(Ace), and Elizabeth Please Help Support This Newsletter

September 11, 2019

Dear Friend,

Coming up on Saturday is the 10th annual Berkshire Bioblitz! Tell your neighbors! Come on out!

This Tuesday we are thrilled to welcome our own Weyessa (Ace) to talk about his work on water quality both here and in his home country of Ethiopia at Pittsfield Green Drinks. Join us for a fun night of good company and conversation.

That's it for now, folks. Thank you for all you do to protect the environment, Jane, Elia, Rose, Jake, Mary, Isabelle, Weyessa (Ace), and Elizabeth Please help support this newsletter. Thank you!

In The News

Berkshire Woods and Waters: Linking Landscapes a group for everyone to join GENE CHAGUE | THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE How many times have you been traveling along a road and have seen the dead carcasses of animals which have been hit by vehicles? And how many times have you seen such dead critters in the same location year after year? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the road is probably crossing their ancestral migration paths or some necessary transit way. Do you feel helpless and wish you could do something to reduce these casualties? FULL ARTICLE

Episode 1 : The first minutes of a disaster SEAN CORCORAN | WGBH Within moments of the first alarms, homes and businesses in the Merrimack Valley are aflame. Hundreds of people call 9-1-1, as thousands of residents in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover run from their homes, seeking safety in the streets. By the time the gas is shut off, 131 buildings are damaged or destroyed, one person is dead, and nearly two dozen are transported to hospitals. LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE

Find more climate and energy articles featured in this week's No Fracked Gas in Mass Weekly News Check-In. Find the news and subscribe here.

Self-tweeting tree is Harvard's newest climate change educator ALYSSA LUKPAT | THE BOSTON GLOBE Researchers are hoping a self-tweeting tree in the Harvard Forest will educate the world about climate change, officials said. The Harvard Forest Witness Tree is a century-old red oak programmed since July 17 to tweet updates about the weather and its health and surroundings, said Tim Rademacher, a co-lead on the “witness tree” project and a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard and Northern Arizona universities. FULL ARTICLE

North Carlonia greens its roadways, thanks to a bird-friendly, bipartisan law NORTH CAROLINA AUDUBON Birds and other pollinators will soon have new habitat along North Carolina’s roadways, thanks to a bipartisan bill championed by State Senator Bill Rabon and supported by Audubon advocates throughout the state. The law–Senate Bill 606–ensures the North Carolina Department of Transportation will prioritize native species of trees, grasses, and legumes when the agency plants vegetation along highways. FULL ARTICLE

Trees are key to fighting urban heat - but cities keep losing them MEG ANDERSON, NORA ECKERT, SEAN MCMINN | NPR Annie Haigler steps out of her home in Louisville, Ky., pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket to dab sweat off her forehead. She enjoys sitting on her porch, especially to watch the sunrise. She has always been a morning person. But as the day progresses, the heat can be unbearable for her. On summer days like this, when highs reach into the 90s, the lack of trees in her neighborhood is hard for Haigler to ignore. FULL ARTICLE

'It's really close' : how the Amazon Rainforest could self-destruct MAX FISHER | THE NEW YORK TIMES As fires rage across the Amazon, a growing number of scientists are raising the alarm about a nightmare scenario that could see much of the world’s largest rainforest erased from the earth. Climate change, along with the fires and other man-made forces, appear on the verge of triggering a significant change in the Amazon’s weather system. FULL ARTICLE

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JOBS

COMMUNITY CALENDAR We list events from a variety of local and regional organizations and individuals. BEAT events are in bold. Submit events to [email protected]

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 Mountain Mindfulness - Lanesborough Ashmere Island Canoe and Kayak Trip - Dalton Conservation of North Pacific Albatrosses - Athol Green Night : Green Roofs Update - Northampton Half Day Discovery Day: Self-guided Game Day - Turners Falls The Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening: Why Native Plants Matter to Songbirds... - Webinar

THURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 Nice and Easy Trail Hike - Lanesborough Pittsfield Tree Watch Meeting - Pittsfield Edible Perennial Gardening and Landscaping with Naturalist John Root - Turners Falls Tree Growth & Development in a Changing Climate - Webinar

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 Life in the Quarry - North Adams Log Lunch - Williamstown Full Moon Fright Hike - Lanesborough Kidleidoscope Story Hour – River Otters - Turners Falls Great Falls Coffeehouse Presents: Banjo Blue - Turners Falls

SEPTEMBER 14 - 15 10th Annual Berkshire BioBlitz - Pittsfield

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 Natural Bridge History Tour - North Adams Guided Hike - Williamstown Mountain Mindfulness - Lanesborough Creatures of the Night - Lanesborough 2nd Annual Pollinator Celebration Day - Amherst Growing Up WILD : Professional Development Workshop - Amherst Training: Nonviolent Direct Action - Northampton Northfield Family Energy Day - Northfield Alvah Crocker: From the Rugged Hand of Poverty to Visionary Leader - Turners Falls

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 Early Bird Birding with Jeff Johnstone - Athol Explore the Nature & Culture of Petticoat Hill - Williamsburg Hudson Valley Ramble Forest Walk - Millbrook, NY Sacred Fire Info Meeting - East Chatham, NY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 Working for Clean Water : Pittsfield Green Drinks - Pittsfield Trails and Tales Hike - Lanesborough Town Ecology for the Land of Towns and Villages - Petersham

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 Life in the Quarry - North Adams Reducing waste throughout life - North Adams 350MA-Berkshire Node Meeting - Pittsfield

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 Nice and Easy Trail Hike - Lanesborough Power Town History Stroll - Turners Falls

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 Life in the Quarry - North Adams Campground Critters - Lanesborough Climate Strike Solidarity Rally - Pittsfield Early Bird Birding with Jeff Johnstone - Athol Massachusetts Green Careers Conference - Westborough

SEPTEMBER 21 - 23 Wilderness Extravaganza – A Weekend of 5 Wilderness Skills Workshops! - Conway

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Natural Bridge History Tour - North Adams Creatures of the Night - Lanesborough Springside Park Fall Clean Up - Pittsfield Pittsfield Repair Cafe - Pittsfield Art Naturally: Discover Nature Through Story and Art - Turners Falls

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 Natural Bridge History Tour - North Adams The History and Nature of Mount Greylock’s Summit - Lanesborough Early Bird Birding with Jeff Johnstone - Athol

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 Trails and Tales Hike - Lanesborough State House Hearing : An Act Relative to Forest Protection - Boston

Complete Community Calendar

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITOR August 21, 2019

The Environmental Monitor provides information on projects under review by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) office, recent MEPA decisions of the Secretary of Energy & Environmental Affairs, and public notices from environmental agencies.

Berkshire Index

Egremont – Notice of Application for a 401 Water Quality Certificate (pdf) – Bank Disturbance within an Outstanding Resource Water and also within an Area of Critical Environmental Concern by Alice Kessler Harris and Bertram Silverman of 74 Jug End Roadrepairs to eroded stream bank along Karner Brook – posted 8/21/19 Hinsdale – Notice of Intent to Initiate an Ecological Restoration Project (pdf) – partial removal of Watson Road Dam – posted 8/21/19 Adams – Quarry Minerals Management Area – ENF Certificate – Requires Mandatory Environmental Impact Report – issued 8/2/19 Adams – Notice of Issuance of a Draft Operating Permit Renewal (pdf) – Specialty Minerals air quality permit – comments due 9/6/19 Becket – Notice of Intent to Initiate an Aquatic Plant Management Plan (pdf) – Buckley Dunton Lake using mechanical hydro rake and harvester – posted 8/7/19 Lee – Notice of Intent to Initiate an Ecological Restoration Project (pdf) – Hop Brook Wildlife Management Area – posted 8/7/19 Richmond – Notice of Intent to Initiate an Ecological Restoration Project (pdf) – Fairfield Brook Wildlife Management Area – posted 8/7/19

Pioneer Valley Index

Worthington – Notice of Intent to Initiate an Ecological Restoration Project (pdf) – Wildlife Habitat Management on property owned by Gary Roy and Kathleen Adamczyk, Ring Road – posted 8/21/19 Buckland, Florida, Monroe – Notice of Submission of a Yearly Operational Plan (pdf) – Great River Hydro, LLS vegetation management plan – comments due 9/20/19 at 5pm Orange – Notice of Intent to Initiate an Ecological Restoration Project (pdf) – Tully Mountain WMA & WCE Habitat Project – posted 8/7/19 Russell – Notice of Application for a 401 Water Quality Certification (pdf) – repair of double culvert (# R13022-BCH-DOT-BRI) under I-90 – posted 8/7/19 Southampton – Notice of Application for a 401 Water Quality Certification (pdf) – Application by Mr. Glenn West to remove the Lyman Pond Dam at 285 College Highway in Southampton on the Manhan River – posted 8/7/19 South Hadley – South Hadley Falls Urban Redevelopment & Renewal Plan (URRP) – comments due 8/27/19 Chicopee – Notice of Issuance of a Draft Operating Permit Renewal (pdf) – Chicopee Electric Light Clean Air Act permit – comments due 8/23/19 Agawam – Tennessee Gas Pipeline 261 Upgrade Projects – FEIR Certificate – Adequately and Properly Complies with MEPA – issued 8/2/19

Statewide Index

nothing new

PUBLIC NOTICES Public Notices listed here are from a variety of sources, from town conservation commissions and select boards to state and federal agencies. These listings are for Berkshire, Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin counties. Listings are only posted if they are environmental in nature. You can find all public notices for Massachusetts here.

Public Notices

29 Highland Ave - Pittsfield, MA - 01201 | (413) 230 7321 | [email protected]