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Local Warming: Climate Change in western MA

The Westfield Highlands Forest Partnership is presenting “Local Warming:Climate Change in Western Massachusetts”, Thursday, October 25th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Stanton Hall in Huntington, MA.  For all of the details, see the Partnership website or check out the pdf flyer.

Local Warming will feature three great presenters:

  • Frank Lowenstein from The Nature Conservancy will provide information and answer questions about the effects of invasive pests and pathogens on our woods, and how in some cases these are becoming more severe due to climate change.
  • Paul Barten from UMass will discuss how a 1-degree change in air temperature translates into even less water in our rivers and reservoirs during already dry times of the year.  Both will provide ideas for what you can do in your woods or on your land to deal with some of these coming changes.
  • Steve Long from The Nature Conservancy will provide some easy as well as more involved ways you can help lessen the impacts of climate change, and highlight some of the policies relating to climate change that have been introduced in Massachusetts and the US.

We’ll leave plenty of time for questions and answers and to enjoy free cider and donuts.  If you’ve heard about ice caps and polar bears, but are curious about what will happen to your sugar maples and favorite fishing spot, or if you want to know more of what you can do to help, please join us on Thursday, October 25th, at Stanton Hall (intersection of route 20 and route 112, Huntington).  If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Partnership at lmarx@TNC.ORG, calling 413-354-7780, or stopping by the Nature Conservancy office at 19 Main Street in Chester.

Housatonic River Natural Resource Damages News

The Final Draft Restoration Plan and Supplemental
Environmental Assessment (RP/SEA) has been approved and signed by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).  We hope to announce this on our restoration website tomorrow.  A formal press release concerning the final RP/SEA is not planned.  We will also post the RP/SEA on the website as soon as we have a copy of the second signature page (hopefully by the end of the week [10/12?]).  Please feel free to share this information.

Thank you,

Todd

Todd Chadwell

Stantec (formerly Woodlot Alternatives, Inc.)

PO Box 239

Lenox Dale, MA 01242

Ph: (413) 551-0027

todd.chadwell@stantec.com

stantec.com

 

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Restoring Old-Growth Characteristics

MassWoods is pleased to announce our latest publication, “Restoring Old-Growth Characteristics”.  See the monthly update section of MassWoods.  The publication outlines passive and a spectrum of active management opportunities to restore old-growth structure to the woodlands of Massachusetts.

The publication is based on Anthony D’Amato’s research of Massachusetts old growth.   The generosity of the Massachusetts chapter of The Nature Conservancy made the publication possible.  We hope the publication helps inform forest management decisions and the conversations regarding our future forested landscapes.

Please contact Paul Catanzaro, cat@umext.umass.edu or 413.545.4839, if you would like hard copies of the publication.  The PDF is available on MassWoods, see the link above.  Please consider announcing the publication to your respective organizations or forwarding this message to anyone you feel may be interested.

Thank you!

Paul Catanzaro and Anthony D’Amato

Forest Resources Specialis

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

160 Holdsworth Way

Amherst, MA 01003-9285

413.545.4839

http://www.masswoods.net

 

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STATE OFFICIALS AND PARTNERS CELEBRATE GRANTS TO PROTECT KAMPOOSA BOG ACEC

State officials joined the Kampoosa Stewardship Committee today to celebrate a successful 12-year partnership to preserve and restore the Kampoosa Bog Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).  Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Commissioner Rick Sullivan and Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Commissioner Mary Griffin joined Judy Spencer, co-chairman of the Kampoosa Stewardship Committee, and other partners at the Congregation of Marians’ property in Stockbridge that overlooks the Kampoosa Bog to acknowledge five new grants to help protect the ACEC.

“The Kampoosa Stewardship Committee is an exceptional model for public-private partnerships and environmental resource stewardship,” said Commissioner Sullivan. “The Committee’s commitment and dedication to its vision ‘to restore and preserve Kampoosa by fostering community stewardship’ is exemplified by the multiple grants-funded preservation projects they have successfully implemented.”

The Kampoosa Stewardship Committee was established following state ACEC designation of the 1,350-acre Kampoosa bog in 1995. Located in Lee and Stockbridge, Kampoosa is recognized as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern because of the unique, global significance of its ecosystem, the high concentrations of rare species there, and the beauty and inspiration it affords. ACEC designation has helped provide a framework for the cooperative stewardship efforts needed for Kampoosa.

Commissioners Sullivan and Griffin announced five recent Kampoosa Bog grants totaling $143,125, and congratulated the Stewardship Committee for having raised more than $400,000 in grant funds to benefit this incredible resource since 1995.

The five new grants for 2007-2008 include:

·        $47,698 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and  Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) Natural Resource Damages & Restoration Program, in cooperation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFAWS), for the portion of the Housatonic River Floodplain Forest Restoration Project that includes a Kampoosa Bog test site for learning about replanting native species in the bog, plus an education/outreach component for conservation commissions;

·        the final payment of a five-year $75,000 grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust for scientific data collection and analysis by Smith College in the bog, coordinated by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission;

·        the final payment of a $10,000 grant from the USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program for habitat management;

·        $51,811 from the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game/Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Landowner Incentive Program (LIP), in cooperation with the USFWS for Early Successional Habitat Management, which will control invasive species in the bog;

·        $30,000 from El Paso Corporation, which manages the Tennessee Gas Pipeline that is adjacent to the bog, for the Kampoosa Bog Invasive Plant Control Program, a private matching grant for the public LIP grant above.  Officials from the Tennessee Gas Pipeline were at the event to present a check for their grant award.

Also during the event, DCR and DFG presented special certificates of appreciation to the Congregation of the Marians, who own the Kampoosa Bog land and have actively supported its protection over the years, and to The Nature Conservancy Berkshire Taconic Landscape Program, which for over 25 years has worked to preserve this rare ecosystem, control invasive plants in the bog, and administer many of the Kampoosa Bog grants.

“The Department of Fish and Game and our Division of Fisheries and Wildlife are pleased to be able to contribute to the protection and restoration of the Kampoosa Bog through the award of a Landowner Incentive Program grant,” said DFG Commissioner Mary Griffin. “I would like to congratulate the Kampoosa Stewardship Committee and thank all of the partners who have worked so hard in recent years to preserve this environmental treasure, particularly the Congregation of Marians and The Nature Conservancy.”

Added Wayne Klockner, Massachusetts State Director of The Nature Conservancy, “The Nature Conservancy is honored to be a part of such an effective partnership. In both the recent restoration and these new grants, we have much to celebrate for this important natural area.”

The Stewardship Committee includes representatives and participation from the following public and private groups: municipal boards and commissions; the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission; Stockbridge and Lee Land Trusts; The Nature Conservancy; the Congregation of Marians; state agencies such as DCR, DFG, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, and MassHighway; and the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company.

Since 1995, the Kampoosa Stewardship Committee has undertaken a series of successful projects with the participation and support of an extraordinary and diverse group of citizens and public and private agencies and organizations. Accomplishments include ongoing efforts to control and manage invasive species and provide public education about Kampoosa and the need for preservation and wise stewardship. Lastly, it should also be noted that archaeological studies conducted by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst indicate that Native American hunters and gatherers used Kamposa Bog from at least 5,000 years ago.

For further information about the Kampoosa bog, please contact Judy Spencer, Kampoosa Stewardship Co-Chairman, at 413-298-4742.
 

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International Paper revives plan to burn tires for fuel

October 10, 2007

By Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER — International Paper’s proposal to burn tires at its plant on the New York shore of Lake Champlain is largely forgotten in Vermont — but it is not gone. [see BEAT’s Tire Burning page]

A spokeswoman for the Ticonderoga, N.Y., plant said Tuesday the company is researching the purchase of pollution control devices that might allow the plant to use more solid fuel — including chipped-up tires — in its power-generating plant.

The possibility that the paper products plant could burn tires to produce power made Vermonters on this side of the lake — and downwind from the plant —scared and angry.

The state sought unsuccessfully to block the approval by the New York state government for a test burn and groups of citizens rallied against the idea, which was seemingly abandoned after three years when the results of a test burn proved unfavorable last fall.

Now International Paper is talking to vendors that sell pollution-reducing technology it could use to bring emissions from solid fuel into legal compliance, company spokeswoman Donna Wadsworth said. <more>

 

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Land Auctions – Saturday, October 20, 2007

Landauctions.com will be holding an auction of parcels – including some in Berkshire County – in Boston in a few weeks. They have been advertising the auction in the Globe. These are our “friends” in Irvine, California that are sending landowners letters offering to pay “big bucks” for their land.

 

Land Auctions – Saturday, October 20, 2007

Landauctions.com will be holding an auction of parcels – including some in Berkshire County – in Boston in a few weeks. They have been advertising the auction in the Globe. These are our “friends” in Irvine, California that are sending landowners letters offering to pay “big bucks” for their land.

Location County State Acres APN Starting Bid Assumed Loan Assumed Term Assumed Payment
City of Pittsfield Berkshire MA 0.19 PITT-I000012-000001-000009 $100.00
City of Pittsfield Berkshire MA 0.23 PITT-I000012-000001-000008 $100.00
City of Pittsfield Berkshire MA 0.19 PITT-I000012-000001-000010 $100.00
City of Pittsfield Berkshire MA 0.19 PITT-I000012-000001-000014 $100.00
City of Pittsfield Berkshire MA 0.19 PITT-I000012-000001-000011 $100.00
City of Pittsfield Berkshire MA 0.19 PITT-I000012-000001-000013 $100.00
City of Pittsfield Berkshire MA 0.19 PITT-I000012-000001-000012 $100.00
Town of Adams Berkshire MA 0.43 ADAM-000121-000000-000009-000001 $100.00
Town of Becket Berkshire MA 0.50 BECK-002160-001040-D000000 $100.00
Town of Becket Berkshire MA 0.19 BECK-002190-001490-D000000 $300.00
Town of Becket Berkshire MA 0.53 BECK-222190-000098-D000000 $100.00
Town of Becket Berkshire MA 1.80 BECK-224110-000004 $300.00
Town of Becket Berkshire MA 0.55 BECK-002160-002580-D000000 $100.00
Town of Florida Berkshire MA 10.70 FLOR-000016-000000-000015 $100.00 $11,500.00 108 $187.16
Town of Otis Berkshire MA 1.00 OTIS-000006-000000-000152 $100.00 $6,500.00 60 $150.91
Town of Otis Berkshire MA 3.30 OTIS-000009B-000000-000029 $100.00
Town of Peru Berkshire MA 10.10 PERU-000038-000015 $500.00
Town of Richmond Berkshire MA 2.40 RICH-004080-000009 $100.00 $13,500.00 96 $233.75
Town of Sandisfield Berkshire MA 2.80 SAND-000202-000000-000039 $1,000.00
Town of Washington Berkshire MA 0.86 WASH-000313-A000048 $500.00  

 

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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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Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s Western Mass. Local Land Trust Grants

The Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s Western Mass. Local Land Trust Grants program is aimed at assisting local land trusts and other conservation groups in western and central Massachusetts strengthen their organizations and improve their land management and stewardship.

The Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s Central & Western MA Land Trust Grants program will now consider any 501(c)(3) applicant which has a budget of $250,000 or less.  Previously, only groups with budgets less than $100,000 were eligible.

In addition, the application deadline has been extended to Oct.31.

The program is aimed at assisting local land trusts and other conservation groups in western and central Massachusetts strengthen their organizations and improve their land management and stewardship.  Grants are available for up to $10,000 and will be awarded in 2008.

Application materials are at http://massland.org/pages/info/WMAGrants07.html.  Please call me for project guidance or with any other questions at 781-248-7045

Grants are available for up to $10,000 and will be awarded in 2008.

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 31, 2007!

I implore you to take advantage of this incredible opportunity!  The funder is eager to make this program work.  Attached you will find a letter of explanation and an application form.

I have distributed this announcement to a wide variety of correspondents including land trusts, watershed associations, “Friends” groups, etc.  In particular, I have sent it to independent consultants and conservation practitioners, in the hopes that whey will contact local land trusts and other groups to develop significant projects which meet the grant guidelines, especially in the area of land management and stewardship.  I encourage you to distribute this announcement widely to groups who you believe may be interested and eligible.

This project is being coordinated with the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust and the Franklin Land Trust.  I’m looking forward to working with them and I’m very excited about the potential for this grant program.

Please call me for project guidance or with any other questions at 781-248-7045
Regards,

Bernie McHugh, Coordinator

Mass. Land Trust Coalition

18 Wolbach Road

Sudbury, MA 01776

bmchugh@massland.org

Tel: 978-443-5588

Cell: 781-248-7045

Fax: 978-443-2333

www.MassLand.org

 

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CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION ALERT FROM TNC

Dear Colleague,

Please join The Nature Conservancy in our efforts to urge Massachusetts government officials to take a two-pronged approach to climate change  – reducing emissions and supporting planning and programs to help people and nature cope with and adapt to our changing climate.

We need your help!

Please show your support by signing your organization’s name to the attached Position Statement on Massachusetts Climate Change Policy and ask your partners to do the same. We are seeking a broad base of support from land trusts, watershed organizations, environmental groups, business and industry associations, institutions and others. We urge you to show your support by signing the attached Statement!

We hope you will consider endorsing this statement soon.  Timing is critical as Massachusetts state agencies and the Legislature are developing policy proposals now for release in the early fall.

We are asking for adaptation measures to be in all climate change initiatives, this covers the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and any additional legislation or policy. Some environmental/energy/consumer advocacy organizations want RGGI funds to focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy.  We agree that at least 90% of RGGI funds should support energy efficiency and renewables, but maintain that a small percentage, up to ten percent, should support adaptation as climate change impacts on natural communities are irrefutable and need to be decreased or mitigated

Contact Steve Long, Government Relations Associate – Steve is maintaining a running list of signatories, including land trusts, watershed organizations and others, so please feel free to contact him for the list or with any questions.

Thanks for your support!

*******************************************************

Position Statement on Massachusetts Climate Change Policy

According to reports from the international scientific community, Massachusetts will experience the effects of climate change, such as increased temperatures and precipitation and sea surges.  These effects will cause multiple impacts, including erratic flooding and damage to property and loss of habitat that will harm people, productivity and natural communities.  The extent of these impacts depends in part on our responses, including the adoption of a two-pronged approach to climate change policy that includes:

*      Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through conservation, increased efficiencies, and renewable energy sources; and

*      Facilitating the adaptation of plants and animals to climate change impacts in terrestrial, marine and freshwater habitats.

This policy approach has broad-based support from several renowned climate change authorities, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

We the undersigned urge Massachusetts policy makers to support a goal of 80% mandatory emissions reduction from current levels by 2050.  We applaud, as an initial step, the Commonwealth’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from large power plants and to support energy efficiency and renewable energy, but realize that more needs to be done.

We the undersigned also urge Massachusetts policy makers to support funding and policy initiatives that will help natural communities cope with and adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.  We are especially concerned with preserving and protecting the resilience of natural systems and the plant and animal species they support.  By facilitating adaptation, we can realize the benefits of ecosystem services to our economy, such as mitigating floods to preserve property, conserving estuaries to maintain nurseries for fisheries and protecting plants and forests that sequester carbon and provide timber.

Adaptation policy should:

*      Identify and monitor early effects of climate change on natural systems;

*      Integrate adaptation strategies into environmental plans and programs;

*      Protect and connect lands and waters that allow species to migrate as temperatures change, especially in fragmented landscapes that might inhibit migration;

*      Protect and restore habitat on which at-risk species depend thus protecting critical natural resources of statewide significance; and

*      Employ a variety of land and water management strategies, including cooperation with private property owners on voluntary efforts.

From: MassLand Weekly E-News

The Newsletter of the Massachusetts Land Conservation Community

September 15, 2007

Volume 7, Number 17

Items of interest to the Massachusetts land protection community.

For more news and information, got to http://www.MassLand.org

Please send items of interest to Info@MassLand.org

 

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SUBMIT WORKSHOPS FOR MASS. LAND TRUST CONFERENCE

18th Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference

Saturday, March 29, 2008 – Worcester, MA

Each year, the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition works with The Trustees of Reservations to present the Mass. Land Conservation Conference.  We rely on the generous pro bono participation of dozens of land conservation practitioners, both professionals and volunteers, to put together the excellent workshops that make this the best-attended and most informative state land trust conference in the country.

Request for Workshop Proposals – Due October 15, 2007

We encourage you to submit a workshop proposal for the 2008 Conference.  This day-long event provides land trust board members, staff, volunteers, commission members and others interested in land conservation with vital training.  We are looking for workshops on successful land protection projects, fundraising, conservation restriction drafting and stewardship, board development, appraisals, tax law, partnerships, outreach and PR.  To see workshop offerings from previous years click on www.TheTrustees.org/PutnamConservationInstitute.cfm <http://www.TheTrustees.org/PutnamConservationInstitute.cfm> and scroll down to “Past Events.”

To submit a workshop proposal, email the following information to Miriam Scagnetti (mscagnetti@ttor.org)

A. Your Contact Information

– Name

– Organization/agency/affiliation/profession

– Postal address

– Email address

– Daytime phone number

B. Your proposed title for a 90-minute workshop

C. The objective(s) of your workshop, i.e. what will participants come away with?

D. Two or three paragraphs describing your workshop

E. The name(s) and affiliations of any co-presenters you might work with

F. Two or three paragraphs describing your connection(s) to this topic. (Please don’t send résumés.)

Important Information to Note

* Look for a confirmation email within a few days saying that we received your proposal.  If you do not receive a confirmation email, please re-send it to <mailto:mscagnetti@ttor.org> and <mailto:pci@ttor.org>.

* In order to provide greater breadth or depth on a topic, we may ask some presenters to co-present with a specific person whom you may not yet know.

* We reserve the right to change workshop titles and descriptions and to accept or reject any workshop proposals.

* We will contact you by December 3 to let you know if your workshop proposal has been accepted or not.

* If your workshop proposal is selected you will receive a complimentary conference registration and lunch.

* You are responsible for your own travel arrangements and expenses.

Questions? Contact Miriam Scagnetti, TTOR’s Putnam Conservation Institute Program Assistant (978-840-4446 x1935; mscagnetti@ttor.org)

From: MassLand Weekly E-News

The Newsletter of the Massachusetts Land Conservation Community

September 15, 2007

Volume 7, Number 17

Items of interest to the Massachusetts land protection community.

For more news and information, got to http://www.MassLand.org

Please send items of interest to Info@MassLand.org

 

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Tempered Media Support for Environmental Concerns

Temper of the Times Foundation (http://www.temperfund.org/index.html) provides nonprofit organizations with funding to underwrite advertising designed to promote conservation and restoration efforts. Grants may be used to fund the production of print, radio, or television ads; to pay for advertising space or airtime; or to produce or distribute pamphlets, books, videos, or press packets specifically promoting the conservation and restoration of native wildlife, plants, and ecosystems in the U.S. Grants generally range from $5,000 to $15,000. Applications must be received by October 15, 2007. Visit the website provided above for additional application and eligibility information.

Link to Funder Profile

 

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Grants Protect Hiking Trails

American Hiking Society: National Trails Fund

The National Trails Fund, sponsored by American Hiking Society, provides funding to grassroots nonprofit organizations working toward establishing, protecting, and maintaining foot trails in America. Grants help give local organizations the resources they need to secure access, volunteers, tools, and materials to protect America’s public trails. The following types of projects will be considered: securing trail lands, including acquisition of trails and trail corridors; building and maintaining trails which will result in ease of access, improved hiker safety, and/or avoidance of environmental damage; and constituency-building surrounding specific trail projects. Preference is often given to projects with volunteer labor. Projects that have hikers as the primary constituency are preferred; however, all human-powered trail projects are eligible. The application deadline is November 1, 2007.  Click on  http://www.americanhiking.org/alliance/fund.html for more information.

 

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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

Sewers, Title V, Wetlands – October 15, 2007 – 1:00 PM

Miscellaneous – October 22, 2007 – 1:00 PM

 

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