- Call Your State Senator: Urge a New Year’s Resolution for Safe Chemicals
- Antibiotic Use In Farm Animals Still Broadly Unaddressed
- 20 Plastic Things You Didn’t Know You Can Recycle
- Keystone XL Pipeline Not Safe
- EPA Analysis Shows Decrease in 2010 Toxic Chemical Releases in Massachusetts
- Historic Habitat Protection Project in Leverett and Shutesbury
- Housatonic Railroad Transfer Station Finally Shut Down
- Emerald Ash Borer and Biomass
- EPA to Seek Stakeholder Input on Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Management Plans
- EPA PCB TMDL Handbook Released
- EPA Launches Recovery Potential Screening Website to Assist Restoration Planners
- Eagle Count Date Change
- Accessible Winter Recreation at D.A.R. State Forest
- Housing Appeal for Wood Ducks in Massachusetts
- Henry P. Kendall Foundation Job Opening: Program Assistant
- EPA Accepting Proposals and Questions on Urban Waters Small Grants
Call Your State Senator: Urge a New Year’s Resolution for Safe Chemicals
From all of us at the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, Happy New Year!
 TAKE ACTION NOW! Ten years is too long to wait for protection from toxic chemicals. Ask your senator to make passing the Safer Alternatives Bill their New Year’s Resolution. |
The Massachusetts legislative session resumed yesterday, and protection from toxic chemicals should be a top priority for senators in 2012.
Please call your state senator and ask him or her to make a New Year’s resolution to pass the Safer Alternatives Bill.
Step 1: Find out who your state senator is if you don’t know already.
Step 2: Place your calls. Call the State House Switchboard: 617-722-2000 or find their direct office numbers. When you reach your senator, or one of their staff members, tell them your name and where you live, and urge them to:
“Please make it your New Year’s Resolution to support S-2079 An Act for a competitive economy through safer alternatives to toxic chemicals (also known as ‘The Safer Alternatives Bill’). This is a critically important bill to protect our health from toxic chemicals and keep Massachusetts businesses competitive in the global economy. Please make it a priority to see that it passes soon in the new year.”
Step 3: Please click here to report to us that you made your call so that we can keep a record.
Step 4: Encourage your friends to call their senators via Facebook and Twitter!
Senators will have thousands of bills to choose from this year. Let’s make the Safer Alternatives Bill the first one to grab their attention as they return to the State House.
The Safer Alternatives Bill will create a pragmatic and flexible program in Massachusetts to replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives, wherever feasible. In this economy, the bill is needed more than ever. The Safer Alternatives program will help Massachusetts businesses stay competitive on the global market which is rapidly moving towards a demand for safer products and services.
The bill made a significant step toward becoming a law late last year when the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture gave the bill a favorable report. The next steps will be for the bill to get a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Ways and Means then be brought to a vote in the Senate. After that, the bill will need to pass through the House of Representatives before becoming law.
The Safer Alternatives Bill is in its tenth year before the Massachusetts legislature. Ten years is too long to wait for protection from toxic chemicals! Please call your state senator today and ask them to do everything they can to pass the Safer Alternatives Bill this year.
Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year,
Elizabeth Saunders
For the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow team
Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow
| 262 Washington Street, Suite 601 Boston, MA 02108 617-338-8131 |
Monday, January 9, 2012
Antibiotic Use In Farm Animals Still Broadly Unaddressed
The Food and Drug Administration’s latest move concerning the use of antibiotics in farm animals garnered a good deal of praise last week, but public health advocates say much more is needed.
20 Plastic Things You Didn’t Know You Can Recycle
from Green America Nov/Dec 2011
1) Bottle and jar caps: Weisenbach Recycled Products accepts clean plastic bottlecaps, plastic jar caps, flip-top caps from personal care products, and flexible snap-on lids (e.g. butter tub lids) to turn into funnels and other items. CapsCando.com.
2) Brita pitcher filters: Preserve’s Gimme 5 program accepts Brita-brand pitcher filters for recycling. See #11 below.
3) Compostable bioplastics: Find a municipal composter at FindaComposter.com.
4) Computers and other electronics: Find the most responsible recyclers near you at e-stewards.org/find-a-recycler. Your local Best Buy store will also accept many types of electronics, large and small—from televisions and gaming systems to fans and alarm clocks. Best Buy partners with responsible recyclers that do not ship items overseas, including Green Business Network™ member Electronic Recyclers International. You can bring three small items per day to Best Buy for free. The company charges a fee to recycle large electronics. BestBuy.com/recycling.
5) Eyeglasses: Your local Lions Club collects them for people in need.
Keystone XL Pipeline Not Safe
op-ed by Mike Klink, whistleblowing safety engineer
There has been a lot of talk about the safety of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
I am not an environmentalist, but as a civil engineer and an inspector for TransCanada during the construction of the first Keystone pipeline, I’ve had an uncomfortable front-row seat to the disaster that Keystone XL could bring about all along its pathway.
Despite its boosters’ advertising, this project is not about jobs or energy security. It is about money. And whenever my former employer Bechtel, working on behalf of TransCanada, had to choose between safety and saving money, they chose to save money.
As an inspector, my job was to monitor the construction of the first Keystone pipeline. I oversaw construction at the pump stations that have been such a problem on that line, which has already spilled more than a dozen times. I am coming forward because my kids encouraged me to tell the truth about what was done and covered up.
When I last raised concerns about corners being cut, I lost my job — but people along the Keystone XL pathway have a lot more to lose if this project moves forward with the same shoddy work.
What did I see? Cheap foreign steel that cracked when workers tried to weld it, foundations for pump stations that you would never consider using in your own home, fudged safety tests, Bechtel staffers explaining away leaks during pressure tests as “not too bad,” shortcuts on the steel and rebar that are essential for safe pipeline operation and siting of facilities on completely inappropriate spots like wetlands.
I shared these concerns with my bosses, who communicated them to the bigwigs at TransCanada, but nothing changed. TransCanada didn’t appear to care. That is why I was not surprised to hear about the big spill in Ludden, N.D., where a 60-foot plume of crude spewed tens of thousands of gallons of toxic tar sands oil and fouled neighboring fields.
TransCanada says that the performance has been OK. Fourteen spills is not so bad. And that the pump stations don’t really count. That is all bunk. This thing shouldn’t be leaking like a sieve in its first year — what do you think happens decades from now after moving billions of barrels of the most corrosive oil on the planet?
Let’s be clear — I am an engineer; I am not telling you we shouldn’t build pipelines. We just should not build this one.
Pipelines can and do stand the test of time, but TransCanada already has shown that they cannot. After working on engineering projects all over the world, I can tell you that a company that cared about safety would not follow these types of practices.
If it were a car, the first Keystone would be a lemon. And it would be far worse to double down on a proven loser with Keystone XL.
The stories of how TransCanada has bullied landowners in Nebraska rings true to me. I am living it, as well. After repeatedly telling the contractor and TransCanada about my concerns, I lost my job.
But I couldn’t watch silently as a company put innocent people at risk with a haphazardly built pipeline. I am speaking out on behalf of my children and your children.
Oil spills are no joke. We need to do all we can to protect our water and our food. I am glad the Nebraska Legislature stepped up to protect Nebraskans. I can only hope that they stand up to TransCanada. We should all take a hard look at the damage that this pipeline will do. I should know; I’ve seen it in person.
Please do not sell out to foreign oil and foreign suppliers. There is no guarantee the product will stay in the United States, only the toxic waste. God bless the United States and those of us who still believe in the fact that her people matter.
Mike Klink of Auburn, Ind.., is seeking whistleblower protection from the U.S. Department of Labor.
EPA Analysis Shows Decrease in 2010 Toxic Chemical Releases in Massachusetts
Trend across New England shows continued reduction of chemical disposal and releases
(Boston, Mass. – Jan. 5, 2012) – EPA’s most recent Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data is now available for the reporting year of 2010. TRI reporting provides Americans with vital information about their communities by publishing information on toxic chemical disposals and releases into the air, land and water, as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention activities in neighborhoods across the country.
In Massachusetts, the reporting data show that overall releases of pollutants to the environment have decreased since the previous reporting year (2009). TRI information is a key part of EPA’s efforts to provide greater access to environmental information and get information to the public as quickly as possible. TRI was recently recognized by the Aspen Institute as one of the 10 major ways that EPA has strengthened America.
During 2010, the latest year for which data are available, approximately 20.6 million pounds of chemicals were released in the six New England states, a reduction of about 287,337 pounds. In Massachusetts, 441 facilities reported in 2010 approximately 4.3 million pounds (a decrease of 1,122,489 pounds). Approximately 61 percent of releases in Massachusetts were emitted to the air during 2010. Across the U.S. in 2010, 3.93 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the environment, a 16 percent increase from 2009.
Each year, EPA makes publicly available TRI data reported by industries throughout the United States regarding chemical releases to air, water and land by power plants, manufacturers and other facilities which employ ten or more workers and exceed thresholds for chemicals. This year, EPA is offering additional information to make the TRI data more meaningful and accessible to all communities. The TRI analysis now highlights toxic disposals and releases to large aquatic ecosystems, selected urban communities, and tribal lands. EPA has improved this year’s TRI national analysis report by adding new information on facility efforts to reduce pollution and by considering whether economic factors could have affected the TRI data. With this report and EPA’s Web-based TRI tools, citizens can access information about the toxic chemical releases into the air, water, and land that occur locally. Finally, EPA’s first mobile application for accessing TRI data, myRTK, is now available in Spanish, as are expanded Spanish translations of national analysis documents and Web pages.
Reporting includes information on chemicals released at a company’s facility, as well as those transported to disposal facilities off site. TRI data do not reflect the relative toxicity of the chemicals emitted or potential exposure to people living in a community with reported releases.
Facilities must report their chemical disposals and releases by July 1 of each year. This year, EPA made the 2010 preliminary TRI dataset available in July, the same month as the data were collected.
Reporting under TRI does not indicate illegal discharges of pollutants to the environment. EPA works closely with states to provide regulatory oversight of facilities that generate pollution to the nation’s air, land and water. Effective review and permitting programs work to ensure that the public and the environment are not subjected to unhealthful levels of pollution, even as agencies work to further reduce emissions of chemicals to the environment.
Further, robust enforcement efforts by EPA and states ensure that facilities that violate their environmental permits are subject to penalties and corrective action. Yearly releases by individual facilities can vary due to factors such as power outages, production variability, lulls in the business cycle, etc., that do not reflect a facility’s pollution prevention program(s).
The top ten chemicals released to the environment on- and off-site during 2010 in Massachusetts were:
| 1 | HYDROCHLORIC ACID (1995 AND AFTER “ACID AEROSOLS” ONLY) | 1,212,440 |
| 2 | ZINC COMPOUNDS | 536,727 |
| 3 | AMMONIA | 314,726 |
| 4 | HYDROGEN FLUORIDE | 289,191 |
| 5 | NITRIC ACID | 228,933 |
| 6 | TOLUENE | 208,623 |
| 7 | N-BUTYL ALCOHOL | 171,438 |
| 8 | CERTAIN GLYCOL ETHERS | 139,842 |
| 9 | METHANOL | 129,198 |
| 10 | XYLENE (MIXED ISOMERS) | 81,401 |
The ten facilities that reported the largest quantity of on- and off-site environmental releases in Massachusetts under TRI for 2010 were:
| 1 | DOMINION ENERGY BRAYTON POINT LLC.BRAYTON POINT RD, SOMERSET MASSACHUSETTS 02726 (BRISTOL) | 1,108,512 | ||
| 2 | EVERGREEN SOLAR INC.112 BARNUM RD, DEVENS MASSACHUSETTS 01434 (MIDDLESEX) | 446,335 | ||
| 3 | CROWN BEVERAGE PACKAGING.GLEN & SHEPARD ST, LAWRENCE MASSACHUSETTS 01843 (ESSEX) | 269,976 | ||
| 4 | DOMINION ENERGY SALEM HARBOR S TATION.24 FORT AVE, SALEM MASSACHUSETTS 01970 (ESSEX) | 216,199 | ||
| 5 | ACUSHNET CO BALL PLANT III.215 DUCHAINE BLVD, NEW BEDFORD MASSACHUSETTS 02745 (BRISTOL) | 202,225 | ||
| 6 | SOLUTIA INC.730 WORCESTER ST, SPRINGFIELD MASSACHUSETTS 01151 (HAMPDEN) | 170,875 | ||
| 7 | CALLAWAY GOLF BALL OPERATIONS INC.425 MEADOW ST, CHICOPEE MASSACHUSETTS 01013 (HAMPDEN) | 128,884 | ||
| 8 | ACUSHNET CO BALL PLANT II.256 SAMUEL BARNETT BLVD, NORTH DARTMOUTH MASSACHUSETTS 02714 (BRISTOL) | 126,021 | ||
| 9 | IDEAL TAPE CO.1400 MIDDLESEX ST, LOWELL MASSACHUSETTS 01851 (MIDDLESEX) | 83,131 | ||
| 10 | MYSTIC STATION.173 ALFORD ST, CHARLESTOWN MASSACHUSETTS 02129 (SUFFOLK) | 75,990 |
TRI was established in 1986 by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and later modified by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. Together, these laws require facilities in certain industries to report annually on releases, disposal and other waste management activities related to these chemicals. TRI data are submitted annually to EPA and states by multiple industry sectors including manufacturing, metal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste facilities.
EPA continues to work closely with the regulated community to ensure that facilities understand and comply with their reporting requirements under TRI and other community right-to-know statutes. EPA will once again hold training workshops throughout the New England region during the Spring of 2012. Training sessions will be set up in each state. Further information will be available on our Web site.
More information:
– TRI in Massachusetts Fact Sheet (epa.gov/triexplorer/statefactsheet.htm)
– Additional National information on TRI (epa.gov/tri/)
HISTORIC HABITAT PROTECTION PROJECT IN LEVERETT AND SHUTESBURY
In late December, the Commonwealth’s largest private land conservation deal since the 1920’s was finalized, resulting in the protection of 3,486 acres of working forest land in the towns of Leverett and Shutesbury. A conservation restriction acquired by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and its Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) from North Amherst-based W.D. Cowls for $8.8 million is the largest on a contiguous block of privately owned land in Massachusetts. The 5.4 square mile area encompasses almost all of Brushy Mountain and some other nearby parcels of property. The Kestrel Land Trust and Franklin Land Trust worked closely with DFG, to accomplish this historic land protection effort.
The property will be known as the Paul C. Jones Working Forest in honor of Cowls’ recently deceased 8th generation family leader. Mr. Paul C. Jones, who for four decades spearheaded the company’s forestry and lumber manufacturing operations, also promoted public sportsman access on thousands of acres of timberland throughout his lifetime. “We’re obviously in it for the long run and this conservation achievement demonstrates how commercial forest management can complement open space conservation and recreation,” said Cinda Jones, 9th generation co-owner and president. “My dad was really proud that we were making this happen and I’m so proud that we’re naming the conserved forest after him.” Cowls will continue to own and manage the woodland and conduct sustainable forestry operations under a state-approved Forest Stewardship Plan. Simultaneous with selling the restriction, Cowls added Forest Stewardship Council Green Certification to its existing Tree Farm and Chapter 61 certifications on the property.
The Paul C. Jones Working Forest abuts a mosaic of 630 acres of additional permanently protected open space and is located between several significant protected public lands: the Mt. Toby State Demonstration Forest, the Quabbin Reservoir, the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area, and the Wendell and Erving State Forests. Combined, these areas provide a critical core and corridor for wildlife living and moving through these protected areas and larger forested regions. For a map of the property visit the Energy and Environmental Affairs web link at:
www.mass.gov/dfwele/press/paul_c_jones_working_forest_map.pdf
Housatonic Railroad Transfer Station Finally Shut Down
Our friends at HEAT (Hawleyville Environmental Action Team) have finally won a victory against the pollution from the Housatonic Railroad company at a waste transfer station in Hawleyville, CT.
An article in the Newtown Patch said, “After nearly five years of residents and town officials complaining about a solid waste facility in Hawleyville that earned multiple notices of violations from state regulators, the Housatonic Railroad has agreed to discontinue the operation and withdraw its permit for the facility to continue operating there in the future.”
The Housatonic Railroad does not believe it has to comply with local and state environmental laws because of the interstate commerce clause. In BEAT’s opinion, HRRC has violated federal Clean Water Act laws as well as state wetland protection laws. They have not been an environmentally responsible railroad and, any taxpayer funding they receive should come with strict requirements that they change their ways and become environmentally responsible.
Emerald Ash Borer and Biomass
– by Josh Schlossberg, from The BioMass Monitor
The emerald ash borer (EAB) continues to spread across the eastern U.S., threatening the future of the tree species, with experts fearing the ash could go the way of the elm over the coming decades. While federal and state agencies and environmental groups have launched education campaigns discouraging the transportation of firewood, what about the spread of the EAB in wood chips bound for biomass energy facilities?
In October 2004, The Detroit News reported an outbreak of the EAB surrounding a biomass power facility in Flint, Michigan. In 2005’s “The Survival of EAB in Wood Chips,” Dr. David L. Roberts of Michigan State University Extension wrote, “this research suggested that the EAB had been transported in ash wood and/or ash chips.”
In New York State, wood chips can be transported out of EAB-infested quarantined areas from late fall to early spring, outside of the “flight season” for the winged invasive pest. These wood chips must be accompanied by a “compliance agreement” to burn, treat, or dispose of the chips in a timely manner, according to Sloane Crawford of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Between one-half to two-thirds of the wood fueling Burlington, Vermont’s McNeil biomass power incinerator comes from New York. “No facilities in Vermont have a compliance agreement” for accepting wood chips from quarantined areas, said Barbara Burns, of the Vermont Department of Forests. However, unlike Vermont, New York does not map biomass logging sites and would not share the location of any of McNeil’s sites. McNeil transports wood from a 100-mile radius.
EPA to Seek Stakeholder Input on Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Management Plans
from Water Headlines for the week of January 9, 2012
EPA is holding a series of five workshops to solicit stakeholder input on the use of integrated municipal stormwater and wastewater plans to meet the water quality objectives of the Clean Water Act. The workshops are intended to assist EPA in developing an integrated planning approach framework that could be used to help municipalities prioritize their infrastructure investments in order to maximize water quality benefits and consider various innovative approaches, such as green infrastructure, that may be more sustainable.
The workshops will include a facilitated discussion with representatives of interested stakeholder groups, including those organizations that represent local government administrators, publicly owned treatment works, state National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting authorities, and nonprofit environmental groups. Interested members of the public are invited to observe and offer verbal comments at designated times during the workshop or submit written comments to the Agency.
The workshops will be held on the following dates at the following locations:
January 31, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
EPA Region 4 Office
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
February 6, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
EPA Region 2 Office
290 Broadway
New York, NY 10007-1866
February 13, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
EPA Region 10 Office
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
February 15, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
EPA Region 7 Office
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
February 17, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
EPA Region 5 Office
77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60604-3507:
Participants must pre-register to attend the workshops by January 20, 2012 at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/integratedplans.
For additional information and to register for the workshop, please visit EPA’s Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Plans website at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/integratedplans or contact Kevin Weiss, Office of Water, Office of Wastewater Management by phone at: 202-564-0742 or via e-mail at: weiss.kevin@epa.gov.
EPA PCB TMDL Handbook Released
EPA has issued a technical document titled Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Handbook, which provides EPA regions, states, and other stakeholders with updated information for addressing Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) waters impaired by PCBs. PCBs rank sixth among the national causes of water quality impairment in the country, and of the 71,000 waterbody-pollutant combinations listed nationally, over 5,000 (eight percent) are PCB-related. This handbook identifies various approaches to developing PCB TMDLs and provides examples of TMDLs from around the country, complete with online references. It aims to help states complete more PCB TMDLs and ultimately restore those waters impaired by PCBs.
The PCB TMDL Handbook is available at: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/tmdl/upload/pcb_tmdl_handbook.pdf.
EPA Launches Recovery Potential Screening Website to Assist Restoration Planners
from Water Headlines for the week of January 9, 2012
EPA announces the release of a new technical assistance tool for state and watershed-level surface water quality protection and restoration programs: the recovery potential screening website (www.epa.gov/recoverypotential/). Recovery potential screening is a flexible approach for comparing relative differences in restorability among impaired waters across a state, watershed or other area. The website provides step-by-step screening directions, restorability indicators and literature, and tools for scoring and displaying results. EPA developed recovery potential screening to help users improve their restoration programs by revealing and comparing factors that influence restoration success. The method is applicable to watershed priority setting, impaired waters listing, TMDL implementation, 319/nonpoint source control, healthy watersheds assessment, and watershed plan development. For additional information, please contact Doug Norton (norton.douglas@epa.gov).
Eagle Count Date Change
Friday, January 13, 2012 will bethe new date for a concentrated survey of major rivers, lakes, reservoirs and the coast by staff from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and volunteers across the state. Originally the date was set for January 6, 2012. In 2011, a record 107 bald eagles were documented in Massachusetts during the one-day event.This event is part of a nationwide Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey that is held every year in early January.
Anyone spotting an eagle from January 4, 2012 – January 18, 2012 is encouraged to report the sighting by email at Mass.wildlife@state.ma.usor by postal mail to “Eagle Survey” MassWildlife, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581. Please provide date, time, location and town of eagle sightings, number of birds, juvenile or adult, and observer contact information. The best eagle viewing locations at this time of year include:
Belchertown – Enfield Lookout at Quabbin Reservoir. Eagles can be viewed at a long distance.
Accessible Winter Recreation at D.A.R. State Forest
WHAT: The Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Universal Access Program will offer cross-country skiing, kick sledding and snowshoeing for individuals with disabilities at D.A.R. State Forest in January and March. In the event of no snow or ice, hiking, nature walks and other activities will occur.
The Universal Access Program (UAP) provides recreational accessibility to state parks for individuals with disabilities, their families, and friends. Free use of accessible equipment and staff assistance is available.
UAP strives to increase the participation among persons with disabilities in indoor and outdoor recreational activities in integrated settings. In January, February, and March, UAP will offer ice skating, sit-skating, cross-country skiing, sit cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, kick sledding, snowmobiling, and other winter activities at Massachusetts state parks. The program also offers accessible cycling, boating, hiking, bird watching and horseback riding in summer and fall.
Pre-registration is required. Call Starves Outdoor Access at 413 259-0009. Also, ask about volunteer opportunities.
WHEN: Thursdays, January 12, 19th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesdays, March 6 and 13th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
WHERE: D.A.R. State Forest
Located on Rt. 112 in Goshen
Directions: Mass Pike (I-90) to exit 4, I-91N to exit 19, Northampton. Rte. 9 west to Goshen.
Rte. 112 north. The Park entrance is 1 mile on right. 413 268-7098
For more information on DCR’s Universal Access Program and a schedule of activities, and to confirm program status, call 617-626-1294 (voice) or 413-577-2200 (TTY) or visit www.mass.gov/dcr and click on “universal access program.”
Housing Appeal for Wood Ducks in Massachusetts
There is a wildlife housing need in Massachusetts that conservationists of all kinds can support! The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is welcoming donations of constructed wood duck boxes or lumber for building boxes. Wood ducks are one of the few kinds of waterfowl (ducks and geese) that nest in cavities or holes in trees. There are not enough natural cavities available in the state for nesting, but constructed boxes have filled the gap. While wood ducks are wintering in warm, southern climes, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) biologists and technicians will soon be braving chilly winter temperatures on icy ponds, marshes, and other wetlands evaluating the condition of wood duck boxes and replacing boxes that are missing or in disrepair. “Wood duck hens will return to the same box to nest year after year,” said H Heusmann, DFW Waterfowl Project Leader. “Imagine the plight of a wood duck hen coming back from wintering down south and finding her nesting site gone.”
Heusmann noted that in 2009 when an appeal for wood duck boxes went out, the public response was gratifying. Within a month, of the call for wood duck nest boxes sportsmen, Boy Scouts, school groups, and other individual conservationists built and donated over 200 boxes, or the lumber to make wood duck boxes. This filled the immediate need for 2009 and was a very helpful boost for the 2010 season. Wood duck box plans are posted on the Division’s website at: www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/facts/birds/waterfowl/wood_duck_box.htm. Heusmann points out that these specific plans should be used as the design makes it simple to swap out parts and to place the boxes. Duck boxes need to be constructed with rough-cut pine, making the box easy to transport, and allowing newly-hatched ducklings a more secure foothold as they scramble up and out of the box for their first swim. Completed wood duck boxes can be dropped off at any of the five district offices located in Pittsfield, Belchertown, West Boylston, Acton, and Bourne, or the DFW Field Headquarters in Westborough during business days and hours. Depending on the weather, the window of opportunity for safe, strong ice to put up new boxes closes by late February, therefore, box delivery by early February would be ideal for this year’s need. Unused boxes will be kept in storage and used in the following season.
For those interested conservationists don’t have the time or ability to build a box but want to support this project, the Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is also partnering with the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife in this appeal by accepting donations of money and materials that will go directly toward wood duck nest box construction. Mail a check to P. O. Box 47, Westborough, MA, 01581or pay through the Foundation’s website at www.massoutdoorheritage.org. Gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible.
For more information about this project, see the Great Outdoors Blog on wood duck placement written last winter at: http://environment.blog.state.ma.us/blog/2011/01/field-report-duck-boxes-on-ice-needs-photo.htmlor contact H Heusmann at (508) 389-6321.
Henry P. Kendall Foundation Job Opening: Program Assistant
Posted December 9, 2011
POSITION DESCRIPTION
The Henry P. Kendall Foundation is seeking a full-time program assistant to support all aspects of the foundation’s programs and operations. The program assistant will join the foundation’s small team at an exciting time of new direction as we develop a grantmaking program that seeks to contribute to the creation of a resilient and sustainable food system in the New England region. We are seeking a highly motivated and well-organized professional to provide support to the CEO and senior program officer and take on a range of discrete projects that will support the foundation as it launches its new program.
Program assistant responsibilities:
- Provide overall office management for the foundation
- Create and maintain grantee files (electronic and hard copies), including grantee profiles in grants management system (GIFTS)
- Update and manage the foundation’s electronic and organizational systems
- Do preliminary research on potential grantees and other program-related topics
- Assist with monitoring of key trends and issues in the region related to the foundation’s grantmaking
- Coordinate grantee award letter process and communication with grantees
- Provide logistics and planning support for convenings, meetings and travel
- Assist the CEO and senior program officer with preparation for meetings
- Draft email correspondence and assist with scheduling
- Maintain the foundation’s web site
Requirements and competencies:
- BA required
- 2-3 years of relevant work experience
- Highly organized and able to keep track of multiple projects simultaneously
- Excels in a start-up mode and is willing to identify and take on a range of tasks as needed.
- Basic computer literacy and knowledge of Microsoft Office
- Comfortable with internet research
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate
- Familiarity with the nonprofit sector or food systems a plus
The Henry P. Kendall Foundation offers a competitive salary and benefits package. The position will be located at the foundation’s headquarters in Boston, MA.
To Apply:
Please submit a resume and cover letter to Courtney Bourns, Senior Program Officer, by email: info@kendall.org
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will be filled as soon as the right candidate is identified.
HENRY P. KENDALL FOUNDATION JOB OPENING, Program Assistant
EPA Accepting Proposals and Questions on Urban Waters Small Grants
from Water Headlines for the week of January 9, 2012
EPA is accepting proposals and questions for its urban waters small grants. In December, the Agency announced that it will provide up to $1.8 million for projects across the country to protect Americans’ health and help restore urban waters by improving water quality and supporting community revitalization. The funding is part of EPA’s Urban Waters program, which supports communities in their efforts to access, improve and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding land. Urban waters are canals, rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, estuaries, bays and oceans.
Funding proposals must be received by January 23, 2012 and the deadline for submitting questions is January 16, 2012. For more information and to view updated answers to frequently asked questions, visit http://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/funding/.