The BEAT News

November 11, 2009

In the News

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Environmental Monitor
Public Notices Alphabetically by town
The BEAT News Archives

Advocacy News (Includes how to reach your legislators)

DEP Enforcement Actions In The Berkshire

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On behalf of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, you are invited to participate in any of six “listening sessions” scheduled for November 16 to November 20 where EEA will take public input on options for changes in administrative structures and programs to meet environmental goals in light of budget challenges.

Please see the attached press release for additional details.
  
Kathleen Hardaway
Executive Assistant to Secretary Ian A. Bowles
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Phone: (617) 626-1015
Fax: (617) 626-1018
E-mail: Kathleen.Hardaway@state.ma.us 

BEAT note: Not one meeting in the Berkshires listed so far. We complained.
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GB farm for sale

Seeking like minded folks! Four Winds Farm in Great Barrington, MA may be offered for sale in its entirety or in small parcels as part of a eco-type community under exploration.There is the potential to develop a small "village" community as zoning laws have changed to promote conservation of land. Total is 23 acres. It is the home of a non-profit, The Living Learning Collaborative. There is a small organic market garden, an apple orchard that is slowly being brought back, a beautiful farmhouse, dilapidated barn, woodland and overgrown pasture. Walk to town center and beach. If you are interested in any aspect of this, or have other ideas, please contact MaryBeth via fourwindsfarmgb@aol.com.

Erik Hoffner
Orion Grassroots Network
888-909-6568
http://www.oriongrassroots.org

The Orion Grassroots Network provides services and support to grassroots organizations engaged in ecological, social, and cultural change. 
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EPA Announces Regional Administrator for Region 1, Regional Agency Headquarters in Boston

(Boston – November 5, 2009) Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced President Barack Obama’s
selection of H. Curtis “Curt” Spalding to be the Agency’s Regional
Administrator for EPA’s region 1. This region encompasses Connecticut,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and ten
Tribal Nations.

"I look forward to working closely with Curt on the range of urgent
environmental issues we face, in region 1 and across the nation," said
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "At this moment of great challenge
and even greater opportunity, I'm thrilled that Curt will be part of our
leadership team at EPA. He will certainly play an instrumental role in
our Agency's mission to protect our health and the environment."

Regional Administrators are responsible for managing the Agency’s
regional activities under the direction of the EPA Administrator. They
promote state and local environmental protection efforts and serve as a
liaison to state and local government officials. Regional Administrators
are tasked with ensuring EPA's efforts to address the environmental
crises of today are rooted in three fundamental values: science-based
policies and programs, adherence to the rule of law, and transparency.

H. Curtis “Curt” Spalding has extensive experience in the environmental
protection field as an advocate, policy analyst and administrator. For
almost 20 years, he served as Executive Director of Save The Bay in
Rhode Island, a nationally recognized, 20,000-member environmental
advocacy and education organization. He established the Narragansett
BayKeeper and Habitat Restoration programs which reconnected Save The
Bay to ecologically important Bay issues and oversaw the successful
completion of the $9 million Explore The Bay Campaign and construction
of the Save The Bay Center at Fields Point in Providence, RI. Prior to
joining Save The Bay, Spalding was an Environmental Protection
Specialist and Presidential Management Intern at EPA’s offices in Boston
and Washington, D.C. Spalding received his bachelor’s degree from Hobart
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Open Space Institute's Saving New England's Wildlife Grant Program

Saving New England's Wildlife funds projects that accelerate the conservation of high priority wildlife habitat in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. 

The initiative achieves its mission through (1) capital grants for the purchase of permanent conservation easements and fee interest in land and (2) grants and contracts for efforts that increase support and funding for wildlife habitat protection. 

Capitalized with a $6 million grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the initiative was developed and is administered by OSI. OSI awards grants to qualified organizations through a competitive process that is guided by an advisory board comprised of experts from across the three states with knowledge of the region’s wildlife habitat, funding opportunities, conservation policy, and protection opportunities and needs.

Mission:
Saving New England's Wildlife seeks to sustain, protect and enhance wildlife habitat in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts through the conservation of ecologically critical lands and waters identified in State Wildlife Action Plans. The initiative also seeks to accelerate implementation of the action plans, build support for wildlife conservation, and increase public and private funding for protection of high priority wildlife habitat.

Funding and Awards:
Through its affiliate organization, the Open Space Conservancy (OSC), OSI has received a $6 million grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to accelerate the conservation of priority wildlife habitat identified by State Wildlife Action Plans in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Here’s a link to the Massachusetts Wildlife Action Plan: http://www.wildlifeactionplans.org/massachusetts.html and http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/cwcs/cwcs_home.htm
Here’s a link to a Riverways NewsNotes lead article summarizing the Mass. Wildlife Action Plan and its relevant content to riverine organisms and habitats (see, esp. the “Background” box at the end of the article):  http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/river/newsletters/newsnotes24.htm#feature]

OSI will award $5 million in capital land protection grants on a competitive basis to qualified organizations. A minimum of $1 million will be awarded to projects in each state, with the remaining funds to be granted to conservation transactions of the greatest need and opportunity within the three eligible states. This $5 million must leverage at least $25 million in other public and private financial support to help implement the action plans. Projects are reviewed by a regional advisory committee that recommends grants and loans for approval to OSI. In the first round of grants (Spring 2009), OSI approved 15 capital grants, three of which have closed. (PROJECT LIST)

In addition, non-capital grants are available to increase funding for wildlife conservation and to amplify the importance of State Wildlife Action Plans to the media, decision-makers, funders and the general public. These amplification grants and contracts are awarded for selected projects by invitation only. OSI has approved six amplification grants in 2009. (Press Release)

Outcomes: What we want to achieve
Saving New England's Wildlife supports transformative land conservation efforts, each containing priority habitat as identified in the State Wildlife Action Plans. The program will leverage at least $25 million in public and private funding.

More broadly, the initiative’s investment in selected land conservation projects will:

  • increase support for wildlife conservation among key decision makers and the general public;
  • raise the visibility of habitat conservation efforts to land trusts, elected officials and the public;
  • promote the interdependence between land conservation and community economic development;
  • catalyze other land conservation projects
  • promote regional habitat conservation;
  • enhance connectivity among conserved lands and waters to facilitate wildlife movement and adaptation to climate change, and
  • direct and leverage funding and capacity to implement the action plans in the region.

Geographic Focus:
The New England states included in this program contain areas of great need and opportunity for wildlife conservation. Each state supports rich animal and plant diversity that are undergoing high rates of habitat loss to development and fragmentation.
To slow this loss, urgent conservation action is needed across the region. Recognizing this need, each of these states has developed a high quality State Wildlife Action Plan to guide conservation. Importantly, each state also has supportive political leadership, strong state agency commitment to conservation, experienced partner organizations, public support for wildlife conservation, and exemplary land conservation projects.
OSI will fund conservation projects that contain priority habitat, as identified in the state action plan.  Preference will be given to priority habitat projects located in one of three distinct parts of the region, as depicted on the attached map: the tri-coastal plain of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts; Maine’s bold coast from Cobscook Bay to Mt. Desert Island; and the ecologically rich forests of western Massachusetts and central New Hampshire. 

These ecological areas were chosen based on 1) biological diversity, 2) immediate or near term threat, 3) land conservation opportunities, 4) high percentage of species of greatest conservation need, and 5) regional and national significance of the wildlife resources at risk.

Land Protection Grant Criteria:
To be considered for funding, projects must meet all of the following threshold criteria:

  • Include priority wildlife habitat identified in the State Wildlife Action Plan (See the grant application for contact information);
  • Protect ecologically critical land and waters through acquisition of fee interest in land and waters, or with a permanent conservation easement or conservation restriction;
  • Provide financial leverage of 5:1 or greater.  Projects with less than 5:1 match will be funded only in exceptional circumstances;
  • Be completed within 18 months of application;
  • Require Forest Stewardship Council certification, to the extent practicable, for any conservation easements that allow commercial timber harvesting;
  • Be spearheaded by organizations with the capacity and financial ability to execute the transaction and ensure long-term stewardship of the protected property.

Additional geographic preference:
The initiative will give preference to projects that are located in the ecological areas shown on the map. However, under exceptional circumstances, we will fund projects outside those areas that:

  • Contain wildlife resources that are of greater than state-wide ecological significance as detailed in the State Wildlife Action Plans
  • Are part of a multi-community or multi-state conservation effort
  • Are a top conservation priority for the state wildlife agency

Those projects that meet the threshold criteria will be judged against the following criteria:

  • Conserves, either alone or in conjunction with existing protected areas, larger landscapes to ensure the viability of wildlife species at scale;
  • Enlarges, connects and/or buffers existing protected lands and waters to facilitate movement of wildlife and adaptation to climate change;
  • Catalyzes other conservation transactions or funding, increases and diversifies the audiences for conservation, and/or brings together unlikely allies for conservation;
  • Demonstrates a connection between conservation and community economic sustainability, for example a reserve component within a working landscape;
  • Demonstrates an urgency and/or timeliness in proceeding, i.e., where there is significant but manageable threat; and
  • Is executed in a cost-effective manner, providing the greatest benefit at the least cost.

Eligible Uses of Funds:
Grants may be used to acquire permanent conservation easements and fee interest in land and waters. These grant funds are not to be used for stewardship or other non-capital project expenses. The initiative may also provide short-term low-interest loans to bridge gaps in public or private funding. For loans, please refer to OSI’s loan application requirements.

Application Process and Timeline:
Grants and loans are available on a competitive basis to qualified organizations. Preference for funding is given to nonprofit groups; under exceptional circumstances the initiative will provide funds directly to state or municipal agencies. 
Grant applications and information regarding grant submissions are available here
Grant proposals must be received by 5 pm on December 11, 2009

Proposals are reviewed by the Fund’s advisory committee, which makes recommendations to OSI's Credit Committee. Final grant awards will be subject to approval by OSI's Board of Trustees. Funds will be provided at project closing in accordance with the terms of a grant agreement.

Contact:
Jennifer Melville, New England Coordinator
Open Space Institute
26 School Street
Yarmouth, ME 04096
Tel: 207-846-9700
jmelville@osiny.org

     The Massachusetts Watershed Coalition
....Creating a Network of Watershed Partners.
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American Rivers and NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program River Grants

Since 2001, American Rivers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community-based Restoration Program have provided financial and technical assistance for river restoration projects benefiting diadromous fish species in the Northeast (ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI), Mid-Atlantic (NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD, DC, VA), Northwest (WA, OR, ID) and California. [Diadromous fish migrate between freshwater and saltwater during their life cycle. Examples include alewife, American shad, American eel, salmon, steelhead and shortnose sturgeon.]

During the first seven years of the partnership, the program has provided more than $2 million to support over 100 community-driven river restoration projects that have benefited diadromous fish populations and habitats throughout the country.
For fiscal year 2009, NOAA has awarded American Rivers $600,000 to distribute through this competitive grants program. This funding is provided through the NOAA Open Rivers Initiative, which seeks to enable environmental and economic renewal in local communities through the removal of stream barriers and realized benefits to diadromous fish species. 

The American Rivers-NOAA River Grants programs funds stream barrier removal projects in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Northwest, and California. Applications are being evaluated based upon four priority criteria: (1) ecological merits of the project, (2) technical feasibility of the project, (3) benefits provided to the local community, and (4) financial clarity and strength of the application.  Grants are provided for three distinct project phases—feasibility analysis, engineering design, and construction—with the average grant size between $25,000 - $50,000. 

We are currently accepting applications for 2010 project funding.  Applications are due by December 18, 2009.  Application materials and instructions can be found below.

Click here for more information on the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program and its partners.

Questions? Contact:
Serena McClain, American Rivers
1101 14th Street, NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7550 x3004
rivergrants@AmericanRivers.org

     The Massachusetts Watershed Coalition
....Creating a Network of Watershed Partners.
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AVOID INVASIVE PLANTS FOR HOLIDAY DECORATING
from Mass Wildlife

As part of the upcoming holiday season, many people are using plant material to decorate their houses or businesses. The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) highly recommends that people avoid using certain exotic, invasive plants such as Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) in holiday decorations. Though these plants are attractive, it is best to refrain from using them. Birds eat and carry away the fruits from wreaths and garlands and the digested but still-viable seeds sprout where deposited. Exotic, invasive plants create severe environmental damage, invading open fields, forests, wetlands, meadows, and backyards, and crowding out native plants. Bittersweet can even kill mature trees through strangling. Both plants are extremely difficult to control: when cut off, the remaining plant segment in the ground will re-sprout. It is illegal to import or sell bittersweet and multiflora rose in any form (plants or cuttings) in the state of Massachusetts.

Backyard gardeners, nursery staff, landscapers and conservationists can learn more about invasive plants from MassWildlife's Guide To Invasive Plants, authored by DFW's former State Botanist Paul Somers, Rachel Kramer, and Karen Lombard of The Nature Conservancy and Bill Brumback of the New England Wild Flower Society. In the Guide, each invasive plant description includes a photograph, the plant's regulatory status, key identification characteristics, habitats where the plant is likely to be found, type of threat the plant poses to native species and habitats, and its current distribution and place of origin. Similar plant species are also briefly described to aid in plant identification. The Guide includes definitions of three categories of invasiveness, brief explanations of how invasive plants are introduced and spread, why invasives are a problem, how to learn more about controlling invasive plants, and the state agricultural regulations regarding their importation, sale and propagation. Useful invasive plant websites are also referenced. The Guide is $5 a copy. To purchase a guide from MassWildlife, stop in the Westborough office during business hours or send a request to “Invasive Plant Guide,” MassWildlife Field HQ, NHESP, 1 Rabbit Hill Rd, Westborough, MA, 01581, and include a check payable to: Comm. of Mass.--NHESP. Sorry, but credit cards are not accepted.  For more information from DFW about invasive plants, visit www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/conservation/invasives/invasive_species.htm or visit the New England Wild Flower Society website at http://www.newfs.org/protect/invasive-plants.
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FOREST RECERTIFICATION: PUBLIC COMMENT INVITED
from Mass Wildlife

As part of the 2009 forest management recertification process, the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) is seeking public comments during a 30-day period (October 30, 2009 - November 30, 2009) regarding which state wildlife lands are being considered for recertification under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) criteria for sustainable management. Public comments may be emailed to Mass.Wildlife@state.ma.us, or sent via postal mail to “Forest Certification Comments”, MassWildlife Field HQ, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA, 01581.

Certification by the FSC is a professional acknowledgment that the landowner is practicing responsible forest management that is environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable. The certification process requires annual audits of forest management practices, and must be renewed every five years. Certification also requires extensive public review of the forest management planning process for public lands.

MassWildlife lands were originally certified through FSC in 2004, and the five-year recertification audit occurred between April and August of 2009. The audit report determined that only lands with publicly reviewed management plans are eligible for recertification. To comply with this determination, MassWildlife has identified a subset of state wildlife lands (44,000 acres) that are presently eligible for recertification, a subset of lands that can become eligible for certification in the future, and a subset of lands that will not be submitted for certification for various reasons, including: facility development (boat launch sites, offices and hatcheries), non-forested lands (salt marshes, roadside corridors, sand dunes), and lands not completely under MassWildlife's management control..

Lands currently eligible for recertification are located in the Berkshire Highlands and Taconic Mountains Forest Management Zones (FMZ) for which there are already publicly reviewed forest management plans. Information about these FMZ Plans is posted on the Division’s website at www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/management/bdi/forest_mgt/fmz_plans.htm.
Information on lands that can become eligible and that will not be submitted for certification is posted at: www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/management/bdi/forest_mgt/green_recert_efforts.htm

MassWildlife will post a summary of all comments received, and describe any action to be taken by the agency in response to comments received on its website on or about December 15, 2009.
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Pioneer Valley - Need a Thanksgiving Turkey???

Order your Turkeys for Thanksgiving this week.  The Food Bank Farm in Hadley needs your support!   Buy a local Diemand Naturally Raised  ($3.49/lb) and/or a Murrays Naturally Raised ($2.69/lb) turkey.   Email orders to mdocter@foodbankfarm.com or order a turkey at the farm store on November  9th (12-7pm), 11th (12-7PM) or 13th (11-3PM)  during store hours.

The Food Bank Farm store is open to everyone even if you are not a Food Bank Farm member.  There will be lots to buy at the store Thanksgiving week.  Contact Michael Dockter, mdocter@foodbankfarm.com.

and if you are interested in a CSA share for 2010...

there's the barn next door...join now!  Support local farmers.

LOCATION: 15 Lawrence Plain Rd., about 1/3rd of a mile past the Food Bank Farm heading south on route 47 in Hadley.

SHAREROOM HOURS: M, W 2-7 and F, 12-4. June through November.

SHARE SIZE/PRICE/OPTIONS: We will offer one share size, equivalent to the regular share at FBF, which feeds 3-5 people, for $525. Two households may split a share.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE SHARE: We will offer the same diverse selection that you have always received at FBF, including a large U-pick section.

FARM STORE: This season we will offer a few select locally sourced items (including the local fruit you have been getting at FBF).  We hope to reopen the farm store in the future.

EXTRA’S: “Next Barn Over” CSA members can also expect: a biweekly newsletter full of recipes, farm news and sustainable agriculture information; opportunities to purchase bulk produce at discount prices for canning and freezing; opportunities to volunteer on the farm; invitations to farm events such as potlucks and film screenings; and daily recreational access to the farm for walking, picnicking, and u-picking.

AN APPEAL: As you know, the formation of the “Next Barn Over” community supported farm is brand new. There will be costs involved in readying the barn for CSA use. In the future there will be an appeal to “Next Barn Over” members for donations toward these transition costs. We hope that you will be able to help!

SIGN UP: Attached here is a sign up sheet for the “Next Barn Over” CSA. We are giving current FBF members priority seating at the “Next Barn Over”, please return your sign-up sheet and payment to us by November 9th at which point we will be opening membership up to the FBF waiting list. We ask that you fill out the form on your computer (to aid in readability), then print and send with your payment to:

“Next Barn Over” CSA, P.O Box 92, Hadley, MA 01035

Feel free to contact us with any questions! ryoung@nextbarnover.com,
267-334-5703

With respect, and with the hope that we will see you this spring,

Ray Young
Tory Field
Michael Docter
Lynn Bowmaster
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Green Communities Website Updates

Green Communities has added some new documents to the website.  

  • New, additional information to help you better understand and explain the Stretch Code in your community has been added to the Green Communities toolkit, found under Programs and Technical Assistance here: www.bit.ly/28HHBU
  • Information and guidance regarding the provision in the Green Communities Act that allows a state agency, building authority or local governmental body (“public entity”) to contract directly with their gas or electric utility supplier for “energy conservation projects” having a “total project cost” of $100,000 or less has been added under News and Updates, and can be found here:  http://www.mass.gov/Eoeea/docs/doer/gca/Guidance%2025A%20sec%20%2014%20%2010%2016%20docx.pdf
  • The MMA is providing free seminars to residents throughout the state to discuss cost-effective investments, do-it-yourself solutions, cost-reduction, the Energy Star rating system, and home audit information.  We have provided a link to this information under Upcoming Events on our home page at www.mass.gov/energy/greencommunities

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