The BEAT News November 1, 2007

• Pittsfield Municipal Airport Expansion meeting 11/1
• The Climate Crisis: Will the U.S. Respond In Time? Meeting with Congressman John Olver 11/3
• Genetically Engineered Corn Study Shows Potential Harm To Stream Wildlife Near Farms
• DROUGHT ADVISORY FROM MACC
• Water Resource Protection Guides c/o The Massachusetts Watershed Coalition
• HABITAT IMPROVEMENT FUNDING AVAILABLE
• Massachusetts Adopt-A-Stream Program Stream Team Implementation Awards
• NRCS announces accelerated sign-up for farm conservation program in Massachusetts

Pittsfield Municipal Airport Expansion meeting 11/1

The Pittsfield Municipal Airport Commission is sponsoring a wide ranging meeting to allow the public to ask questions of the Airport Commission about the proposed expansion of the Pittsfield Airport.  The meeting will be on Thursday, November 1st at 7 PM, in the Pittsfield City Council Chambers.   This meeting will start with an overview of the latest plans for the project.  It has been nearly two years since the last large scale meeting.   Many of the plans have been refined and more specifics are now available for review.   There will be a question and answer portion of the meeting which will allow residents to ask questions outside of the formality of a formal approval process. 

Please be aware that comments at these meeting will not be included in the formal review process.

BEAT strongly opposes the expansion of the runway at Pittsfield Airport into Wild Acres Conservation Area. A modified 737 airplane has landed at the Airport in the past. We see no reason, other than to sell more fuel, for this expansion. To improve safety, the Airport should ask for a waiver to be allowed to install safety barriers that will quickly slow a plane that overshoots the runway. Expanding the runway and selling more fuel will help fuel the Climate Crisis and make Pittsfield more polluted and noisier, not greener.

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Genetically Engineered Corn Study Shows Potential Harm To Stream Wildlife Near Farms

Washington D.C., October 10, 2007 – The Center for Food Safety voiced concern regarding a study issued by a team of researchers on the potential harm posed by the genetically engineered (GE) Bt variety of corn.  The study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, establishes that pollen and other material from Bt corn is washing into streams and river headwaters.  The study further found through laboratory trials that Bt corn material is toxic to insects that play an important role in aquatic ecosystems.  As a result, Bt corn may pose a serious threat to our nation’s waterways and the plants, fish and animals that inhabit them.

"This is yet another example of a government agency granting clearance for a GE organism without requiring meaningful or stringent testing," said Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director of the Center for Food Safety.  "Bt corn is planted widely throughout the U.S.  Had a study like this been done prior to the government’s approval, we would not be looking at a popular crop that has the potential to broadly disrupt the environment."

Bt corn is engineered to include a pesticide-producing gene that targets the European corn borer and other pasts that can inhabit corn fields.  It was licensed for use in 1996.  By 2006, 40 percent of corn acreage planted in the U.S. was genetically modified with the Bt trait, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The new study further reports that in lab trails, caddisflies – insects closely related to the corn pests – are killed when exposed to the Bt toxin, and concluded that stream flies "that consume Bt corn litter may experience reduced growth, which can negatively influence fitness, because adult size of aquatic insects is directly related to fecundity." 

Caddisflies are imperative to healthy, normally functioning stream ecosystems; they serve as food for fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

This report is only the latest identification of a problem posed by poor federal oversight of genetically altered crops.  Contamination of many of the nation’s rice farms by a GE variety has rendered much of American rice unsuitable for sale overseas.  Earlier this year, a court ruled that Round-up Ready alfalfa was never fully tested by regulatory agencies to determine environmental impacts and may pose a threat to organic and conventional varieties of the crop.

"From rice to Bt corn, we are only finding out about the threats posed by GE crops after they have been cleared by government regulatory agencies," continued Mendelson.  "The federal government’s slipshod approach to testing threatens the environment, organic food production, and our farmer’s livelihoods.  It’s time we all demand more accountability from biotech firms and more stringent regulations from USDA and FDA."

The report, Toxins In Transgenic Crop Byproducts May Affect Headwater Stream Ecosystems, was written by Todd V. Royer of Indiana University, Emma Rosi-Marshall of Loyola University Chicago, Jennifer Tank of the University of Notre Dame and Matt Whiles of Southern Illinois University. It was funded by the National Science Foundation.

The Center for Food Safety is national, non-profit, membership organization founded in 1997 that works to protect human health and the environment by curbing the use of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture. On the web at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org

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DROUGHT ADVISORY FROM MACC

MACC wishes to inform you of an important drought advisory which may affect stream determinations in your town or city. In short, the state has declared that most of Massachusetts has been experiencing a long-term drought since October 1. Per the Rivers Protection Act regulations, this means that observations of no flow in rivers on or after October 1 cannot be used as proof that the river is intermittent (until the drought designation is rescinded). However, no flow observations from before that date may be used. Please read the full notice from the DEP below, which MACC received last week. Apparently quite a number of people have not heard of the drought determination.
-Ken Pruitt MACC Executive Director

ADVISORY DROUGHT: Following recent months of unusually dry weather in most of the state, the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force (DMTF) issued a Drought Advisory on October 10, 2007 for all of Massachusetts, except for Berkshire County and Cape Cod and the Islands. The Advisory Level Drought Map and press release are posted on the web at: http://mass.gov/dcr/waterSupply/rainfall/drought.htm. Advisory Level Drought effects the following:

Wetlands Protection Act Regulations: Observations of no flow made on October 1, 2007 or thereafter, may not be used to prove a perennial river is an intermittent stream with no Riverfront Area since "Extended Drought" conditions exist. See 310 CMR 10.58(2)(a)1.d. and f. The Extended Drought remains in effect until such time as water resource conditions return to normal. At such time, the DMTF will issue written findings declaring that the drought is over. The written findings declaring the drought over will be posted at the MassDCR web site.

Observations of no flow made before October 1, 2007 may be used to prove a watercourse is intermittent with no Riverfront Area, provided the watercourse is not subject to drawdown from withdrawals of water supply wells, direct withdrawals, impoundments, or other man-made flow reductions or diversions. Intermittent streams and activities within the 100-foot buffer zone are jurisdictional under the Wetlands Protection Act regulations ("Land Under Water" and "Bank") and remain subject to review by Conservation Commissions, if the intermittent stream is located down gradient of other wetlands. Direct links:

Drought Advisory Impact on Wetlands Protection Act:
http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/droughtw.htm
Drought Advisory Press Release (reprinted from DCR’s website):
http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/drought.htm

Alice Smith
Coordinator Circuit Rider Program
DEP Wetlands and Waterways
One Winter Street
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 292-5854

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The Climate Crisis: Will the U.S. Respond In Time? 11/3

On November 3, the South Lee-based Climate Crisis Coalition (CCC) and the Lenox Environmental Committee will be co-hosting a public forum "The Climate Crisis: Will the U.S. Respond In Time?”. (See the poster for the event .pdf)This Berkshire event — part of Step It Up 2007’s national day of Climate Action — is one of hundreds being held across the country as a call to action on global warming. It promises to offer citizens an opportunity to learn and share concerns about climate change with each other and their elected officials. The featured speaker will be Congressman John Olver, member of the House Climate Change Caucus and cosponsor of the House Climate Stewardship Act.  State Representative W. Smitty Pignatelli will introduce Congressman Olver.  Co-Sponsors of this forum are: Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), Berkshire Grown, Center for Ecological Technology (CET), E.F. Schumacher Society, GreenAgers, Green Barrington, Green for A Change, Housatonic Valley Association, and the Orion Society. 

The forum will take place on Nov. 3rd at 10 am in the Lenox Town Hall, 6 Walker Street, Lenox. 

Tom Stokes, CCC Coordinator, said, “Thanks to Al. Gore, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and many others there is now widespread awareness of the growing threat posed by ever increasing use of fossil fuel and emission greenhouse gasses. Measures must be taken without further delay. These measures must be governmental actions, technological advances, and personal — we must each change our consumption and development patterns. Congressmen Olver is in a position to play a critically important role. Please come and hear what he has to say.”

The Climate Crisis Coalition also announces plans for a second Berkshire county-wide event on climate change. December 8 will be marked as the International Day of Climate Action in countries around the world. (http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org/) It is timed to occur midway through the annual U.N. Climate Change conference, meeting this year in Bali, Indonesia. Details will be announced at the November 3rd event in Lenox.

For more information, call the Climate Crisis Coalition at 413-243-5665 or go to www.stepitup2007.org or www.climatecrisiscoaltion.org.

The mission of the Climate Crisis Coalition, founded in 2004 and coordinated by local environmentalist Thomas Stokes, is to connect global warming to human rights, labor, peace, faith, sustainable business practices, environmental justice and other issues.  Our mission is to build a broad based coalition that can become an effective, powerful agent for change: the development and unfolding of a national and visible action campaign that makes it impossible for citizens and governments to ignore the urgent demands of the climate crisis.

Climate Crisis Coalition
So. Lee, MA
Tel. 413-243-5665

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Water Resource Protection Guides c/o The Massachusetts Watershed Coalition 

http://www.ipswichriver.org/waterwise/
Water Conservation Guides - The Ipswich River Watershed Association has published two new resources for communities. Water Wise 
Communities: A Handbook for Municipal Managers in the Ipswich River Watershed identifies the top 20 tools communities can use to protect 
water supplies, manage stormwater, preserve open space, educate residents, and restore the Ipswich River. The handbook is geared to 
municipalities in the Ipswich River watershed, but is relevant to communities across Massachusetts. Balancing the Water Budget: Model 
Financing Mechanisms for Integrated Water Resources Management highlights new ways to help communities pay for municipal water 
conservation and stormwater   management programs.

http://www.cwp.org/PublicationStore/USRM.htm#usrm3
Urban Stormwater Retrofit Practices Manual – The Center for Watershed Protection has released its latest manual in the Urban Subwatershed Restoration Manual Series. Urban Stormwater Retrofit Practices provides more than 400 pages of guidance, covering the basics of retrofits and rapid methods to design and deliver retrofits to meet a range of objectives.

http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/duration_curve_guide_aug2007.pdf
TMDL Guidance – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued new technical guidance on using load duration curves in the development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). An Approach for Using Load Duration Curves in the Development of TMDLs (PDF, 3.3 MB) gives an overview on this technique, which provides a visual display of the relationship between stream flow and water quality.

http://www.nalms.org/Resources/FundamentalsOfUrbanRunoffManagement.aspx
Urban Stormwater Management Guide – The second edition of Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management: Technical and Institutional Issues has been published by the North American Lake Management Society with support from EPA. This document replaces the 1994 edition and provides new information regarding changes to stormwater management practices over the last decade.

http://nemo.uconn.edu/tools/stormwater/parking_lots.htm
Parking Lots and Stormwater – The University of Connecticut’s Planning for Stormwater website provides an overview of the stormwater impacts and design considerations for paved parking areas. Parking lots are typically designed to collect and concentrate large areas of stormwater runoff—but design changes can reduce stormwater impacts to water resources.

The Massachusetts Watershed Coalition  ....Creating a Network of Watershed Partners

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Greener Grass? Restoring a Native Grass and Growing a Better Biofuel

"
With demand soaring for alternative fuels, the market for corn-derived ethanol is hotter than ever. But there’s another promising source of energy now growing on the American prairie. And unlike corn, this biofuel could power our cars at a much lower cost to the planet."

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From Mass Wildlife News:

HABITAT IMPROVEMENT FUNDING AVAILABLE

MassWildlife’s Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) will be accepting grant applications October 26th through December 21 st, 2007 from private landowners, sportsmen’s clubs, land trusts and non-profit groups interested in improving wildlife habitat on their properties. LIP is designed to reimburse private landowners up to 75% of the cost of managing lands to improve habitat for declining wildlife species across the Commonwealth. The focus of these grants will be on maintaining grasslands and creation of young tree and shrubland habitats. Grant application criteria and other details will available at that time on MassWildlife’s webpage listed below. State and municipal agencies are not eligible for this funding, but can direct inquiries to other MassWildlife habitat programs.  

Since its first round of grants in 2005, 108 applicants have received funding from MassWildlife’s LIP on properties from Cape Cod to the Berkshires. A total of 7,100 acres of habitat improvement benefiting over 122 at-risk wildlife species has been funded. Habitat projects range from enhancing beaches for shorebird breeding habitat protection to grassland-bird breeding or rare turtle habitat maintenance.

The goals of the Landowner Incentive Program are:

– Identify and reclaim appropriate sites for management of declining habitats, particularly grasslands, old field and early-successional forests, wetlands, coastal habitats and pine barrens.

– Manage and control exotic and invasive plants – Enhance wildlife habitat for species-at-risk. A species-at-risk is defined for LIP as any fish or wildlife species that is federally or state listed as threatened or endangered, is a candidate for listing as threatened or endangered, or is listed on the MassWildlife Official State Rare Species List.

– Provide technical and financial assistance and guidance to landowners on how to manage their property for wildlife.

For more details, check the LIP web page: http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/grants/lip/lip_home.htm

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The Massachusetts Watershed Coalition  ....Creating a Network of Watershed Partners.

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NRCS announces accelerated sign-up for farm conservation program in Massachusetts

AMHERST, MA (September 19, 2007) — Massachusetts farmers who would like technical and financial assistance in managing their natural resources are encouraged to apply now for the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP – see http://www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip.html). The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been authorized to conduct an accelerated sign-up period for EQIP while work on the next federal Farm Bill continues.  

Applications must be received by Friday, November 12, 2007. Farmers should call or visit their local USDA Service Center as soon as possible to begin the conservation planning process and complete the necessary paperwork. 

USDA service center locations are listed on-line at http://offices.usda.gov or in the phone book under Federal Government, U.S. Department of Agriculture. General program information is available on the NRCS Massachusetts website at

EQIP helps farmers improve production while protecting environmental quality by addressing such concerns as soil quality, grazing land conservation, irrigation efficiency and comprehensive nutrient management. With financial and technical assistance from NRCS, farmers will promote environmental quality on farmland, address water quality and quantity challenges, and protect valuable fish and wildlife habitat.

“USDA is committed to providing conservation tools and resources to help Massachusetts farmers ensure that their land remains healthy and productive,” said State Conservationist Christine S. Clarke. “NRCS field staff are available to help farmers develop a conservation plan to address their resource concerns.” 

In fiscal year 2006, NRCS funded 113 EQIP contracts with Massachusetts farmers to implement $3.86 million in conservation practices on 7,894 acres of land.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. NRCS has seven Massachusetts field offices in Greenfield, Hadley, Holden, Hyannis, Pittsfield, Westford, and West Wareham, which work with local conservation districts and other partners to serve farmers and landowners throughout the commonwealth.

Diane Baedeker Petit

Public Affairs Officer

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources Conservation Service

451 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002

413-253-4371, fax 413-253-4375

www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov

Helping People Help the Land

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