{"id":34498,"date":"2019-01-08T19:17:03","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T00:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/?page_id=34498"},"modified":"2019-01-08T19:17:16","modified_gmt":"2019-01-09T00:17:16","slug":"beatnews-01-09-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/beatnews-01-09-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"The BEAT News | January 9, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<h3 id=\"headline\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Sue Morse Coming to Town<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you&#8217;ve ever attended a BEAT Tracking Club event, you&#8217;ve probably heard mention of Sue Morse, the preeminent wildlife tracker and photographer. This spring we&#8217;re thrilled to once again be hosting Sue on a mini-tour around the region.&nbsp;<em><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">FROM BERKSHIRE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION TEAM<\/span><\/em><em style=\"text-align: left; color: #191e23; font-size: 16px;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><strong><a href=\"#almostfirst\">&lt;more&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<h4 id=\"headline\" style=\"text-align: center;\">George L. &#8216;Gige&#8217; Darey, leading light of Berkshires conservation, dies at 90<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"transcript\" style=\"text-align: left;\">When it comes time for eulogies to flow about the life of George L. &#8220;Gige&#8221; Darey, expect no shortage of anecdotes. &nbsp;The colorful and adventurous Darey, who died Friday afternoon at the age of 90, was a masterful storyteller, whose passion for education and the outdoors ran deep in the Berkshires and straddled two centuries.&nbsp;<em>FROM THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE &nbsp;<\/em><strong style=\"font-size: 16px; text-align: left;\"><a href=\"#first\">&lt;more&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h3 id=\"link-7359ff49\" class=\"css-1orvmgz ejekc6u0\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Columbia Gas Resistance Campaign Files Scoping Comment to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Over 500 individuals and 40 organizations in the affected and surrounding communities, signed their names to initial comments submitted by the Columbia Gas&nbsp;Resistance Campaign regarding the scope of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission\u2019s environmental review of the \u201c261 Upgrade Projects\u201d proposed by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company.&nbsp;<span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>FROM COLUMBIA GAS RESISTANCE &amp; CLIMATE ACTION NOW WESTERN MA&nbsp;<\/em><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/span><\/span><strong style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"#second\">&lt;more&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 4\">\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 4\">\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 4\">\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 4\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 4\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8216;America&#8217;s lion&#8217; needs wild space, less hunting, for a Northeast comeback<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p>Keep wilderness intact and stop the killing of them in the West. Then, maybe mountain lions will make a real comeback here, according to one expert. <em>FROM THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE <\/em><strong style=\"font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;\"><a href=\"#third\">&lt;more&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 4\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 4\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div align=\"justify\">\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" style=\"text-align: left;\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<h3 id=\"link-51384c5d\" class=\"css-1x5ulj9 ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Log Cabins? No, These Wooden Buildings<br \/>\nAre High-Rises<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Developers have not used wood for much other than houses since the horse-and-buggy days. But the knotty building material is making a comeback.&nbsp;<em><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><\/em><em style=\"text-align: left; color: #191e23; font-size: 16px;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><\/em><strong style=\"text-align: left; font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"#fourth\">&lt;more&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<hr>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Officials: Oregon&#8217;s timber at risk from North Carolina insect<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Elongate hemlock scale entered state on Christmas trees.&nbsp;<\/strong>A non-native insect that entered Oregon this fall on Christmas trees harvested in North Carolina has the potential to harm Oregon\u2019s timber economy, officials say.&nbsp;<em><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">FROM THE COLUMBIAN&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/span><\/span><strong style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"#fifth\">&lt;more&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/jobs-board\/\">JOBS BOARD<\/a><\/span><a id=\"almostfirst\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<h3 id=\"headline\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Sue Morse Coming to Town<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">FROM BERKSHIRE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION TEAM<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve ever attended a BEAT Tracking Club event, you&#8217;ve probably heard mention of Sue Morse, the preeminent wildlife tracker and photographer. This spring we&#8217;re thrilled to once again be hosting Sue on a mini-tour around the region.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, February 22nd Sue will give her legendary Mountain Lion Presentation in Salisbury, CT. This event is coordinated but the Salisbury Land Trust and will be held from 7-9pm at the Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, CT.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>On Saturday, February 23rd we have three opportunities to learn. During the day, Sue will be running 2 different workshops (one at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/event\/sue-morse-wildlife-tracking-workshop-1\/\">9:30am<\/a> and the other at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/event\/sue-morse-wildlife-tracking-workshop-2\/\">1pm<\/a>) in Great Barrington. At 7pm in the Boland Theater at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Sue will present on her groundbreaking recent work in the Arctic: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/event\/animals-of-the-north-what-will-climate-change-mean-for-them\/\">Animals of the North: How Will Climate Change Affect Them?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The next day, Sunday, February 24th, we&#8217;re really excited to partner with the Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center in Windsor for 2 more tracking workshops (again at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/event\/sue-morse-wildlife-tracking-workshop-1-2\/\">9:30am<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/event\/sue-morse-wildlife-tracking-workshop\/\">1pm<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Space is limited for each workshop so reserve early. Please join us for any of these exciting events next month!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a id=\"first\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<div class=\"m_662551987236253121text-container m_662551987236253121galileo-ap-content-editor\">\n<h3 id=\"headline\" style=\"text-align: center;\">George L. &#8216;Gige&#8217; Darey, leading light of Berkshires conservation, dies at 90<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.berkshireeagle.com\/stories\/george-l-gige-darey-leading-light-of-berkshires-conservation-dies-at-90,559782?\">FROM THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE | BY LARRY PARNASS<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"transcript\">LENOX \u2014 When it comes time for eulogies to flow about the life of George L. &#8220;Gige&#8221; Darey, expect no shortage of anecdotes.<\/p>\n<p>The colorful and adventurous Darey, who died Friday afternoon at the age of 90, was a masterful storyteller, whose passion for education and the outdoors ran deep in the Berkshires and straddled two centuries.<\/p>\n<p>Darey died of congestive heart failure at home on Hubbard Street in his native Lenox, attended by his longtime partner, Virginia Akabane, as well as two cousins.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think he chose to die on the winter solstice,&#8221; said Akabane, who met Darey four decades ago through a bicycling club after Darey&#8217;s first marriage ended in divorce. &#8220;The solstice is the end of fall. In Lenox, it&#8217;s the end of the `Gige&#8217; era, and the start of a new season.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There will have to be a new institution that steps up,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Plans for a memorial service for Darey are incomplete.<\/p>\n<p>For years, Darey, a teacher who grew up hunting and fishing, helped bring Massachusetts into the modern era when it comes to stewardship of fish and wildlife. Darey represented the Western Wildlife District on the state Fisheries and Wildlife Board for 38 years \u2014 all but three of them as chairman, stepping down in December 2016. In that time, he served under eight governors and worked with four directors of MassWildlife.<\/p>\n<p>On Oct. 30, Darey became the 14th state resident to receive the Francis W. Sargent Conservation Award from the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, an act that honored Darey&#8217;s contributions to conservation and sports over many years. Sargent, a former Massachusetts governor, oversaw the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife from 1963 to 1964.<\/p>\n<p>George Wislocki of Pittsfield, founding president of the Berkshires Natural Resources Council, said his longtime friend will be remembered for his leadership on the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, where he drove advances in conservation practice rooted in science.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ve been leaders in the nation, taking on the task of protecting rare and endangered species,&#8221; Wislocki said of the program Darey helped shape. &#8220;Good people were attracted because of Gige&#8217;s determination that it would be a professional organization. It&#8217;s grown up to be what it should be. There&#8217;s no doubt that Gige really enjoyed being with scientists and professional people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Darey is believed to have gotten his lifelong nickname, &#8220;Gige,&#8221; from the way a French-speaking grandparent would pronounce his first name.<\/p>\n<p>Wislocki added, &#8220;He was somebody whose company I enjoyed. He was a great storyteller.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Akabane said she knows of a list a friend maintained of the distinct stories that her partner of 37 years was known to tell in regular rotation. The titles of the stories alone runs to two and a half pages.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are hundreds of George Darey stories,&#8221; she said, then couldn&#8217;t help but launch into one of them, about Darey&#8217;s school-boy revenge on a tattletale janitor involving a paper bag filled with water, a lisp and a principal&#8217;s empty threat.<\/p>\n<p>Akabane said Darey grew up loving the outdoors and would go off rabbit hunting even before he was legally allowed to carry a rifle. He kept a rifle hidden in a tarp in a dead tree so he wouldn&#8217;t be seen carrying a gun around Lenox.<\/p>\n<p>One story recounts the time he was spotted out hunting, at age 9 or 10, and a man tapped him on the shoulder. Expecting to be chastised, Darey instead heard the man say that the boy&#8217;s late father would be proud of him.<\/p>\n<p>Darey&#8217;s work on behalf of conservation was recognized in 2004 when the Housatonic Valley Wildlife Management Area in Lenox, managed by the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, was renamed the George Darey Wildlife Management Area. Before that, his work on behalf of the environment was noted in 1996 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave him an award for his work.<\/p>\n<p>Darey&#8217;s public service was extensive. He served on the board of the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, on Green Berkshires and with Sportsmen for Land Preservation. He was a founding member of the Housatonic River Initiative, the Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation and the Lenox Land Trust. He also served on the first Lenox Conservation Commission, and in that capacity joined the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions. He was also elected to the Lenox Select Board.<\/p>\n<p>Akabane said Darey was at first dismissive of the Sargent Conservation Award he received this fall, as his health was faltering.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When the day came, he was proud,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>At the award ceremony, held at the Lenox Sportsmen&#8217;s Club, Michael Roche, vice president of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, said he had worked with Darey since 1986.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No individual I know has ever had a greater positive impact or contributed more to the natural resources of Massachusetts in so many critical ways,&#8221; Roche said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It has been a fun ride,&#8221; Darey told wildlife officials, when asked to help prepare a news release on his honor. &#8220;I have been even more fortunate to have worked with, and get to know, so many people and organizations with a passion for our environment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I have been lucky to be involved for so many years with something I love,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><a id=\"second\"><\/a><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"#top\">return to top<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h3 id=\"link-7359ff49\" class=\"css-1orvmgz ejekc6u0\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Columbia Gas Resistance Campaign Files Scoping Comment to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)<\/h3>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/climateactionnowma.org\/columbia-gas-resistance-campaign-comment-to-ferc\/\">FROM COLUMBIA GAS RESISTANCE &amp; CLIMATE ACTION NOW WESTERN MA&nbsp;<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Over 500 individuals and 40 organizations in the affected and surrounding communities, signed their names to initial comments submitted by the Columbia Gas&nbsp;Resistance Campaign regarding the scope of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission\u2019s environmental review of the \u201c261 Upgrade Projects\u201d proposed by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company. &nbsp;Among the endorsers are four newly elected western Massachusetts legislators.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Tennessee Gas is proposing to add 2.1 miles of new pipeline and to increase horsepower at the existing compressor station in Agawam as part of the Columbia Gas \u201cReliability Plan\u201d which includes a new pipeline across West Springfield and other expansions in their Greater Springfield Service Area.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>One concern raised in the comments focuses on the September 13, 2018 explosions and fires in the Merrimack Valley which cast serious doubts on both the claimed need for and the safety of the TGP Projects<\/strong>&nbsp;which are designed to ensure delivery of more gas to Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (\u201cColumbia\u201d). &nbsp;Since the tragedy, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has imposed an indefinite moratorium on most Columbia work. Columbia Gas and its parent&nbsp;company, NiSource, are both&nbsp;under federal investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board&nbsp;and subject to a Congressional hearing and wrongful death suits.&nbsp;It is not lost on us that Columbia was also the company responsible for the 2012 explosion in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Another concern raised in the comments is that the stated need for the project has been vastly overblown, with Columbia Gas speculating unrealistic gas demand growth in the region to support its expansion proposal.<\/strong> Many local communities are committed to reduced energy use and the conversion to locally-sourced renewable energy as recommended by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. \u201cLess costly and more environmentally sustainable alternatives to the project include more aggressive home energy efficiency interventions by Columbia Gas and greater policy emphasis on and subsidy of efficient electric heat pumps and other clean heating technologies and appliances,\u201d said Susan Theberge of Northampton, an organizer with Climate Action Now.<\/p>\n<p>Northampton has adopted a 100% Renewable Energy plan and has resolved to oppose the Projects as unnecessary. While Northampton recently ran a bulk buying program for efficient heat pumps, Longmeadow and Springfield are in the midst of community-wide solarize programs that set the stage for adoption of efficient electric technologies powered by clean energy. &nbsp;Holyoke, which would also receive additional gas pipeline capacity through these projects, has made strides to greatly reduce its reliance on fossil fuels for electric power generation. \u201cWe hope and intend for our city to also phase out fossil fuels for heating, so this pipeline expansion would take us down the wrong path,\u201d said Jacqueline&nbsp;Velez of Neighbor to Neighbor Holyoke.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Additional concerns include the projects&#8217; contributions to the mounting threats of climate change affecting our region, to the worsening air quality in the region,&nbsp;and the lasting local impacts on wetlands, stream and riverfront areas, endangered and threatened species, and soils and agriculture. <\/strong>&nbsp;At least one farm\u2019s acreage is likely to be taken by eminent domain.<\/p>\n<p>The complete Scoping Comment filed with FERC&nbsp;can be found <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/climateactionnowma.us9.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=e296a8ea584166df5b5a3e410&amp;id=62ffe745d4&amp;e=823cdfd149\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/climateactionnowma.us9.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u%3De296a8ea584166df5b5a3e410%26id%3D62ffe745d4%26e%3D823cdfd149&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1547073691156000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHPJZmcyC-D5bNRhDtqudOyZnPkJQ\">here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 4\">\n<p><a id=\"third\"><\/a><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"#top\">return to top<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8216;America&#8217;s lion&#8217; needs wild space, less hunting, for a Northeast comeback<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.berkshireeagle.com\/stories\/americas-lion-needs-wild-space-less-hunting-for-a-northeast-comeback,560892\">FROM THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE | BY HEATHER BELLOW<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p>GREAT BARRINGTON \u2014 Keep wilderness intact and stop the killing of them in the West. Then, maybe mountain lions will make a real comeback here, according to one expert.<\/p>\n<p>Ecologist Susan Morse, who studied mountain lions for 20 years in the western states where they are established, says a true recovery of the species in the Northeast will require enough wild space for the big cats to have the privacy &#8220;to do what they do unmolested by people or livestock.&#8221; She says this would be a good thing, since the cats would control deer populations that are &#8220;ruinous for our woods.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Morse, founder and director of Keeping Track, a Vermont-based nonprofit that trains people to record and monitor wildlife, says politically, restoring predators isn&#8217;t popular.<\/p>\n<p>But with wild animals, change can also happen fast, she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We all remember on Tuesday, when there were no moose in our area, and by Thursday, there were moose,&#8221; Morse said of the return of the species to Vermont. &#8220;I don&#8217;t shut the door on the future. It&#8217;s definitely happening \u2014 [mountain lions have] expanded their range.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While state officials and experts like Morse agree that the mountain lion is not breeding in Massachusetts and has been deemed officially extinct in the Northeast, they know that some of the cats also known as panthers, cougars and pumas do travel east of their established range, and there is science-based evidence to support this.<\/p>\n<p>In Massachusetts, three sightings between 1997 and 2016 have been confirmed by scat, DNA, or tracks, according to the Cougar Network, a nonprofit that studies the habitat and movements of the big cats.<\/p>\n<p>The Network&#8217;s interactive map also shows confirmed sightings in Quebec, Maine, Connecticut and New York State.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mountain Lion fever<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ever since a Monterey town official reported seeing one of the cats last month, reports of mountain lion sightings around the Berkshires over the years have continued to roll in.<\/p>\n<p>People say they know what they saw.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I have seen mountain lions twice in the Berkshires, both times in Egremont,&#8221; wrote Daniel DuVall, who saw the cats in 1990 and 2015. DuVall said he knows what a mountain lion looks like, since he used to raise them at the Catskill Game Farm, a privately owned zoo in New York state.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My son and I definitely saw a mountain lion, no mistake, in West Stockbridge,&#8221; wrote Nancy Morandi of a sighting 15 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>People writing to The Eagle say they&#8217;ve also seen them in Otis, Monterey, Sandisfield, Hinsdale and even crossing four lanes of traffic in Pittsfield.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was driving down Merrill Road in the middle of the day about 17 years ago &#8230; and a mountain lion ran right out in front of my car and three others,&#8221; wrote Beth Rose of Housatonic. &#8220;There&#8217;s not a doubt in my mind that it was a mountain lion. It was tawny, sleek and muscular and had a very long tail and was way bigger than a bobcat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Longtime Monterey-based naturalist Bonner McAllester has collected what she says are about five &#8220;ironclad, absolutely bona fide sightings&#8221; over the past couple of years, and noted that often people mistake a bobcat for it.<\/p>\n<p>State wildlife officials say that seeing a mountain lion that has traveled this far east is unlikely but not impossible.<\/p>\n<p>In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the animal extinct in the Northeast, their populations cut down by bounty hunters in the 19th century.<\/p>\n<p>But it&#8217;s a question that also persists in other states, as people report seeing the large tawny cat outside its confirmed habitat. In 2015 researchers at the University of Minnesota and Southern Illinois University Carbondale found that since 1990, sightings to the east of the mountain lion&#8217;s established range had risen, with sharp increases between 2006 and 2014.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastward bound?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Morse, who is also an adviser to the Cougar Rewilding Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the &#8220;recovery of cougars to all of their former range east of the Rocky Mountains,&#8221; said there is evidence of long journeys east by male mountain lions to states like Missouri and Nebraska. But they&#8217;ll only settle down in an area if there are females around.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a known fact that mountain lions are trying to move to new habitats,&#8221; Morse said. &#8220;Whether or not they will succeed will depend on the ability of females to get here from the western states.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When asked how females might make a comeback in the east, Morse said it depends on what goes on in the West, where mountain lions are killed for trophy mounts.<\/p>\n<p>One hunting website says the cats are a prize catch, &#8220;The most elusive game in the Americas.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Stop killing them at the source,&#8221; Morse said. &#8220;This is not sane. This is America&#8217;s lion. This is it \u2014 this is our only big cat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The west affects the east<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mountain lion killings have risen in recent decades, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation, a Sacramento, Calif., nonprofit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;More than twice as many mountain lions were killed from 1971 to 2010 than were killed during the previous seven decades by bounty hunters,&#8221; the organization&#8217;s website says.<\/p>\n<p>In South Dakota, where mountain lions are established, one state official said that Morse is right that hunting females will reduce the chances the cats will settle down in the Northeast, since female cats don&#8217;t disperse as far as males.<\/p>\n<p>But they will eventually get here, he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Over time they will continue to move east provided they&#8217;re not extirpated and mismanaged,&#8221; said John Kanta, regional supervisor for the Wildlife Division within South Dakota Game, Fish &amp; Parks. &#8220;Because it&#8217;s different what we&#8217;re doing now than what we did at the beginning of the last century when they were being poisoned and [killed] in an unregulated bounty system &#8230; a free-for-all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kanta, who has tried cougar meat, and says it is &#8220;not bad if you can get past the fact that it&#8217;s a cat,&#8221; said the state has a harvest limit of 60, and that a harvest of 40 females will close the season early. He said the limits are rarely reached, and average around 30 \u2014 so far this season only six have been killed.<\/p>\n<p>Even in South Dakota, people get worked up about this cat.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When they see it in the paper it creates a kind of hysteria,&#8221; Kanta said.<\/p>\n<p>Ken Miller, a Cougar Network co-founder who lives in Concord, said scientific confirmation will lend credence to sightings in the Berkshires.<\/p>\n<p>And Miller also says it&#8217;s clear the big cat is eastward bound.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just a matter of time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.95em;\" href=\"#top\">return to top<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><a id=\"fourth\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<hr>\n<h3 id=\"link-51384c5d\" class=\"css-1x5ulj9 ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Log Cabins? No, These Wooden Buildings<br \/>\nAre High-Rises<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/01\/business\/timber-wood-construction-real-estate.html\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES | BY C. J. HUGHES<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Developers have not used wood for much other than houses since the horse-and-buggy days. But the knotty building material is making a comeback.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Seeking greener projects, which many consumers continue to embrace despite an anti-environmental mood in Washington, builders are choosing timber for offices, apartments and campus buildings, rather than the concrete and steel that dominated construction for decades.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Not everybody is on board with the trend, which is playing out from coast to coast. Concerns persist about wood\u2019s flame resistance and strength, as well as its cost, which can be 30 percent more than traditional materials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">But proponents scored a huge win last month when the International Code Council, an influential advisory group in Washington, concluded that some wooden buildings could climb as high as 18 stories, more than twice the current permissible height, without compromising safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Consumers have already shown interest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cThe connections people have with wood cannot be underestimated,\u201d said Tim Gokhman, the director of <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newlandmke.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Land Enterprises<\/a>, which is behind two projects in Milwaukee that are mostly made of wood. One is a seven-story office building. The other is Ascent, a 201-unit luxury rental tower that, at 21 stories, would be the tallest timber building in the Western Hemisphere. Both await approvals \u2014 including permission to exceed height restrictions, which developers say will not pose any danger \u2014 but expect to break ground this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Unlike the production of concrete and steel, which generates huge amounts of carbon dioxide, the creation of lumber is a relatively low-pollution process, Mr. Gokhman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Trees are also an easily renewable resource, achieving nearly their full size in a decade, according to <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kaa-arch.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jason Korb<\/a>, an architect and a designer of both New Land projects. He added that the United States had some catching up to do, as wooden towers exist or are underway in Australia, Austria, Canada and Norway, among other places.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cIt\u2019s really starting to come into its own around the world right now,\u201d Mr. Korb said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">For those who expect wooden buildings to resemble log cabins, the current crop may come as a surprise.<\/p>\n<p>Most have metal or brick facades, a stipulation of building codes focused on fire restrictions, which means the buildings often do not stand out from the outside. Inside, though, gently striated lumber surfaces are on full display, as they are at <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/carbon12pdx.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carbon12<\/a>, an eight-story, 14-unit condominium in Portland, Ore., currently the country\u2019s tallest wood structure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">In fact, there is so much exposed and unpainted wood, in columns, beams and ceilings, it gives the condos the appearance of a construction zone. Half the condos, which range from $800,000 to $1.3 million, have sold since the building opened last spring, said Ben Kaiser, the developer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Mr. Kaiser faced challenges getting Carbon12 built. The permitting process took almost two years to wind through city and state agencies, largely because wood buildings in Oregon could top out at no more than six stories, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">In the end, officials concluded that wooden high-rises could help revive Oregon\u2019s stagnant timber industry, Mr. Kaiser said. In August, the state increased the height limit to 18 stories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Carbon12\u2019s timber, however, did not come cheap, according to Mr. Kaiser, whose <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kaiserpath.com\/the-radiator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">offices<\/a> were also built with timber. Indeed, at $11 million, Carbon12 was about 20 percent more expensive to construct than a concrete version would have been, which in some ways dictated that it be a luxury condo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cIt\u2019s like anything \u2014 the first iPhone, the first flat-screen TV,\u201d Mr. Kaiser said. \u201cCosts are high because not enough people are doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Nevertheless, he plans to use wood from now on. In addition to their green benefits, he said, wood buildings perform well in earthquakes because of their lighter weight and flexibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Proponents of wood must still overcome a longstanding bias. In the 1800s, fires were a <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.architecture.org\/learn\/resources\/architecture-dictionary\/entry\/the-great-chicago-fire-of-1871\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">scourge<\/a>, prompting restrictions on wood. But steel is not infallible and can buckle in extreme heat, said John Peronto, a principal at the engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti who is involved in the two Milwaukee projects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cBut we\u2019ve gotten comfortable using steel and concrete products, so the question\u2019s been, \u2018Why would we change?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Still, wood is not what it used to be. The decline in old-growth forests means developers can no longer count on huge single trunks to support floors. Instead, they rely on mass timber, an engineered product made of layers of spruce or fir pressed together in a way that is similar to plywood but with a more elegant look.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Nail-laminated timber fortifies <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.t3northloop.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">T3<\/a>, a three-year-old, seven-story office building in Minneapolis\u2019s North Loop neighborhood. Eighty-two percent of the steel-clad building, whose name is shorthand for \u201ctimber, technology and transit,\u201d is leased to tenants like Amazon, which occupies three floors. Asking rents are about $23 a square foot, said David Schreiber, a managing director at LaSalle Investment Management, the landlord.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Also leasing space there is Industrious, a co-working provider, which had to spend about 15 percent more than usual to add conference rooms and private offices to <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.industriousoffice.com\/minneapolis\/north-loop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">its floor<\/a>, said Jamie Hodari, a company co-founder. Industrious had to route cables to avoid damaging the wood, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">But the investment appears worthwhile. T3 is far more popular among workers than Industrious\u2019s other Minneapolis outpost, in a glassy modern high-rise, Mr. Hodari said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cIt\u2019s almost like walking into a Swedish sauna,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Hines, the real estate investment firm that developed T3, took inspiration from a nearby office building it owns, which began life as a 19th-century warehouse. Despite robust demand, the brick-and-timber edifice had high turnover because it lacked contemporary finishes like soundproofing, said Steve Luthman, a Hines senior managing director. T3 kept its natural aesthetic, but Hines added touches like airtight windows and a modern heating system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Hines is taking T3 nationwide to cities like Atlanta, where a seven-story, 250,000-square-foot offering, developed with Invesco Real Estate, will open in West Midtown this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Denver and Chicago will get similar towers, which may be less expensive to construct than their predecessors. Wood remains expensive, but the assembly-line aspect of mass-timber production, in which factories make large panels, then assemble them on-site, saves time and labor costs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-u5vfum StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-4w7y5l\">\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cI think it works out to about the same,\u201d Mr. Luthman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">For all the recent headway, there have been stumbles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">In March, <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/expo\/news\/erry-2018\/08\/4965f0c7df3495\/problems-at-peavy-faulty-timbe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 1,000-pound section of floor gave way<\/a> at a mass-timber building under construction at Oregon State University. The floor was made of a relatively new product, cross-laminated timber, in which layers of wood are glued at right angles to each other. And two of the seven layers broke loose, said Steven Clark, a university spokesman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cI think it had a quieting effect on the market,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople began to ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">But after a four-month hiatus, construction of the $80 million building, Peavy Hall, resumed and is expected to be completed this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Winning acceptance for mass timber seems especially challenging in New York, which appears to have lagged other cities in proposals. But a handful of projects are underway in Brooklyn, including a pair of office buildings in Williamsburg from the firm <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/flankonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Flank<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Those buildings, at three and five stories, conform to city codes, which limit timber buildings to seven stories. But the developer shied from cross-laminated timber because of worries that the buildings might not be approved. Flank went with nailed wood instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cIt\u2019s hard to try new things here,\u201d said Mick Walsdorf, a Flank managing partner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Because land is so expensive in New York, a short building can be unrealistic, developers say. Indeed, the height limit frustrated Jeff Spiritos, a developer <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/therealdeal.com\/2015\/11\/25\/pining-for-wood-will-new-york-embrace-the-wooden-tower-movement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">who sought to build<\/a> a 10-story timber condo near Manhattan\u2019s High Line but withdrew the plan after two years of discussions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-ad-5-wrapper\" class=\"css-2ninbb\">\n<div id=\"story-ad-5-slug\" class=\"css-l9onyx\">\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">A former Hines executive, Mr. Spiritos is looking to put up wooden multifamily structures outside the city, like in New Haven. But New York may soon be more appealing, because of that December vote by the International Code Council.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">Any change to New York\u2019s building code, which the City Council would need to ratify, could take years. But Mr. Spiritos called it \u201chumongous\u201d news all the same.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk e2kc3sl0\">\u201cI feel so strongly about the environmental imperative of changing the way we build,\u201d he added, \u201cfor the health of the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a id=\"fifth\"><\/a><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a style=\"font-size: 12pt;\" href=\"#top\">return to top<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<hr>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Officials: Oregon&#8217;s timber at risk from North Carolina insect<\/h3>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.columbian.com\/news\/2018\/dec\/29\/officials-oregon-timber-at-risk-from-north-carolina-insect\/\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">FROM THE COLUMBIAN<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Elongate hemlock scale entered state on Christmas trees<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div>\n<p>EUGENE, Ore. \u2014 A non-native insect that entered Oregon this fall on Christmas trees harvested in North Carolina has the potential to harm Oregon\u2019s timber economy, officials say.<\/p>\n<p>The elongate hemlock scale is less than a quarter-inch long and hides on the bottom of needles, where it feeds, Wyatt Williams of the Oregon Department of Forestry said.<\/p>\n<p>About 8,000 Fraser fir trees from North Carolina came to the West Coast and were sold in large chain stores, the Register-Guard reported in a story on Friday. California officials discovered the insect after some shipments had already been sent to Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>A white appearance on the bottom of needles means the tree might be infested, officials say.<\/p>\n<p>The tiny insect attacks hemlock trees as well as evergreen trees native to Oregon, including Douglas fir and spruce trees. The insects cause trees to lose needles and become susceptible to other insects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnytime we get an invasive species it is a concern because we don\u2019t know how it will interact with our native environment and our native species,\u201d said Danny Norlander of the Oregon Department of Forestry.<\/p>\n<p>The main concern is the insects becoming established in the state. The trees shouldn\u2019t be left outside, officials said. Instead, they should be cut up and the pieces put in garbage bags and thrown away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat way it is sealed up,\u201d Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman Jim Gersbach said. \u201cSo if there are eggs on there and they hatch, then (the insects) won\u2019t be able to get anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a style=\"font-size: 12pt;\" href=\"#top\">return to top<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sue Morse Coming to Town If you&#8217;ve ever attended a BEAT Tracking Club event, you&#8217;ve probably heard mention of Sue Morse, the preeminent wildlife tracker and photographer. This spring we&#8217;re thrilled to once again be hosting Sue on a mini-tour&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-34498","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry","no-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The BEAT News | January 9, 2019 - Berkshire Environmental Action Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Environmental news from the Berkshires and western Massachusetts including a calendar of events and coverage of local news stories.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/beatnews-01-09-2019\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The BEAT News | January 9, 2019 - Berkshire Environmental Action Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Environmental news from the Berkshires and western Massachusetts including a calendar of events and coverage of local news stories.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/beatnews-01-09-2019\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Berkshire Environmental Action Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-09T00:17:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"24 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/beatnews-01-09-2019\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebeatnews.org\/BeatTeam\/beatnews-01-09-2019\/\",\"name\":\"The BEAT News | January 9, 2019 - 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