Thank you to Rachel Branch, producer of the television show Solutions Rising for including a “BEAT” series for people to learn more about the fracked gas pipelines proposed to bring gas from the fracking fields of Pennsylvania across New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire to a gas hub in Dracut, MA. The show interviews many people providing information about the proposed pipelines as well as the many alternatives to these pipelines.
Greenagers Gardens with Moms in Mind
On Mother’s Day this year, give Mom a Greenagers Front Lawn Food garden and your purchase will provide a free garden for another Mom and her family in the community. Join the Greenagers Front Lawn Food family this year — starting with Mom!
Group aims to block any Kinder Morgan effort to revive pipeline project
10 spectacular caterpillars that look like snakes
Bomb Trains
The Scariest Threat You Didn’t Know About
They could not look more ominous. The long coal-black tubes announce themselves by their distinctive shape and color, their markings too small to read from the street. The 30,000-gallon tank cars roll, sometimes 100 at a time, in trains of up to one mile in length. Their cargo? Crude oil—as much as three million gallons per train. Nearly all of it is light sweet Bakken crude, a type that is particularly explosive. In whole, these trains constitute likely the biggest, heaviest, and longest combustibles to ever traverse America, and they do so routinely. More pass through Chicago than any other big metro area. Their blast potential has earned them a terrifying nickname: bomb trains. And they roll through the heart of Chicago. By Ted C. Fishman, Chicago Magazine, April 25, 2016.
Spectra Gas Pipeline Explosion Cuts Flows to Eastern U.S.
An explosion and fire on a major Spectra Energy Corp. pipeline that crosses half the U.S. is disrupting natural gas shipments from western Pennsylvania to the Northeast. Crews shut off the gas feeding the flames, which burst out of Spectra’s 36-inch Texas Eastern pipeline in Salem Township at about 8:30 a.m., John Poister, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, said in an e-mail. While repairs will start as soon as possible, it’s unclear when service will be restored, Spectra said in a notice. The company declared force majeure at midday, sending natural gas futures surging as much as 5.6 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange on speculation that the outage will limit supplies to the Northeast. By Tim Loh, Bloomberg News, Apri 29, 2016.
Obama tells Flint residents: ‘I’ve got your back’
Jobs
Seasonal Outdoor Educator – Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, Cropseyville, NY
Greenagers Summer Jobs – Trail Crews & Farm Apprentices – Various locations in Berkshire and Columbia Counties
Conservation Easement Stewardship Associate – Columbia Land Conservancy (Chatham, NY)
Laborer I – MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (Pittsfield) – SIX POSITIONS AVAILABLE
Seasonal Ranger I (West) – MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (Pittsfield)
Seasonal Forest And Park Supervisor III (West) – MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (Pittsfield)
Seasonal Forestry Assistant – MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (Pittsfield)
Laborer II – Long Term Seasonal – MA Dept. of Conservation and Rereation (Pittsfield)
Environmental Justice Job – Arise for Social Justice
Landscape Design Assistant, Garden Installation Manager & Crew, Fine Garden Maintenance Crew – Helia Native Nursery and Land Design
Camp Counselors – Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary of Mass Audubon
Greenagers Gardens with Moms in Mind
On Mother’s Day this year, give Mom a Greenagers Front Lawn Food garden and your purchase will provide a free garden for another Mom and her family in the community. Join the Greenagers Front Lawn Food family this year — starting with Mom!
For details, email us at office@greenagers.org, or visithttp://greenagers.org to learn more.
Group aims to block any Kinder Morgan effort to revive pipeline project
By Clarence Fanto
The Berkshire Eagle
April 21, 2016
A group that helped lead the fight against the suspended gas pipeline across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire is asking federal regulators to seal the demise of parent company Kinder Morgan’s $5 billion project.
A motion to dismiss and deny the company’s application for the 412-mile Northeast Energy Direct pipeline has been filed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by the Pipeline Awareness Network for the Northeast (PLAN-NE).
The document posted late Monday by PLAN-NE President Kathryn Eiseman, of Cummington, calls for the application dismissal “with prejudice,” a legal term meaning a final judgment barring the applicant from refiling for the same project.
“We plan to submit a status report to the FERC no later than May 26, as previously stated in filings with the commission,” according to Richard Wheatley, Kinder Morgan’s director of corporate communications and public affairs, in an e-mail to The Eagle. The company has no comment on the PLAN filing with the regulators, he added.
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. put in its formal application for the pipeline last Nov. 20. Its parent company, Kinder Morgan, announced the suspension of the highly controversial project on April 20.
It cited insufficient demand for the additional natural gas from distributors as well as failure by state regulators to allow construction costs to be passed on to electricity customers in exchange for savings after the pipeline went into service.
Kinder Morgan’s board had previously approved spending $3.3 billion for the distribution segment of the pipeline from Wright, N.Y., to Dracut near Lowell, but it had not signed off on the $1.7 billion supply segment to funnel natural gas from shale fields near Troy, Pa., to Wright, 40 miles west of Schenectady.The company’s decision was seen as a massive victory for opposition groups, communities, Attorney General Maura Healey, several state lawmakers and individual citizens along the route that included seven Berkshire County towns. But PLAN-NE wants to ensure the project does not live to see another day, Eiseman said.
In its document to FERC, she described her nonprofit group as “a broad-based coalition of organizations, municipalities, businesses, impacted landowners, citizen groups, legislators, ratepayers and concerned citizens, working to prevent the overbuild of natural gas infrastructure in the Northeast.”
Eiseman described PLAN’s goal as seeking “to prevent the negative economic and environmental impacts associated with overbuild, and to promote lower-impact energy solutions.” Last Dec. 28, the organization became an official intervenor in the application process before the federal regulators.
In its filing, PLAN pointed out that Kinder Morgan had commitments from gas and electricity distributors such as Berkshire Gas and National Grid, among a half dozen others, for only half of the 30-inch pipeline’s natural gas capacity.
Acknowledging the company’s announcement that it had “suspended further work and expenditures” on the NED project, the PLAN filing also cited notifications from Kinder Morgan to prospective customers that distribution contracts were being terminated.
“Like so many rodents on a grounded vessel, these would-be customers are indicating that NED cannot go forward,” the document stated. “If the company develops a new project in the region, it can submit a different application to the commission. However, that will not be the NED project.”
Eiseman contended that FERC has “entertained the NED proposal far longer than warranted. The commission has allowed the company to abuse the prefiling process and mislead the public. The commission improperly accepted an incomplete application.”
He added that “the commission failed to review the investment in NED by parent companies of four of the would-be local distribution company customers, and how such ownership interest in the project may have caused the distributors’ subsidiaries to subscribe for more capacity than necessary or reasonable, from a ratepayer perspective.”
The PLAN document argued that FERC “has, time and again, allowed the company to drag out this process without justification The public — municipalities, thousands of landowners, and others — have expended untold hours and financial resources defending their land, communities and environment against this ill-conceived and obviously unnecessary project.”
Eiseman also asserted that “the public has faced deceptive practices and obfuscation from the company and its agents since the beginning of 2014. The nearly 2,000 intervenors in this proceeding deserve closure, if not restitution.”
Her group noted its opposition to the project “as an extreme overbuild of gas infrastructure. Even by the commission’s own narrow definition of ‘necessity,’ the ‘need’ was never there. As to ‘public convenience’ — respectfully, the commission should now begin to rebuild its credibility with the public by denying the company’s application immediately, with prejudice, and terminating this proceeding.”
10 spectacular caterpillars that look like snakes
Bomb Trains
The Scariest Threat You Didn’t Know About
By Ted C. Fishman,
Chicago Magazine
April 25, 2016
They’re explosive. Pervasive. And their movements are cloaked in secrecy. Their nickname? Bomb trains. And they roll through the heart of Chicago.
They could not look more ominous. The long coal-black tubes announce themselves by their distinctive shape and color, their markings too small to read from the street. The 30,000-gallon tank cars roll, sometimes 100 at a time, in trains of up to one mile in length. Their cargo? Crude oil—as much as three million gallons per train. Nearly all of it is light sweet Bakken crude, a type that is particularly explosive. In whole, these trains constitute likely the biggest, heaviest, and longest combustibles to ever traverse America, and they do so routinely. More pass through Chicago than any other big metro area. Their blast potential has earned them a terrifying nickname: bomb trains.
Stand long enough at 18th and Wentworth, on the traffic bridge that separates the newer sections of Chinatown from the largely residential South Loop, and you will spot the tank cars wending their way across neighborhoods on the Near South and West Sides, past playgrounds, schoolyards, and row after row of houses. An estimated 40 of these trains cut through the metro area weekly. There’s no public information on exact routes or timetables; revealing their paths, the logic goes, might aid potential saboteurs, a real risk in an age of terrorism.
Until recently, crude on the rails was relatively rare. But since 2008, when Bakken oil began rolling out of newly active fields in the United States—North Dakota is the biggest producer—and toward Eastern refineries, the number of oil tank car shipments has grown 50-fold. That’s pushed the number of accidents up, too. According to U.S. government data, from 1975 to 2012, an average of 25 crude oil spills from tank cars occurred on the rails each year. In 2014, that number rose to 141. Most incidents are minor, such as small leaks. But in cases of a major derailment, the result can be catastrophic, even fatal (see “Terrifying Incidents,” below).
Chicago found that in the last three years there were 17 derailments of crude oil trains in North America significant enough to generate news coverage. In eight of them, the tank cars blew, sending fireballs hundreds of feet into the air, filling the sky with black mushroom clouds. In the most severe cases, the flames produced are so hot that firefighters almost inevitably choose to let them burn out, which can take days, rather than extinguish them. (The Wall Street Journal calculated that a single tank car of sweet crude carries the energy equivalent of two million sticks of dynamite.) Even when there are no explosions, the spills can wreak havoc on the environment: five of the 17 accidents resulted in the pollution of major waterways, affecting thousands of people across the continent.
Chicago is particularly vulnerable. As the Western Hemisphere’s busiest freight hub, the city has become a center for crude oil traffic, too. High volumes, combined with a densely populated urban setting, have watchdogs such as the Natural Resources Defense Council alarmed. Henry Henderson, the NRDC’s Midwest program director, sums up the threat this way: “Trains with highly explosive materials are traveling through the city on aging tracks in cars that are easily punctured, which can result in devastating explosions.”
Many of these trains cut through what were once industrial rail yards in the city and suburbs. Over the last 35 years, however, much of that property has turned into residential and commercial clusters. “You should assume that if you live in the Chicago area, near a railroad track, that there are trains carrying Bakken crude oil,” says Jim Healy, a member of the DuPage County Board.
Though Chicago has so far been spared a crude oil train crash, the potential of one presents a horrifying picture. One particular nightmare is emblazoned in the minds of first responders, and regulators. On July 6, 2013, a runaway crude oil train, which had been left unattended, sped through the center of the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic. Sixty-three cars derailed. Forty-seven people were killed, some literally incinerated while they drank at a bar.
Emergency responders in the Chicago area say they are confident any derailment here could be managed before it reached neighborhood-destroying levels. “Crude is not the threat that everyone says it is,” says Gene Ryan, chief of planning for Cook County’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Ryan and a group of first responders looked closely at 29 major accidents across North America and found that “even though the crude is full of all kinds of volatile materials, the cars did not completely blow apart and hit homes,” he says.
But in a city as dense as Chicago, it takes only one freak incident to have a titanic effect on the urban landscape. Just last year, on March 5, on a stretch of track near Galena, Illinois, 21 BNSF Railway train cars carrying 630,000 gallons of Bakken crude derailed and tumbled down an embankment. Five of them burned for three days. At the time, James Joseph, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, told the Chicago Tribune: “We’re fortunate this occurred where it did, in a remote area, and there were no homes around it.”
Experts believe the train was likely headed for Chicago, 160 miles to the east.
Historically, oil in America moved from south (think Texas and Louisiana) to north mostly through pipelines, the safest conduits for it. When newly deployed technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—opened access to sources of oil in North Dakota and elsewhere in the West, few pipelines were in place to move the crude to the refineries back east that could handle it. (A proposed pipeline for Bakken crude running from Stanley, North Dakota, to Patoka, Illinois, has faced political and jurisdictional challenges.) With limited alternatives, oil producers and refiners turned to railroads. In 2014, trains carried 11 percent of the nation’s crude oil.
So what paths do these tank cars take? The exact routes are state secrets. But assuming 40 trains, carrying three million gallons of crude oil each, pass through the Chicago area weekly, that means more than 17 million gallons roll through the city daily. It’s an inexact count, and the NRDC has continued to push to get accurate information. “A lot of people don’t know their residences are adjacent to hazardous cargo,” says Henderson. “The issue should be subject to public discussion, but the public has been cut off from it.”
Using freight maps and firsthand reporting, the West Coast environmental advocacy group Stand has assembled a national map of the most common crude oil train routes and created an interactive website that allows users to determine how far any U.S. location is from these routes. For example, according to the site, half of Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, home to 32,000 people and U.S. Cellular Field, falls squarely within a half-mile “evacuation zone,” established by the U.S. Department of Transportation for areas vulnerable to crude oil train explosions. Stretch that to the one-mile “impact zone” and you include the Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Cook County Juvenile Court.
Where Trains Roll Through the City
Though the routes of crude oil trains are kept under wraps, Stand, an environmental advocacy group, has managed to trace their most common routes. Nowhere is the traffic heavier than in the Chicago area, where an estimated 40 trains pass through on a weekly basis. Stand has created a website where you can plug in your ZIP code to determine if your home falls within a potenial blast zone.
It’s not just Chicago proper that sees traffic from crude oil trains. They cut through Joliet, Naperville, Barrington, Aurora, and dozens of other suburbs. “I can look outside my office and see them passing through downtown,” says Tom Weisner, Aurora’s mayor. “About 120,000 tanker cars a year now come through our city.”
Last April, the U.S. Department of Transportation ordered a maximum speed for crude oil trains of 40 miles an hour in populous areas. The majority of railroads run them 10 miles slower than that, an acknowledgment, in effect, that the trains aren’t invulnerable. Most often, it is a flawed track, wheel, or axle that leads to a derailment, which can then cause tank cars to rupture.
Bakken crude was first shipped using tank cars designed for nonhazardous materials and ill suited to its volatility. (Most tank cars are owned not by the railroads but by the oil producers and refiners, such as Valero Energy and Phillips 66, that ship crude.) Those first-generation tank cars, called DOT-111s, have almost all been subjected to new protections, including having their shells reinforced with steel a sixteenth of an inch thicker than used in earlier models. Federal regulations passed in 2015 mandate that by 2025 haulers must replace all cars with new models featuring even thicker steel shells and other safety measures.
Railroads know the dangers. In addition to the human and environmental costs, one terrible accident could put a railroad company out of business. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, which ran the train that devastated Lac-Mégantic, could only cover a fraction of its hundreds of millions of dollars in liabilities and went bankrupt.
The big railroads hauling crude in the United States and Canada have spent heavily on new technology to make their lines safer, including an Association of American Rails app called AskRail, which identifies the contents and location of rail cars carrying hazardous materials. What railroad companies cannot yet do is reroute trains away from the populous areas whose growth their lines once spurred. There simply isn’t the infrastructure in place to do so.
And while the American Association of Railroads reports that rail companies have spent $600 billion since 1980 improving their current routes, even well-maintained tracks remain vulnerable. Department of Transportation accident data shows that broken rails were the main cause of freight derailments from 2001 to 2010. What’s more, the Federal Rail Administration, the agency charged with overseeing the integrity of America’s tracks, says it can only monitor less than 1 percent of the federally regulated rail system annually due to a shortage of manpower.
“There’s a lackadaisical attitude among people, including officials, about infrastructure that is not up to the threats against it, even as the threats are manifesting,” says Henderson. “You saw that in Flint, Michigan, and in other places with drinking water. And now with crude oil trains, which deal with very serious materials moving [on a system] not adequate to protect people from mistakes.”
10 Terrifying incidents
With crude oil rail shipments growing 50-fold in the last eight years, the number of accidents has risen too. Below, 10 of the most damaging. —Katie Campbell
JULY 6, 2013
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec
In the worst recent accident, 63 cars on a runaway train derailed in the heart of this Canadian town. The resulting blast and flames killed 47 residents and destroyed 30 buildings in the small downtown.
NOVEMBER 8, 2013
Aliceville, Alabama
Outside this tiny Southern town, 25 cars spilled nearly 750,000 gallons of oil into surrounding wetlands, creating an environmental nightmare.
DECEMBER 30, 2013
Casselton, North Dakota
After two trains collided, 18 cars on the one carrying crude oil spilled nearly 400,000 gallons.
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
Vandergrift, Pennsylvania
Enroute from Chicago, a train went off the track and crashed into a downtown industrail building.
APRIL 30, 2014
Lynchburg, Virginia
A train from Chicago derailed near a pedestrian waterfront area, sending three cars—and 30,000 gallons of oil—into the James River.
FEBRUARY 16, 2015
Mount Carbon, West Virginia
After 27 cars went off the track during a snowstorm and exploded, the fire burned for four days.
MARCH 5, 2015
Galena, Illinois
A train likely headed to Chicago derailed on a remote stretch of track, sending cars down an embankment. Even though the cars had been reinforced with half an inch of steel, the fire burned for three days.
MARCH 7, 2015
Gogama, Ontario
Just one month after a derailment in the same area, five cars fell into the Makami River, leaking oil into waterways used by locals for drinking and fishing.
MAY 6, 2015
Heimdal, North Dakota
Five cars exploded and spilled nearly 60,000 gallons of oil. Fire crews from three nearby towns were called to help fight the blaze.
JULY 16, 2015
Culbertson, Montana
Twenty cars toppled from the track, with three spilling a total of 35,000 gallons of oil, forcing 30 people to evacuate.
Spectra Gas Pipeline Explosion Cuts Flows to Eastern U.S.
By Tim Loh
Bloomberg News
April 29, 2016
An explosion and fire on a major Spectra Energy Corp. pipeline that crosses half the U.S. is disrupting natural gas shipments from western Pennsylvania to the Northeast.
Crews shut off the gas feeding the flames, which burst out of Spectra’s 36-inch Texas Eastern pipeline in Salem Township at about 8:30 a.m., John Poister, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, said in an e-mail.
While repairs will start as soon as possible, it’s unclear when service will be restored, Spectra said in a notice. The company declared force majeure at midday, sending natural gas futures surging as much as 5.6 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange on speculation that the outage will limit supplies to the Northeast.
Gas may still be able to move out of the region through an underutilized system known as the Capacity Restoration Project, which runs parallel to the Penn-Jersey system, according to BNEF analyst Joanna Wu.
“That whole area is a big web of pipelines, so it will find its way to market, but in the short-term, it’s going to cut some flows,” Shah said.
The explosion created a conflagration that damaged “several” homes near the pipeline, engulfing one of them and injuring a man inside who was transported to a Pittsburgh hospital, Poister said. Residents of the area told media outlets they could feel rumbling as far as 6 miles away. Passing motorists captured images of the fiery scene and emergency crews set up a quarter-mile evacuation zone.
The DEP is investigating any effect on nearby gas wells and any environmental damage, Poister said.
Force majeure is declared to remove a company from contractual obligation because of events beyond its control.
Obama tells Flint residents: ‘I’ve got your back’
Jobs
Seasonal Outdoor Educator –
Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, Grafton, NY
Experience needed: Experience working with children in the outdoors required. Some experience in outdoor recreation preferred. Education required: Bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences or Education.
Job Requirements: Must be able to perform physical work in the outdoors, be able to work some weekends and evenings and possess a valid driver’s license.
To apply: Please send resume and Rensselaer County application (available atwww.rensco.com) to: Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, 475 Dyken Pond Road, Cropseyille, New York 12052 or contact Lisa Hoyt at 518 658-2055 ordykenpond@gmail.com. Applications accepted until position is filled.
Visit our website for more information about our summer camp and programs at:http://www.dykenpond.org
Dyken Pond
Environmental Education Center
475 Dyken Pond Road
Cropseyville, New York 12052
518 658-2055
Greenagers Summer Jobs
Greenagers employs 50 youth each year for work on local trails and farms, through our trail crews (3 in Berkshire County and 2 in Columbia County) and our Farm Apprenticeships. Click here to find out more information and apply online.
Applications for trail crew positions are due on May 1st.
Trail Crews consist of 6-8 youth aged 15-19 and one skilled leader with a minimum of 3 years field experience. Our 2016 Trail Crew options are: Appalachian Trail Crew, Berkshire County Community Crews, and Columbia Land Conservancy Trail Crews.
Our 2016 Trail Partners to date are: National Park Service, Columbia Land Conservancy, Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Great Barrington Land Conservancy, Housatonic River Walk, Laurel Hill Association, The Nature Conservancy, Chesterwood, Egremont Land Trust, Sheffield, Land Trust, Hancock Shaker Village, and Town of Egremont. Please contact Elia Del Molino, Trails Coordinator, for further information.
Farm Apprentices are matched with area farms, from whom they learn about machinery operation, animal husbandry, organic farming and the business of agriculture. Past apprentices have been placed at Woven Roots Farm, Howden Farm, Farm Girl Farm, Plantin’ Seeds, Sky View Farm, Larkin Farm, Ward’s Farm, Project Native, Wolfe Spring Farm, Mountain Falls Farm, The Sheffield Food Program, and here at Greenagers (to name a few). New farm partners this year include: Hosta Hill, North Plain Farm, Equinox Farm, Camp Eisner, and Undermountain Elementary School Gardens. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Please contact Matt Downing, Agricultural Program Coordinator, for further information.
We are very grateful for the financial support of: Berkshire United Way; Robbins-de Beaumont Foundation; and the Green Pastures, Berkshire Hills Fund for Excellence, and Berkshire Environmental Endowment funds at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
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Conservation Easement Stewardship Associate
Columbia Land Conservancy
Chatham NY
Qualifications – Preferred candidate will have bachelor’s degree in conservation/ environmental science. GIS experience required/GPS skills a plus.
Laborer I – Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, Pittsfield
(six positions available)
Please excuse the short notice, but DCR now has 6 positions open for Laborer 1 positions working with Greening the Gateways in Pittsfield. These are short-term seasonal positions, meaning the work is from (late) April – June with the possibility of coming back for our Fall season Sept – Nov. The hours are 7:30am – 4pm with a 1/2 hour unpaid lunch. The pay is $13.45/hour. This job is manual labor intensive; digging holes, carrying saplings, loading and unloading rack truck with saplings, carrying buckets of soil and mulch, etc.
Because of the short turnaround time, interested candidates should call Jacklyn Beebe directly to talk more about the position:
Jacklyn Beebe
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Greening the Gateway Cities
Forester 1
(857) 930-6042
October Mountain State Forest
317 Woodland Rd
Lee, MA 01238
Please CLICK HERE for a blank application or use the link below to access the pdf version.
http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/
Important Dates:
We are holding interviews next Monday, April 11.
Anticipated start date is Tuesday April 19th since Monday 4/18 is a State Holiday.
Environmental Justice Job Opening – Arise for Social Justice
Applicants should be familiar with environmental issues, have strong writing skills, and at least some organizing experience. Bilingual abilities strongly preferred. Half-time position.
Please submit a cover letter and resume to Ariseforsocialjustice@gmail.com or mail to Arise, 467 State St., Springfield MA 01105.
Landscape Design Assistant, Garden Installation Manager & Crew, Fine Garden Maintenance Crew – Helia Native Nursery & Land Design
We specialize in Native Plants, Ecological Landscape Design, Wildflower Meadows, Site Restoration, Edible and Fine Gardens. We are expanding and currently have full time openings in the following positions:
Landscape Design Assistant – The right candidate will have a strong background, full knowledge and experience in site surveying, base mapping and design, autoCAD and SketchUP, with a good knowledge of plants, especially natives. You must be energetic, hardworking, physically fit and a positive team-oriented person.
Installation Manager & Crew – We are looking for full time, energetic, hardworking, physically fit, positive, and team-oriented people to join our landscape installation team and manage installation jobs. Experience with native plants, garden installation, small machinery, stone work and maintenance is preferred.
Garden Maintenance Crew – Come join our full time fine garden maintenance team. We are looking for energetic, hardworking, physically fit, positive, and team-oriented people to join our team.
Please call 413-274-1400 to apply or email your resume to helialanddesign@gmail.com.
Seasonal Ranger I (West)–(1600026F)
DescriptionAbout 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. DCR is a dynamic agency, and is one of the largest park systems in the nation. 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 Seasonal Ranger I. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is seeking Park Rangers to patrol facilities to promote compliance with rules and regulations, protect natural and park resources, and enhance visitor experience through providing a presence and being available for visitor information; coordinate with law enforcement officials for appropriate regulatory action; and perform related work as required. Park Rangers normally work a forty-hour week (which includes nights, weekends, and holidays). April-early June will be Monday-Friday day shift. Mid June to August will require include week-end days and may include some evening shifts. Uniforms and training are provided; park housing is not. Successful candidates must attend the Seasonal Ranger Academy.Conducts patrols, either in a vehicle, on a bicycle or on foot, effectively utilizing techniques and available resources, to enforce applicable laws and regulations, provide visitor services, assess facility resources, assist visitors with first aid, and other public services as required.Perform the crossing of school-aged pedestrians on DCR roadways twice daily in accordance with the school’s schedule.Maintain an inventory of and maintain the condition of issued equipment.Complete Bureau records, reports, files, and logs.
Attend seminars, workshops, training sessions, etc., in order to maintain proficiencies.Participates in search and rescue operations in accordance with agency policy.Provide informal and, occasionally, formal information/educational programs, demonstrations, and materials for schools and civic groups as requires, in areas such as Ranger programs, park activities and services, outdoor skills, natural and cultural history and search and rescue.Respond and assist park staff at major incidents, assist at special events, and occasionally assist at statewide incidents or functions.Position Information: Seasonal Ranger I (00137682)Location: Mohawk Trail State Forest Complex, CharlemontStart Date: 4/24/16End Date: 11/5/16Position Information: Seasonal Ranger I (00182451)Location: Tolland State Forest Complex, OtisStart Date: 4/24/16End Date: 11/5/16Position Information: Seasonal Ranger I (00137661)Location: Moore House, AmherstStart Date: 4/24/16End Date: 12/30/16Preferred Qualifications:Knowledge of the standard procedures and techniques followed in foot, auto or other types of patrols.
Knowledge of the principles and practices of park or resource management.
Knowledge of the principles and practices of recreational programming.
Knowledge of general ecology and cultural history study, practice and principles.
Knowledge of the methods and techniques for presenting media productions, and drafting brochures and exhibits.
Ability to understand, explain and apply the rules, regulations, policies, procedures standards and guidelines governing assigned unit activities.
Ability to communicate effectively in oral expression.
Ability to give written and oral instructions in a precise, understandable manner.
Ability to speak effectively before the public
Ability to follow oral and written instructions.
Ability to gather information by examining records and documents and through observing and interviewing individuals.
Ability to accurately record information provided orally.
Minimum Entrance Requirements: Applicants must have at least (A) two years of full-time, or equivalent part-time experience in park or resource management, environmental education, water resources or water supply management, or natural/cultural history interpretation or (B) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below.
1. Possession of a current and valid Massachusetts motor vehicle operator’s license.
2. Possession of a current and valid CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) certificate from the American Red Cross or the American heart Association.
3. Possession of a current and valid standard first aid and personal safety certificate and first responder certificate issued by the American Red Cross.An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Official Title: Ranger IWork Locations: Pittsfield – 740 South Street 01201Primary Location: United States-Massachusetts-Pittsfield-Pittsfield – 740 South StreetJob: Community and Social ServicesAgency: Department of Conservation & Recreation
Schedule: Full-timeShift: MultipleJob Posting: Mar 21, 2016, 12:43:07 PMNumber of Openings: 3Salary: 1,429.24 BiweeklyIf you have Diversity, Affirmative Action or Equal Employment Opportunity questions or need a Reasonable Accommodation, please contact Diversity Officer / ADA Coordinator:: Agatha Summons-Maguire – 617-626-1282Bargaining Unit: 02-AFSCME – Service/Institutional
Seasonal Forest And Park Supervisor III (West) – (160001XB)
DescriptionAbout 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. DCR is a dynamic agency, and is one of the largest park systems in the nation. 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 Seasonal Forest & Park Supervisor III. The Seasonal Forest & Park Supervisor is responsible for supervising the maintenance and operations of parks, recreation areas, parkways, roadways, pedestrian ways and parking lots for public use. The incumbent of this position determines work priorities and resources, assigns and supervises staff, compiles and reviews data concerning park maintenance effectiveness and provides reports of all activities and incidents.SPECIFC DUTIES:
Supervises the maintenance of assigned recreational areas, including such activities as roadway and parkway maintenance, grounds maintenance, building and equipment maintenance and the repair and/or removal of hazardous conditions such as unsafe trees or limbs. Determines manpower and equipment resources necessary to accomplish assigned tasks.Maintains records and prepares reports concerning assigned work to provide information and make appropriate recommendations.Coordinates the activities and work of volunteers, court-referred individuals, etc.May prepares budgets for assigned areas by projecting resource needs and preparing required documentation for agency’s budget request.Monitors the activities involved in park and roadways maintenance work.Compiles and reviews data concerning effectiveness of park maintenance activities to prepare reports for supervisorProvides on-the-job training for new employees.Prepares reports as required; maintains records and logs on such matters as time and attendance of assigned personnel; performs routine vehicle maintenance inspections; and operates motor vehicles and other park machinery and equipment as required.Inspects damage to park areas, roadways, parking lots, equipment, etc. as a result of storms, vandalism and accidents to estimate the cost of labor and materials required for repairs and/or replacementsDetermines work priorities and assigns staff to specific tasks such as spraying, watering, planting trees, cleaning catch basins, trash removal, etc.Performs related work as assigned. Ability to work in a team setting. Ability to exercise sound judgment. Required to work outdoors in all types of weather. Work varied shifts and/or irregular hours; and stand for prolonged periods of time.POSITION INFORMATION: Position: Seasonal Forest & Park Supervisor III
Location: Pittsfield State Forest, Pittsfield
Start Date: 5/1/16
End Date: 11/12/16Salaries are based upon full-time/40 hours worked per week. Work schedules and days off are at the discretion of the Supervisor. This position may require working weekends and/or holidays.Qualifications
This requisition will remain open until filled; however, first consideration will be given to those applicants that apply within the first 14 days.
MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants must have at least (A) four years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, technical or professional experience in the field of forestry, parks or recreational management and (B) of which at least two years must have been in a supervisory capacity, or (C) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below.
Substitutions:
I. An Associate’s or higher degree with a major in forestry, natural resources management or parks and/or recreation management may be substituted for a maximum of two years of the required (A) experience.*
*Education toward such a degree will be prorated on the basis of the proportion of the requirements actually completed.
NOTE: No substitutions will be permitted for the required (B) experience. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Based on assignment, possession of a current and valid Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Operator’s License.
An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Official Title: Forest And Park Supervisor III Work Locations: Pittsfield-Cascade Street 012010000 Primary Location: United States-Massachusetts-Pittsfield-Pittsfield-Cascade StreetJob: Community and Social ServicesAgency: Department of Conservation & RecreationSchedule: Full-timeShift: MultipleJob Posting: Mar 11, 2016, 12:18:15 PMNumber of Openings: 1Salary: 1,758.24 BiweeklyIf you have Diversity, Affirmative Action or Equal Employment Opportunity questions or need a Reasonable Accommodation, please contact Diversity Officer / ADA Coordinator:: Agatha Summons-Maguire – 617-626-1282Bargaining Unit: 02-AFSCME – Service/Institutional
Seasonal Forestry Assistant – MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (Pittsfield)
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. DCR is a dynamic agency, and is one of the largest park systems in the nation. 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 Seasonal Forestry Assistant. Seasonal positions may be subject to the recall process and will be filled in accordance with collective bargaining agreements, positions not filled using this process will be interviewed for.Duties: Forestry Assistants work outdoors in all types of weather; work in isolated areas; may be exposed to the hazards of power tools and equipment such as chainsaws and hoists and travel for job related purposes.Assists in the preparation of forest management plans designed to provide water supply protection; assists in the interpretation of aerial photos, GPS and GIS data, and other cartographic work regarding forests; assists in the inventory of natural resources and the establishment and maintenance of state forest boundary lines.Assists in planning and supervision of timber stand improvement work by state forest crews and private contractors.Assists in the sale of wood products including preparing silvicultural prescriptions, minimizing adverse environmental impacts of harvesting, and ensuring contractual compliance by private contractors.Cooperates with state and municipal authorities during emergencies and natural disasters such as forest fires, wind or ice storms, and insect infestations.Performs related duties such as maintaining records and attending staff meetings.Specific Duties:
- Collecting forest inventory data (CFI) including tree measurements, forest assessment, forest understory assessment, and coarse woody debris measurement.
- Processing forest inventory data with a computer.
POSITION INFORMATION:Position: (2) Seasonal Forestry Assistant
Position 1 Location: Pittsfield Regional Office, 740 South Street Pittsfield, MA 01202
Position 2 Location: Amherst Field Office, 40 Cold Storage Drive, Amherst, MA 01004
Start Date: April 3, 2016
End Date: November 4, 2016Qualifications:Minimum Entrance Requirements:Applicants must have at least (A) one year of full-time, or equivalent part-time experience in forestry or natural resource management, or (B) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below.Substitutions:
- An Associate’s or higher degree with a major in forestry or forestry management may be substituted for the required
experience.**Education toward such a degree will be. prorated on the basis of the proportion of the requirements actually completed.Special Requirements: Possession of a current and valid Massachusetts Class D Motor Vehicle Operator’s LicenseThis requisition will remain open until filled; however, first consideration will be given to those applicants that apply within the first 14 dayMinimum Entrance Requirements:Applicants must have at least (A) one year of full-time, or equivalent part-time experience in forestry or natural resource management, or (B) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below.Substitutions:
- An Associate’s or higher degree with a major in forestry or forestry management may be substituted for the required experience.*
*Education toward such a degree will be prorated on the basis of the proportion of the requirements actually completed.Special Requirements: Possession of a current and valid Massachusetts Class D Motor Vehicle Operator’s License.An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.Schedule: Full-time
Number of Openings: 2
Salary: 1,547.60 BiweeklyIf you have Diversity, Affirmative Action or Equal Employment Opportunity questions or need a Reasonable Accommodation, please contact Diversity Officer / ADA Coordinator:: Agatha Summons Maguire – 617-626-1282Bargaining Unit: 09-MOSES – Engineers/Scientists
Laborer II – Long Term Seasonal (Pittsfield) – (160001F6)
DescriptionAbout 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. DCR is a dynamic agency, and is one of the largest park systems in the nation. The DCR system includes over 450,000 acres of parks, forests, water supply protection lands, beaches, lakes, ponds, playgrounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, golf courses, trails and parkways.The Department of Conservation and Recreation seeks qualified applicants for the position of Seasonal Planting Laborer II.The Seasonal Planting Laborer II will work outdoors in all types of weather and performs various manual labor tasks in support of the effort to plant trees in Massachusetts’s gateway cities to increase tree canopy cover for the purpose of reducing heating and cooling energy costs to residences and businesses.Seasonal staff dig and backfill tree planting holes and levels earth to grade; plant trees according to DCR Bureau of Forestry standards; load and unload tree stock from delivery vehicles; load and unload tools and equipment; maintain vehicle and equipment cleanliness.The basic purpose of this work is to perform manual tasks requiring specialized skill and the use of hand tools to support reforestation efforts.Performs various manual labor tasks, which may require some specialized skills, to plant trees.Digs holes for tree planting and plants trees according to DCR Bureau of Forestry standards.Loads and unloads trucks, physically or by use of dollies; unpacks and stores tools and supplies and equipment in stockrooms, storerooms or warehouses; and takes periodic inventories of supplies and equipment.Performs preventive maintenance on assigned equipment and tools by washing, inspecting, tightening, lubricating and by sharpening edges on all cutting tools.Performs related duties as assigned.Start date is March 20, 2016 and end date is November 19, 2016.
Preferred Qualifications: Possession of a current and valid Massachusetts Class D Motor Vehicle Operator’s License.Ability to speak and write Spanish and translate materials for homeowners who speak Spanish.Skill in using hand tools such as shovels, mattocks, pry bars, bolt cutters, clippers, etc. Ability to follow oral and written instructions. Ability to work in a team setting. Manual dexterity. Physical stamina and endurance for full time, hard manual labor. Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds. Willing to work in all weather conditions.
Qualifications: This requisition will remain open until filled; however, first consideration will be given to those applicants that apply within the first 14 days.
Minimum Entrance Requirements: Applicants must have at least six months of full-time, or equivalent part- time experience in performing manual labor in connection with general construction or maintenance work.An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Official Title: Laborer II Work
Locations: Lee-Woodland Road
Primary Location: United States-Massachusetts-Lee-Lee-Woodland Road
Job: Equipment, Facilities & Services
Agency: Department of Conservation & Recreation
Schedule: Full-time Shift: Day
Job Posting: Mar 22, 2016, 4:09:37 PM
Number of Openings: 2
Salary: 1,220.36 Biweekly
If you have Diversity, Affirmative Action or Equal Employment Opportunity questions or need a Reasonable Accommodation, please contact Diversity Officer / ADA Coordinator:: Agatha Summons-McGuire – 617-626-1282
Summer Internships – Williams College
Summer Internships on Campus, Berkshire area & U.S. – Also: Summer Internship Funding: Check out dozens of campus and local environmental internships, all eligible for summer funding: Campus Emissions Research, Hopkins Forest Caretakers, Environmental Education, Sheep Hill environmental education, Farm Market/Ag research, Clark Art landscape internship, Environmental Analysis Lab, Hoosic River Watershed Association, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and more…http://ces.williams.edu/category/summer-jobs/National/Global Summer Internships: Dozens of enviro internships and research positions in the US, many developed specifically by CES alumnae for Williams students HERECES Summer Funding for internships and research information and application form here.Deadline: March 10 (second deadline: April 8).Position required to apply for funding.
Camp Counselors – Pleasant Valley
Pleasant Valley Nature Camp is celebrating its’ 67 th year. We are seeking caring, committed, and enthusiastic staff to lead campers for their best summer ever! Our counselors:
- Plan, develop and implement a variety of outdoor activities utilizing Pleasant Valley’s 1300+ acres of forests, fields, streams and ponds;
- Are responsible for supervising the health and safety of campers;
- Maintain communication with parents and other staff;
- Must be able to work and learn together, have outstanding communication skills, and be willing and able to share their interests and talents with children aged 5-14;
- Provide leadership and mentor Leaders in Training (LITs).
Qualifications
- Must be at least 18 years old;
- College experience preferred;
- Should have knowledge and interest in the nature of the Berkshire region;
- Applicants with a background in Environmental fields, education, or the arts are strongly encouraged to apply;
- Experience working with children;
- Willingness to obtain certification in CPR/First Aid are required-training is provided;
- Some positions also require lifeguard/water safety certifications;
- Successful candidates will pass a background records check (CORI and SORI);
- And…of course, flexibility and a sense of humor is a must!
Compensation and Benefits
Rate of Pay: $10.00- $12.00 per hour – depending on experience and position.
Additional Comments
Camp Session: June 9 – August 19 Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 3:30 pm or 8:30 am – 4:00 pm.
Camp Counselors are required to work at least one camp overnight during the summer.
How to Apply
Please send (email preferred) your cover letter and resume to:
Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
472 West Mountain Road
Lenox, MA. 01240
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