"Explore anywhere in the nearly 2,000 square-mile, tri-state Housatonic Valley Watershed any time during the month of June. Go it alone or get a team together, then walk, bike, paddle, take photos, visit parks—you name it! Check out our interactive map on the Explore-a-thon website to locate the watershed or get some ideas on where to explore in your own backyard. You'll have the opportunity to compete in all kinds of activities for amazing prizes! Hike the most miles with your dog, visit the most sites in the watershed, or even take the best bird photo or selfie. Prizes include a guided overnight experience on the river, Patagonia gear, an evening at Troutbeck, a pair of hiking boots, an REI daypack, and more! All proceeds will go to supporting our commitment to protecting the natural character and environmental health of the entire Housatonic Watershed for this and future generations. Together, we can keep waterways and lands clean, healthy and climate-ready!" Learn More & Register

"Attorney General Maura Healey, who two years ago prompted the state to begin mapping the phaseout of natural gas in Massachusetts, is now asking it to scrap the blueprint emerging from the process, saying it favors gas company profits over a healthy climate. 'We should be setting the path for an energy system that is equitable, reliable, and affordable — not one that pumps more money into gas pipelines and props up utility shareholders,' said Healey, who is running for governor. In a 106-page document filed with the state Department of Public Utilities late last week, Healey also said the agency’s decision-making process should be overhauled to prioritize climate goals over the health of utilities, currently one of its functions.The filing is the latest salvo in a battle that has raged largely out of sight over the future of the gas industry in Massachusetts. Many climate advocates and the state’s own road map to net-zero greenhouse emissions call for radically reducing fossil fuels such as natural gas in favor of electricity supplied by a clean power grid. But when the public utilities department launched what it called an investigation into the future of natural gas in 2020, it gave responsibility for developing the blueprint to the gas utilities themselves. The proposals now emerging from that process, while they would allow for ramping up electrification, lean heavily on large-scale use of so-called decarbonized gas or renewable natural gas. These include tapping the gas generated by landfills or waste-water treatment plants, for example, or using renewable electricity sources to process hydrogen as a fuel. Utilities have also argued for a 'hybrid electrification' system, where homes would have electric heat pumps but also keep gas as a backup. But advocates say the industry’s suggestions are problematic since they would allow gas companies to continue using fuels that contribute to global warming simply by replacing what flows through their pipes." Read More

"The world needs vast quantities of lithium to meet demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage. And the United States is way behind China in securing a supply of this rare metal. [...] Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington have produced magnets that can separate lithium and other metals from water. This approach has the potential to allow companies to affordably gather lithium from sources like the brine used in geothermal power systems and the waste water left over from use by industry. [...] The lab has developed a magnetic “nanoparticle” that binds to the materials the user is trying to extract from a liquid. Then, as the liquid passes over a magnetic field, the nanoparticle, which is now latched onto the desired material—usually lithium—gets pulled out. [Jian Liu, a senior research engineer at the lab,] and his team have been developing this system for eight years. The version in the lab looks like a collection of water containers connected by clear plastic tubes and electronic pumps. At that time, Liu was focusing on how to extract lithium from the liquid that circulates in geothermal power plants. A geothermal power plant captures heat from below the earth’s surface to produce steam that turns a turbine to make electricity. The heat transfer takes place by circulating a liquid that travels from the ultra-hot depths of the earth to the surface and then back again.

The United States has more than 100 geothermal power plants, most of which are small, with combined capacity of less than 4,000 megawatts. But entrepreneurs are working on projects that could make geothermal a larger part of the energy mix and an important part of the transition to carbon-free electricity. [...] The same system can be used to gather lithium from 'produced water,' which includes waste water from mining, fracking and other industrial processes, and this could be a major source of lithium. [...] Based on an estimate of 1 trillion gallons of produced water in the United States and an average of 9 parts per million of lithium in that water, the lab’s system has the technical potential to be used to recover 34,000 tons of lithium per year, which is several multiples of current U.S. production, Liu said.

The main caveat is that the process has a cost that means it only makes economic sense for use in liquids with higher concentrations of lithium. The lab’s research is working to reduce the costs. Right now, the process is profitable for use in geothermal power plants with 100 parts per million of lithium, with a rate of return of about 15 percent, Liu said, citing estimates. But only a few geothermal plants have that much lithium in their brine." Read More

"Japanese knotweed, like a handful of other invasive plant species, is tenacious and persistent on the one hand but economically useful and often medicinally beneficial on the other. [...] Japanese knotweed occurs in patches with three quarters of the plant biomass typically found in the root network. Patches are commonly a single plant, a rhizomal network; smaller patches are generally easier to manage, but that is not a given. Moist ground and riverbanks are preferred habitats, at least in New England, but knotweed will absolutely colonize most disturbed spaces. Control of the patches is pursued by flush-cutting the plants completely to the ground. Uprooting and excavating are available options but only if the site allows. Since plants are cut above the rhizome system, they can be dried on pallets with little potential for re-sprout. Full sun and a New England winter remove all viability from the cut stalks. [...] The approach, therefore, is to condense extensive infestations into hotspots over time. Establish weed drying stations at the ends of the patch and perhaps intermittently, and then commence with aggressive flush-cutting for three to five growing seasons. [...] The material must be responsibly managed at all stages. Knotweed should ideally be kept on-site rather than transported to new locations; any sloppiness can have consequences. [...] Success depends on the patient transition of the site back to a diversity of native species. The success of that transition may rest on several factors, chief among them being the disturbance regime and soil conditions. If the soil quality is poor and disturbances occur regularly, native species will have difficulty reclaiming the space. But if regeneration succeeds in building anew the four layers of canopy, Japanese knotweed can be stressed, reduced, and crowded out over several years. [...] Towns, municipalities, and organizations can prioritize a number of appropriate control sites that allow for simple and centralized coordination. Towns also play a role in determining the long-term vision being pursued. Eradication or containment of an invasive species goes hand-in-hand with other elements of a larger stewardship plan. Towns are well-positioned to direct tree plantings, the gathering of community input, and the coordination amongst interest groups. The best hope of success on infestation sites is a transition process, whereby native species are favored and introduced even as the non-natives are selectively removed or suppressed." Read More

^{Photo by Anastasia Stanmeyer}

"In 2002, Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield had plans to install soccer fields. A committee of professors, students, and other community members pointed out that soccer fields would impact the area’s vernal pools—huge puddles created by springtime rain and snowmelt that are crucial breeding grounds for wood frogs, salamanders, and other animals, and whose ephemeral nature ensures that no fish are around to eat the animals’ eggs. Jane Winn, one of the community members on that soccer field committee and executive director of Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), recalls the outrage over the way the regulatory system, including Pittsfield’s Conservation Commission and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, failed to protect the hydrology of the vernal pools, which is the way water flows into them. Despite the tenacity of concerned citizens and students, the soccer fields were built. This was the impetus for starting BEAT in 2002 and getting incorporated in 2003, says Winn. [...] BEAT has three major focal areas— stewardship, education and outreach, and watchdogging—with an overarching mission to protect the environment for wildlife. Winn ran the organization out of her home with as many as 14 staff from 2002 to 2019. In November 2019, BEAT rented the former church building on Pittsfield’s Chapel Street on the banks of the Housatonic River. [...] In addition to their ongoing work to clean up the Housatonic River, BEAT’s projects include keeping off-track vehicle trails out of state forests, installing air-quality monitors at Pittsfield’s trash incinerator, and working with the city to reduce the size of their landfill. [...] We asked State Representative Smitty Pignatelli about the significance of BEAT in the Berkshires. 'I recall an older gentleman telling me years ago that our natural beauty is more valuable than an oil well in Saudi Arabia, and we all need to do what we can to protect it for the next generation to enjoy,' he says. 'For 20 years, BEAT has been the protector, and Jane Winn has always been there to answer any questions as well as provide technical resources for all of us to understand the complexities of the issue. We in the Berkshires have been blessed by our natural beauty, which is one of the main reasons people from all over the world visit us and partake in the world-class cultural attractions we offer. We all need to be protectors like Jane and her team. Our future depends on it.'" Read Read More

"Birds usually begin to migrate 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number in flight two to three hours later. Birds tend to migrate northward in spring, but seasonal timing, weather, and geography alter their flight directions and speeds. Migrating birds regularly fly up to 10,000 feet above ground, although seasonal timing and weather conditions dramatically impact their distributions. During spring migration, most birds pass through the contiguous U.S. from mid-April to mid-May." Check out avian migration stats for Berkshire County

"Since 2002, when the first emerald ash borers (EAB) were identified in Michigan and Ontario, the glistening green beetles have spread rapidly, enjoying a mostly uncontested feast. The numbers are familiar by now, and grim: 35 states and 5 provinces have known infestations. All 16 North American ash species are vulnerable. Death comes quickly to infested trees, typically within 2 to 5 years. In “aftermath sites,” ash mortality is more than 99 percent. Unlike many would-be invaders, EAB is well adapted to northern winters. For example, a 2014 U.S. Forest Service study in Minnesota found that EAB larvae only began to experience significant winter mortality when in-tree temperatures dropped to negative 20 degrees. Although the Northeast still has many unaffected areas, there’s little hope that in the short-term, mature ash will remain a common member of the forest mix. 'Ash are done,' said Jeff Main, an ecologist working for southern New York’s Westchester County, where EAB is firmly established. 'This summer I met a tree surgeon camping in our Pound Ridge Reservation, so I asked about ash. "We cut them," he said. "Dead or barely alive. That’s all we do now."' In the long-term, however, the prognosis for ash is less certain, and more hopeful. As researchers study the insect and tree responses to infestation, they’re making progress on strategies to control – albeit not eradicate – EAB. Targeted application of insecticides, releases of parasitoid wasps, and efforts to develop genetically resistant trees all show promise, especially in combination. [...] North American trees are riddled with many native pests. A near-EAB twin, for example, often infests birch trees. Bronze birch borer is EAB dressed in brown,' said Claire Rutledge, an entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station. 'Native birch co-evolved with them, though, matching them in an arms race, and bronze birch borers mostly attack trees in perimortem, or near death. That’s what EAB does in Asia.' North American ash have a similar co-evolved relationship with the clear-winged ash borer. Trees in their prime have the chemical weaponry to kill larvae. In the context of EAB, however, the trees are a naïve population, meaning they haven’t had generations to adapt. [...] According to the USFS, approximately 2 percent of North America’s tree cover is made up of ash, roughly 8 billion trees. In New York, they comprise 8 percent of tree cover, Vermont and New Hampshire 5 percent, and in southern New England 2 percent. Maine is at 2 percent as well. [...] Ash leaf out days later than other hardwoods, making them havens for spring ephemerals such as trilliums, bloodroot, and trout lilies. Ash leaves also have less lignin than other leaves, particularly oak, so they decay right away and cycle nutrients quickly. As with all trees, ash additionally have their own fungal associations. [...] Research in Minnesota indicates that amphibians, particularly wood frogs, will suffer from the loss of decomposing ash leaves, an important diet component for tadpoles. Red maples, swamp white oaks, and other replacements have woodier, slower-to-rot foliage. Insects are another worrisome suite, with ash having a hundred obligate arthropods (insects dependent on ash) continent-wide. [...] Early detection has helped researchers hone timing of biocontrol wasp releases to reduce EAB populations, in this case, wasps from EAB’s native Eurasian range. Biocontrol comes with risks (for example, tachinid flies, released to control spongy moths, Lymantria dispar, previously known as gypsy moths, often prey on native silk moth species), but it has been successfully implemented before, such as with Galerucella (leaf) beetles for purple loosestrife. [...] t’s too soon to tell if these combined strategies will work, and what that will mean if they do. Will ash go extinct? Will they survive as a small, remnant population? Or will they reclaim their former status? Although the future of ash is uncertain, learning from the experiences of previous tree infestations – from elms to chestnuts to beech and others – has helped people move quickly to assess and implement the best strategies against EAB." Read More

"Replacing 20% of the world’s beef consumption with microbial protein, such as Quorn, could halve the destruction of the planet’s forests over the next three decades, according to the latest analysis. The move would also halve emissions from the global food system, by reducing the razing of trees and the methane emissions from livestock. Previous studies have found meat alternatives have lower environmental footprints but this latest analysis is the first to assess what impact that could have in the world. [...] The research focused on microbial meat as it had been produced at industrial scale for 20 years and was already available, said Dr Isabelle Weindl, also at PIK. 'Even accounting for the sugar as feedstock, microbial protein requires much less agricultural land compared [with] ruminant meat.' Previous studies have shown the protein quality of microbial meat is equivalent to beef but it requires 90% less land and water and produces 80% less greenhouse gas emissions. [...] The 56% reduction in deforestation – 78m hectares (193m acres) – resulting from one-fifth of beef being replaced by microbial protein occurred in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. [...] The researchers found the substitution of microbial protein largely cancelled out projected rises in demand for beef, meaning new areas of pasture did not need to be cut into forests. Increasing the proportion of beef replaced to more than 20% resulted in diminishing returns because much of the deforestation had already been prevented, with a 50% replacement leading to an 82% cut in deforestation by 2050." Read More