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In the News
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Report Mass Amphibian Road Crossings The amphibian observations are pouring in from the listserv, it’s an exciting time. For those of you who are not aware, the Linking Landscapes for Massachusetts Wildlife program (LLMW) has an online observation form where the public can report amphibian migrations across roadways: http://linkinglandscapes.info/roads/salamander_map.html. LLMW is an interagency initiative between MassDOT, the NHESP, and UMass Amherst to minimize the impact of the Massachusetts transportation network on wildlife, through collaboration with the public and environmental organizations, including the Vernal Pool Association. The Amphibian Roadway Crossing Database is a tool to centralize amphibian roadway crossing information, to assist long-term conservation planning efforts. Cheers! Timothy Dexter |
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March 15, 2012 Support Massachusetts by Taking Action Today! In November 2009, the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs launched the Sustainable Water Management Initiative (SWMI). Through the SWMI process, state agencies created new, science-based streamflow analytical tools but failed to create safe water withdrawal limits for watersheds across Massachusetts. For information see www.mass.gov/eea/swm. MACC credits the state with creating a new system for categorizing rivers and streams. This scientific analysis documents the need to improve flows in 301 river sub-basins (21 percent of all sub-basins statewide), which are currently suffering from excessive withdrawals, and to maintain healthy flows in the remaining 80 percent. MACC opposes the state’s proposal for "safe yield" because it will lead to severe damage to Massachusetts’ freshwater resources, including wetlands. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began the SWMI process by stating its interpretation of safe yield includes hydrological factors as well as environmental protection factors (i.e., ecological health of river systems). But the so-called "safe yield" now proposed by the state falls dramatically short of what the environmental community had been promised and what streamflow analytical tools indicate as minimum limits. The state’s proposal will allow for uniform application of an annual "safe yield" figure throughout the year – allowing for excessive withdrawals during summer and fall low-flow periods – which could prove to be ecologically disastrous. Lawn watering during dry summer periods can cause rivers to run dry, and the new DEP permitting system will not stop that. The proposed methodology also fails to address the location of water withdrawals, allowing for the possibility that the entire safe yield for large watersheds may be withdrawn in locations devastating headwater streams. The stream classification system, based on science developed by the US Geological Survey and MassWildlife, establishes five flow levels, depending on the degree to which water flow is depleted due to water withdrawals:
The state’s permitting proposal would not establish clear goals and measurable benchmarks toward restoration for the 301 sub basins in Classes 4 and 5 (comprising 21 percent of the streams across Massachusetts). It would also fail to protect Classes 1-3 from severe seasonal depletion during summer and fall. Conservation, efficiency, and gradual shifting to alternative sources where necessary could protect wetlands and restore our precious rivers while providing stable and cost-effective water supplies for people and economic growth. The proposed permit system will instead permanently grandfather existing excessive withdrawals and ensure continued river degradation. This is not sustainable water management. The state should revise the Framework to establish a process of gradual restoration of degraded rivers, streams and wetlands. It should adopt a protective safe yield and permit system limiting water withdrawals consistent with the latest research. To read the state’s proposal see SWMI Framework. Take Action Today! MACC urges you to please write state officials by April 6, 2012 and ask them to apply the good science on stream flows to a revised approach to safe yield and water management to protect rivers and streams across the Commonwealth throughout the year. For talking points from the Ipswich River Watershed see Sample Letter. [.docx Word file from maccweb.org] Read an actual comment letter from the Neponset River Watershed Association here. [.pdf file from maccweb.org] Write to: If you have questions, call 617-489-3930. If you can, please also send a copy of your letter to Linda.Orel@maccweb.org or MACC, 10 Juniper Road, Belmont, MA 02489. Thank you for your support. Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions |
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Environmentally Conscious Teens and College Students on the Decline, Study Says CHICAGO (AP) — They have a reputation for being environmentally minded do-gooders. But an academic analysis of surveys spanning more than 40 years has found that today’s young Americans are less interested in the environment and in conserving resources — and often less civic-minded overall — than their elders were when they were young. |
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Massachusetts Ranks #5 in all Renewable Energy Sources The Ernest & young LLP United recently released its US Attractiveness Indices which ranks state renewable energy markets, renewable energy infrastructures and their suitability for individual technologies. According to the 2012 report, MA is #5 nationally for all renewable energy sources. The renewable energy index provides an overall score for renewable energy technologies and is comprised of the long-term wind index, the long-term solar index, the biomass index, and the geothermal index. MA is also currently ranked #19 in the long-term wind index, and #2 in the long-term solar index. The report can be found here. |
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Registration for Mass Audubon’s Organic Community Gardening Project Underway Mass Audubon rents space in its popular organic gardens to members and nonmembers alike. Participants have been growing vegetables, flowers, and herbs at the two-acre gardens site for over three decades. “The camaraderie and learning among gardeners is exceptional “, according to Laubach, who adds, “and it is probably the most scenic location to plant a garden in Berkshire County.” In order to participate, all new community gardeners must attend an organic gardening workshop offered free of charge at Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Lenox on either Wednesday, April 18 at 7-8:30 p.m., or on Saturday, April 21, at 2-3:30 p.m. The workshops will be conducted by Master Gardener Diane Wetzel of Pittsfield, who is also the volunteer coordinator for the project. Pre-registration for the workshops is required. The garden sites, which measure 15 feet by 20 feet, rent for $32 for Mass Audubon members and $40 for non-members. Gardeners may rent multiple sites if they wish. Persons interested in participating are urged to contact Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries in Lenox to register for the workshops by calling 637-0320 or emailing berkshires@massaudubon.org . Contact: René Laubach, Sanctuary Director |
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Registration for Summer Camp 2012 is now open!
You have two options for registration and payment: OR |
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Outstanding In the Field Selects the Berkshires as a 2012 Destination This nationally recognized event presents an opportunity for the Berkshires to make known its historical roots in agriculture and to promote the food culture of the region, especially the strong ties between farmers and chefs and the collaborative practice of farm-to-table values in the region. “I am excited to be a part of the inaugural Outstanding in the Field event in the Berkshires,” said Brian Alberg, Executive Chef and Food & Beverage Director at The Red Lion Inn. “We are so fortunate to live in an area where our community is connected to the land, and our chefs are interested in supporting local farmers and food producers. This dinner is a perfect forum to showcase our efforts and we are psyched to see the bus stop here on September 15th!” Farm dinners are very popular in today’s culture. People are excited to get to know farmers, visit farms and celebrate real food culture. Farm dinners have caught on, and OITF now organizes as many as 90 events a year. Celebrated chefs like Dan Barber, Paul Kahan, Frank Stitt, Gabrielle Hamilton and Scott Peacock have joined the team. OITF has crossed North America eight times, and has gone as far as Alaska and Florence, Italy. The organization’s full European tour hosted six events last September in Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Holland, Spain and Italy, plus most recently in Brazil (earlier this month.) Ingredients for each OITF meal are almost all local, sometimes sourced within inches of the guests’ seats at the table, and generally prepared by a celebrated chef of the region. After a tour of the site, guests settle in: farmers, producers, culinary artisans and diners sharing the long table. “We are honored to have been asked to host such an awesome event,” said Elizabeth Keen, farmer and proprietor of Indian Line Farm. “We are really looking forward to sharing our farm and food with the Outstanding in the Field community, and to working with chef Brian.” To receive information leading up to the event, join the OITF mailing list at www.outstandinginthefield.com. Live from the Berkshires To view event and farm details, the full menu, chef bio and more, visit http://www.berkshirefarmandtable.com/outstanding-in-the-field/ # # # About Indian Line Farm Farmers Elizabeth Keen and Al Thorp have been growing at Indian Line Farm since 1997. Primarily, they grow food for members who purchase shares in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and provide an abundant supply of vegetables, fruits, herbs and cutting flowers from June to November. In addition, they sell produce at the Great Barrington Farmers Market and to nearby restaurants and stores. The farmers at Indian Line Farm believe in growing healthy food for their family and customers. Their produce is Certified Naturally Grown through a nonprofit alternative eco-labeling program for small farms that grow using USDA Organic methods but are not part of the USDA Certified Organic program. They consider themselves lifelong students of agriculture and strive continuously to further their knowledge and implement good growing and land steward practices. Indian Line Farm is located at 57 Jug End Road in South Egremont, Mass. For more information about the farm, visit http://www.indianlinefarm.com/ or call 413.528.8301. About Brian Alberg Alberg is a native of Copake, N.Y., in the Berkshire foothills of neighboring Columbia County, where he began his culinary career as an apprentice at the former l’Hostelierre Bressane. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. in 1987, he oversaw the kitchens in a number of high-profile Berkshire area restaurants earlier in his career, first as head chef at the Underhill Inn in Hillsdale, N.Y., and later at the 1780 Egremont Inn in South Egremont and the Old Inn on the Green in New Marlborough, both located in Mass. He left the area in 1993 to become Executive Chef at Dudley’s Restaurant in Westchester, N.Y., where he earned a “Very Good” rating from the New York Times and made his first appearance at the James Beard House. Alberg went on to work as executive chef and later director of food and beverage at the Old Saybrook Inn & Spa, a AAA Four-Diamond property, where he was honored for the first time at the James Beard Foundation. Alberg then moved into the corporate world with Marriott where he helped open a number of hotels as well as create a Mediterranean Menu with recipes and training information that was distributed to Marriott and Renaissance Hotels across the globe. Alberg began his tenure at The Red Lion Inn in July of 2004. He is a member of the James Beard Foundation and is President of the Board of Directors of Berkshire Grown, an organization dedicated to promoting the support of local farming and strengthening the relationships between local farmers and restaurants. He also serves on the board of the Railroad Street Youth Project, which provides young people with the opportunity to explore the culinary arts alongside a professional chef. Alberg has appeared on Good Morning America, Chronicle, NECN’s TV Diner with Billy Costa, Albany (N.Y.) News Channel 13 and WGBY’s On the Menu! (Springfield, Mass.), and in The Boston Globe, Hudson Valley Magazine and Gastronomica. Alberg resides in Kinderhook, N.Y. About The Red Lion Inn About Berkshire Farm & Table |
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Front Lawn Food by Greenagers Garden recipients are selected through a lottery. The only requirements that need to be met in order to add your name to the hat are that you (a) live in South County full-time and (b) have a child (or children) living at home. This year, Greenagers will be asking garden recipients to make a small monetary contribution towards the cost of materials (a sliding scale of $20 and up, according to ability to pay, with the amount to be determined by the garden recipients themselves). Second, garden recipients will be asked to volunteer their time installing, planting, or helping to care for the other Front Lawn Food gardens. Greenagers will work with garden recipients to select good days for folks to help their neighbors. We are figuring on 6-8 hours of volunteer time over the course of the summer. Third, garden recipients will be asked to sign a simple contract stating their commitment to care for the garden and to harvest and enjoy the produce. Please contact us if you would like to submit your name to the garden lottery AND/OR would like to volunteer on the installation or planting days. The garden lottery will close on Friday, March 30th. Our hearty thanks go to the Center for Peace through Culture, the Markham Nathan Fund, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and the Berkshire Co-op Market for their generous support of this program. Have a great week, Samantha — |
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Smithsonian-Mason Semester for Conservation Studies There are still opportunities available for undergraduate students in the Smithsonian-Mason Semester for Conservation Studies. Like a “study abroad” program, students participating spend a full semester living, taking classes, and working at a Smithsonian research station located near the Shenandoah National Park. There are two distinct programs of study, Applied Conservation Strategies and Ecology for Effective Conservation Practices. Each one offers a set of five integrated courses that include a practicum experience as well as classes focusing on conservation theory and applications. Applied Conservation Strategies focuses on the root causes of conservation issues and how science informs management and policy. Ecology for Effective Conservation Practices emphasizes the application of ecological theory to conservation and how to successfully communicate about threats to species. Students who might be interested in this exceptional opportunity, please check the website: http://mccs.gmu.edu/undergraduate where they can apply online. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our program at smithsem@gmu.edu. Regards, Alonso Aguirre Executive Director Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation Semester for Conservation Studies 1500 Remount Road Front Royal, VA 22630 |
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Livewater Farm in Westminster west, Vermont is searching for an apprentice this summer. Livewater Farm is a certified organic grass-based dairy farm, that also raises pastured pork, beef, chicken, and eggs. The farm is mixed power, using both draft horses and tractors to accomplish farm work. Summer work would include maintaining managed intensive grazing systems, homeopathic cow care, high-quality hay-making, meat processing, draft horsemanship, and some logging, metal-work, and building. Room and board available plus farm goodies. For more information email: livewaterfarm@comcast.net |
