fish and Game – September 17, 2007 – 1:00 PM
Policies – September 24, 2007 – 1:00 PM
Dept. of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) – October 1, 2007 – 1:00 PM
Sewers, Title V, Wetlands – October 15, 2007 – 1:00 PM
Miscellaneous – October 22, 2007 – 1:00 PM