The BEAT News October 2, 2006

BEAT’s comments will include a request that other alternatives be analyzed, including complete removal of all the fill and removal of a wide band of fill to form a restored wetland between the dump and the river. This could have the added benefit of reducing flooding at Wahconah Park.

BEAT will be working closely with the Housatonic River Initiative to identify other areas in the Dump that should be tested for PCBs.

BEAT thinks all the abutters should have been notified as well as anyone who has commented in the past. We will be working with the other environmental groups to try to reach out to anyone who is interested in the King Street Dump to help them get information or make comments. If you have questions please email Jane@thebeatnews.org or call 413-230-7321.

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For more read the Berkshire Eagle story.

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This testimony will help to establish a record of public sentiment that can be compared to administration actions.

For more information and copies of testimony, see the website.

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of that effort will be to build more independent regional economies–ones in

which, as economist Fritz Schumacher advocates in “Small Is Beautiful:

Economics as if People Mattered”, the goods consumed in a region are

produced in a region. Following Schumacher’s lead, the late Jane Jacobs, a

brilliant regional planner and intuitive economist, argues in “Cities and

the Wealth of Nations”, the strategy for economic development should be to

generate import-replacement industries. She would have us examine what is

now imported into our regions and develop the conditions to instead produce

those products from local resources with local labor. Unlike the branch of

a multi-national corporation that might open and then suddenly close, driven

by moody fluctuations in the global economy, a locally owned and managed

business is more likely to establish a complex of economic and social

interactions that build strong entwining regional roots, keeping the

business in place and accountable to people, land, and community.

What then is the responsibility of concerned citizens in cultivating

sustainable economies. An independent regional economy calls for new

regional economic institutions for land, labor, and capital to embody the

scale, purpose, and structure of our endeavors. These new institutions

cannot be government-driven, and rightly so. They will be shaped by free

associations of consumers and producers, working cooperatively, sharing the

risk in creating an economy that reflects shared culture and shared values.

Small in scale, transparent in structure, designed to profit the community

rather than profit from the community, they can address our common concern

for safe and fair working conditions; for production practices that keep our

air and soil and waters clean, for renewing our natural resources rather

than depleting them; for innovation in the making and distribution of the

basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter, and energy rather than luxury

items; and for more equitable distribution of wealth.

The building of new economic institutions is hard work. Most of us rest

complacently in our role as passive consumers, not co-producers and

co-shapers of our own economies. But it is work that can be done, and fine

examples are being set.

One of these is in the Southern Berkshire region of Massachusetts, home of

the E. F. Schumacher Society. A new organization, BerkShares, Inc.

launched a local currency September 29th. Beautifully designed, the

BerkShares honor historic figures of the area: the Stockbridge Mohican

Indians, social rights leader W. E. B. Dubois, Community Supported

Agriculture founder Robyn Van En, novelist and naturalist Herman Melville,

and popular illustrator Norman Rockwell. They also feature the paintings of

contemporary local artists and in so doing reflect the rich cultural

traditions and natural beauty that make the Berkshires famous.

The Southern Berkshire region, with its economic hub in Great Barrington, is

also known for a healthy mix of still locally owned businesses served by

locally owned banks. It is these businesses and banks, their owners and

staff and committed customers that make up the vibrant heart of the Southern

Berkshire economy. And it is the same cast, led by the Southern Berkshire

Chamber of Commerce and BerkShares, Inc that are the working together to

shape a local currency to serve their local community.

Beginning tomorrow Berkshire residents can exchange federal dollars for

BerkShares at participating banks. The exchange rate is ten BerkShares for

every nine federal dollars. The BerkShares circulate at full value, keeping

trade local, and consumers conscious of “what their money is doing tonight.”

The federal dollars remain on deposit at the banks to redeem BerkShares for

those who again need to make a trade in federal dollars.

Over 150 businesses have signed up to accept BerkShares and the number is

growing. You can build a house with BerkShares, purchase auto parts, repair

the car, incorporate a new business, buy next season’s CSA share, stay at a

famous inn, dine at a fine restaurant serving locally grown food, shop for

your family’s groceries, fulfill your gardening dreams, buy toys for the

grandchildren, print invitations to your wedding anniversary and arrange for

a caterer, make your home more energy efficient, find that new warm jacket

in preparation for the winter ahead, see a movie, order a book by your

favorite author, and get a massage (to name a few things).

Weekend launch activities began with a musical celebration at the recently

restored Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington. The Southern Berkshire

Chamber of Commerce hosted the event.

To see images of the BerkShares local currency, access a directory of

participating businesses and banks, read about the local heroes honored on

the currency, view works by BerkShares artists, join in thanking supporters,

or sign up to accept BerkShares, visit the website.

The E. F. Schumacher Society is proud to be a sponsor of BerkShares.

Susan Witt for board of directors and staff of the

E. F. Schumacher Society

140 Jug End Road

Great Barrington, MA 01230

(413) 528-1737

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The Airport Commission is also chopping trees in order to ensure a safe takeoff path for its runway. The number of trees it cut two years ago in the first phase of development is uncertain, but a few residents are convinced it was enough to cause significant repercussions.

In terms of the ecological impact of one tree, a mature oak can transpire (or move liquid from the ground up and out through its leaves as water vapor) up to 100 gallons of water a day, according to Wikipedia. com.

Conservation Commission Chairman Henry Art said the airport will not be allowed to continue with the second phase of tree cutting until submitting the hydrology report. Gale Associates Inc. said this summer at a public hearing that the report should be ready some time this fall.

“Trees do move a lot of moisture out of the ground and into the air. That’s what trees are very good at,” Art said. “It’s a question of how much and when and where. We share (the townspeople’s’) concern.”

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The application for a permit to work in or near wetlands is called a Notice of Intent (NOI) and must be submitted to the local Conservation Commission and the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). You can go to http://edep.dep.mass.gov/wetland/wetland.aspx to take a look at whether or not someone has submitted a Notice of Intent to DEP and if DEP has issued comments. This website usually gets updated every night. If the Notice is not there, it means DEP has not received it yet. Sometimes Conservation Commissions will get a copy of the NOI and applicants forget to send one to DEP. Conservation Commissions are not legally required to hold a NOI hearing until within 21 days from receipt of a File Number from DEP.

If a project is submitted as – “work being done ONLY in the buffer zone” – DEP doesn’t review it. The DEP Service Center takes a look at the check off box on page 2 of the Notice of Intent, and if the project is checked off as “Buffer Zone Only”, then they issue the File Number. (Page 2 of the Form is page 12 of the pdf file which has the instructions first.)

10. Buffer Zone Only – Is the project located only in the Buffer Zone of a bordering vegetated wetland,

inland bank, or coastal resource area?

a. O Yes – answer 11 below, then skip to Section C.

b. O No – skip to Section B.

Several times a month our DEP office finds out that projects that have “Buffer Zone Only” checked off as yes, actually are resource area projects. In that case, DEP issues new file number comments. If a Conservation Commission – or the public – sees a NOI come before the Commission that has the standard buffer zone project language in the File Number comments, but is actually a resource area project, they should notify our DEP Circuit Riders immediately, so they can do a review. This typically happens when the project is a riverfront project, and the homeowner, who has done his or her own filing, did not realize the significance of the riverfront area.

Here it is ten years after the enaction of the Rivers Protection Act and plans are still submitted with “200 foot riverfront buffer“. Riverfront is a resource area, afforded the same regulatory protection as Bordering Vegetated Wetlands or any other resource area and it has General Performance Standards that must be complied with if working in that area. Just like the other resource areas, 99% of the time when work is proposed to occur there, a Notice of Intent is required and a permit, called an Order of Conditions must be issued for that work.

For more on understanding the Wetlands Protection Act see BEAT’s “Understanding the Regulatory Process“.

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§ Restoration Partners Celebrate Accomplishments

§ Funding Awarded to Collaborative Restoration Projects

§ WRP Highlights

§ 2006 Monitoring Season Wraps Up

§ WRP Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project Update

§ Collaborative Restoration and Infrastructure Improvement Highlighted

§ Great Marsh Restoration Planning Update

§ WRP Priority Projects, Grants, and Technical Assistance

§ NRCS Cape Cod Watershed Restoration Project

§ Herring River Technical Committee Makes Progress

§ New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council / NOAA Projects Update

§ Upcoming Conferences and Trainings

View the update.

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Washington, DC – A key advisory committee of the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) this week rejected the claim of the

manufacturer Intervet, that its new cattle antibiotic cefquinome

could be considered safe for human health. Cefquinome, proposed

for use against respiratory disease in cattle, is a 4th

generation cephalosporin, a class which includes the important

human drug cefepime. Growing scientific evidence shows that use

of similar antibiotics in both human medicine and food animal

production can erode the effectiveness of drugs vital for use in

human medicine

The surprise decision by the FDA’s Veterinary Medicine Advisory

Committee (VMAC) came at the end of a hearing on Monday, at

which the American Medical Association, Infectious Disease

Society of America, Keep Antibiotics Working coalition, and

Union of Concerned Scientists, testified that use of cefepime in

cattle could increase cephalosporin-resistant E. coli and

Salmonella bacteria, two major causes of food poisoning (see

AMA, IDSA, KAW and UCS testimony at

http://actionnetwork.org/ct/0d1qM3E11XuJ/).

“VMAC’s decision represents an important victory for public

health,” said Richard Wood, Keep Antibiotics Working Steering

Committee Chair and Executive Director of Food Animal Concerns

Trust. “The 4th generation cephalosporins are a vital part of

the human drug arsenal. We should not put them at risk by

widespread use in cattle.”

The recommendations of the VMAC are not binding but it is rare

for committee advice to be ignored. If the FDA accepts the

committee’s finding that the safety of cefquinome has not been

shown, then the drug will not be approved.

In Europe, where cefquinome has already been approved and used

under the brand name Cobactin, resistance to this and other

cephalosporins has emerged among E. coli and Salmonella bacteria

isolated from livestock. In the U.S, where 4th generation

cephalosporins have not been approved for use in animal

agriculture, resistance to these drugs is uncommon.

“Several of the committee members raised concerns about the

possible widespread use of the drug not only in cattle but in

other species” said Wood. “Without basic safeguards in place,

controls on extra-label use, monitoring of quantities of drugs

used, and adequate support for monitoring the development of

resistance, you can’t even consider using critically important

human drugs in food animals. It will never be safe.”

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Berkshire Keeping Track gathered many interested volunteers to be trained to monitor the landscape for wildlife sign. There are still a few openings to form a group of eighteen participants to sign on for six full-day training workshops in the field plus two classroom sessions with Keeping Track founder, Sue Morse. Check the Berkshire Keeping Track part of our website for more information on becoming part of the Berkshire Keeping Track Monitoring Program.

Then, when training is complete, volunteers survey once each season on an ongoing basis. Data collected by trained volunteers can be used to help educate the community about areas are vital to the well-being of wildlife populations; monitor changes in wildlife populations over time and space; contribute to land use planning efforts; support land protection projects; evaluate potential effects of proposed land use and zoning changes; and develop or update a conservation plan. Berkshire Keeping Track will share our information with land trusts, river groups, neighboring monitoring programs, the regional planning commission, and the state.

In addition, BEAT will be starting our Berkshire Connections Project. Jane Winn, Executive Director of BEAT, has long been interested in wildlife corridors between large, appropriate habitat areas, and the blockages or bottlenecks caused by roads and other development. Now with the state setting aside 100,000 acres of forest reserves (see article) and committing to sustainable manage the other 400,000 acres of forest they own, this seems like a perfect time to look at ways to maintain and enhance connections between these and other large protected areas.

BEAT will use the data Berkshire Keeping Track collects, along with other available data, to form maps using Geographic Information System (GIS) software, to identify existing and potential wildlife corridors among large protected areas and to identify blockages and bottlenecks in these corridors.

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Golledge said that the Forest Reserve designation creates nine large preserves totaling 50,000 acres that represent large contiguous forests, mostly in the western part of the state, and many smaller reserves, which combined will be another 50,000 acres. The preserves will be off-limits to logging and will encourage only back-country experiences such as hiking and cross-country skiing. None of the areas has or will allowed motorized traffic such as all terrains vehicles.

In addition to the Forest Reserves, Golledge announced a sustainable forest management initiative on the remaining 400,000 acres of state-owned forests. Sustainable forestry is the practice of harvesting trees using techniques and strategies that ensure continuous production and long-term forest health – strengthening both local economies and ecosystems.

The state’s creation of a Forest Reserve system and its commitment to expanding sustainable forestry are in line with the “Green Certification” of state timberlands, which Massachusetts earned from the Forest Stewardship Council in 2004. Massachusetts was the first state to the receive Green Certification on all state-owned forest land.

“This approach will ensure that we have balanced and sustainable habitats, including very young and very old forests,” said Golledge. “Forest reserves will allow us to study natural processes on unharvested lands and to apply this knowledge to our managed woodlands.”

“Massachusetts’ forests are special places offering myriad benefits – from providing wildlife with areas to forage, breed and migrate to supplying people with clean water and tranquil settings for outdoor recreation,” said Wayne Klockner, Massachusetts state director of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). “These reserves are part of a comprehensive management strategy for state-owned forestland that strikes a balance between sustainable working woodlands, recreational opportunities, and habitat conservation – a formula we believe will enhance the biological and economic health of our forests and surrounding communities.”

According to a TNC press release:

The state saved tens of thousands of dollars, as well as time, by tapping TNC’s expertise and data on New England forests. Extensive data TNC has collected and analyzed over the past decade, in Massachusetts and beyond, was crucial in identifying nationally-significant forest resources. These areas, containing the most intact forests in the Commonwealth, form the basis of the reserve system. In addition to ecological data, the Conservancy provided analysis and mapping services to help the state determine the location and scope of reserves.

The nine new large reserves, totaling approximately 50,000 acres, range from about 800 to 11,000 acres. Klockner noted that several fall within the Massachusetts Chapter’s regional landscape programs – providing opportunities to enhance The Nature Conservancy’s conservation efforts in these areas. In turn, The Conservancy’s land protection efforts augment and buffer the new state reserves. In the Westfield River Highlands, for example, the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation provided the first charitable investment devoted to protecting land around Massachusetts forest reserves with a generous gift that enabled The Conservancy to purchase 270 mostly-forested acres abutting the Middlefield Reserve.

Elsewhere, the Berkshire Taconic Landscape’s Mt. Washington Reserve completes a 15,000-acre block of protected and ecologically managed forestland spanning the Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York borders. In Southeastern Massachusetts, the Myles Standish Reserve protects globally-rare and fire-adapted pitch pine-scrub oak forests – home to rare species such as the endangered Northern Red-bellied Cooter.

Other large reserves include Greylock, Otis, Chalet, East Branch of the Westfield River and Mohawk/Monroe/Savoy in the state’s western regions; and Cunningham Pond in central Massachusetts. Representative of the state’s diverse forest systems, large reserves provide sanctuary for the full complement of animals and plants native to each site, and are exempt from commercial forestry and motorized recreation. The state is also in the process of defining some 50,000 acres of smaller reserves, most ranging from dozens to hundreds of acres. Scattered throughout Massachusetts, these smaller tracts will protect specific landscape features, such as vernal pools, or safeguard rare species habitat and other unique resources, while allowing hiking, bird watching, and other forms of non-motorized recreation. Management of the state reserves focuses on restoring habitat, removing invasive species, and conducting studies on undisturbed forest processes to inform forestry practices on the state’s “working woodlands.”

State officials, The Nature Conservancy, and other stakeholders pointed out that increased sustainable forestry on state-owned land makes Massachusetts less dependent on imports. With 62 percent of its landscape covered in trees, Massachusetts is the country’s eighth most forested state. Yet, Bay State residents import 98 percent of their wood products from other states and countries – including ones that don’t place as high a premium on forest ecosystem concerns as Massachusetts now does.

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BEAT believes that one of the best ways to protect the scenic beauty of the Berkshires is to find ways to make sustainable farming and forestry pay well enough that families do not need to sell to developers. One way you can help is to buy locally grown – whether that is food or forest products. Currently this is difficult with forest products because we do not have much in the way of manufacturing in the Berkshires. Instead most of our local wood is shipped to Canada, where it is processed, and then shipped back to us as finished lumber.

For more information see the Massachusetts Forestry Association, Massachusetts Woodland Cooperative, and UMass’ Natural Resources Conservation outreach pages.

Learn more about Massachusetts’ new Forest Reserves .

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State environmental officials confirmed Thursday that the roads to the state’s highest peak will at last be repaired, beginning in 2007, at a cost of $12 million or more, under the long-stalled “Historic Parkways Initiative.”

They also confirmed that the current plan calls for both Notch Road from North Adams and Rockwell Road from Lanesborough to be closed during construction — probably for a year or more — meaning that all traffic up (or down) the 3,491-foot-elevation mountain would be blocked, except for construction vehicles.

“We are in fact moving ahead with that project,” Stephen H. Burrington, commissioner of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), said Thursday. He declined to elaborate on specific plans for the road project, saying he and other state officials would travel to Adams within the next three weeks to make the major announcement. Other officials confirmed, however, that the plans call for both access roads (and Summit Road at the very top) to be blocked so that construction could be completed faster.

The previous plan, first announced in February 2002, had called for a three-phase project that was supposed to have begun in summer 2003 and been completed by 2005. It would have included the repaving and rehabilitation of all 13.5 miles of Notch, Rockwell and Summit roads, which were built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (which also built the historic Bascomb Lodge at the summit).

The low bid for the work was $12 million, according to the DCR, but the state put the project on “indefinite hold” in July 2003 because of a lack of funding.

An estimated 200,000 people per year visit the summit each year, with as many as 30,000 vehicles making the climb. The last major repairs to Notch, Rockwell and Summit roads were done in the 1970s, according to advisory council members. The three roads are closed during the winter.

See the notice in the Environmental Monitor on BEAT’s Public Notices page. Comments are due by Oct. 2, and copies of the notice are available from Stephen Brown, (617) 616-1360.

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Although we have not yet seen the plans, BEAT is concerned about segmentation of this project. From what we have heard, it appears there are more to the plans than just the road, including some – as yet to be determined – septic system?

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http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_management

–Limit screen-saver use. A screen saver does not save energy. In fact,
more often than not, a screen saver not only will draw power for the
monitor, but also will keep the CPU from shutting down. You can set your
computer to go from screen-saver to sleep mode.

http://www.nrel.gov/sustainable_nrel/energy_saving.html

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