Deerfield River

CURRENT

Vol. 20 Deerfield River Watershed Association, Inc Fall 2008

South River Bridge Project Progresses

As reported last Spring, TransCanada Hydro Power, the owner of the land where the Mahican-Mohawk trail crosses the South River, is planning to start building a pe-destrian bridge using the piers of the old railroad bridge. We have every hope that it will be completed "this con-struction season." All of the permits have been given and the bridge materials should be on order as this letter goes to press. This bridge will make much more interesting hiking in the Conway/Deerfield section of the watershed.

Landowners close some links of Mahican Mohawk Trail

A section of the Mahican-Mohawk Trail in Shelburne has been closed due to private property issues. Half a mile of the trail is now posted and closed between quads (quarter mile sections) 25 and 27. This is the section just west of Sluice Brook. The trail from Bardwell Ferry west to Sluice Brook and the section from Route 2 and Wilcox Hollow east to Quad 25 (under the power lines) are both open

Continued page 2

DRWA’s Annual Meeting welcomes everyone. A social time with refreshments starts at 6:30pm. A very short business meeting begins at 7pm to elect the new Board of Directors. If you are interested in our work, please contact Françoise Walk at 413-774-7025 or mfwalk@verizon.net. We welcome additions to the Board! The program continues with an illustrated talk by Tom Wessels based on his book, Reading the Forested Landscape, A Natural History of New England. Wessels is an ecologist and founding director of the Master’s Degree program in Conservation Biology at An-tioch University New England and has conducted work-shops throughout the United States for over 30 years. He points out, “It is wonderful to know nature through one-on-one encounters with other organisms, but it is perhaps more empowering to gain a fuller understanding of the patterns that have shaped its landscapes. Through some knowledge of history and the broader view of seeing a forest and not just its trees, we begin to see the forces that shape a place. This new way of seeing creates reverence, respect, a sense of inclusion and accountability. Reading the landscape is not just about identifying landscape pat-terns; more importantly, it is an interactive narrative that involves humans and nature. For those interested in en-hancing their sense of place, I know of no better way than by becoming intimately acquainted with their local forests and the fascinating stories they tell.”

DRWA Annual Meeting Tuesday October 21, 2008

6:30 pm – 9 pm Community Room

Four Rivers Public Charter School 248 Colrain Rd. Greenfield, MA

Cold and Chickley Rivers Targeted for 2008 Macroinvertebrate Assessment

Volunteers from DRWA will be back out in the watershed collecting macroinvertebrates (creatures of visible size) this fall to help check on the health of our waters. This year’s efforts will concentrate on the Cold and Chickley Rivers as representative of the middle portion of the wa-tershed. Collecting the critters is a lot of fun, you’ll get to know parts of the watershed you've never visited before, and you’ll meet the bugs who live in the river--fly fisher-men take notice! This year's sampling will take place on Saturday, Sept 20 on the Cold and Chickley rivers. Contact Mike Cole at 413-774-5515 or mcole@abrinc.com for more information. Results of previous years’ work can be found on our website at http://www.deerfieldriver.org/monitoring.html (also see the links to the 2005 and 2006 reports). The re-port on our 2007 macroinvertebrate surveys of the North River watershed will be available on our website shortly.

In this issue: 2. Help for woodlot owners News from Colrain, Riverfest, and the Green River Cleanup 3. A close look at vernal pools

2

Good Weather and Good Vibes Made RiverFest a Great Success

The weather was bright and pleasant on June 14 for our entertaining and educational celebration of the Deerfield River Watershed. Lots of craft and food vendors came as well as the edu-cational booths, particularly the Greening Western County committee's display sharing great examples from home insulation to eating locally. There was a petting zoo and three performances of Julie Collier's Wingmasters, an exhibition of birds of prey. We had a river theme ballet to live accompaniment at the Pot-holes as well as song and story telling followed by live theater at the Library as well as the ever popular parade. We are always looking for new ideas and helpers. If you would like to join us to plan next year’s RiverFest, give Polly Bartlett a call at 413-625-6628.

and enjoyable but hikers must respect the wishes of the private land owners and not cross the posted area. We hope to have trail crews making trail improvements this Fall. If you are interested in helping with this work, please contact Polly Bartlett, 413-625-6628.

A Chance to Explore Colrain's Archeology and Geography

On Saturday October 18 10:00 am (Rain date Oct 25), join Muriel Russell, local expert in Catamount history, for an exploration of cellar holes and caves in the Cata-mount State Forest. This is always a popular hike be-cause of its variety and it is not too strenuous. Bring a flashlight to explore caves and lunch to enjoy at McLeod Pond. Directions to start: From Rte. 112 in Griswold-ville, Colrain, take Adamsville Rd. to Lively Rd., then quick left onto East Catamount Rd. (steep and dirt) to end where there is parking. Please register with Muriel Russell 413-624-3311.

This Fall’s Green River Cleanup

The 5th Annual Green River Cleanup will take place Oct. 4th, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Green River Recrea-tion Area on Nashs Mill Rd. in Greenfield, Mass. Ap-proximately 12 sites will be cleaned beginning about 9:30 am on the Green River and its tributaries. Cleanup groups will return to the Green River Recrea-tion Area at 1:00 pm for lunch (provided by area spon-sors), music provided by Acoustic Brew and Ted Cahill, and celebration of the Green River. Wear boots and long pants, bring rakes and tools and TRUCKS!

SEE YOU THERE !!!! For more info call David Boles at 413-773-7560.

Continued from page 1

New Web-based Information Can Help Woodland Owners in the Deerfield River Watershed

An impressive 79% of Western Massachusetts is wood-land, a valuable ecological, economic, and cultural re-source. More than three quarters of these woods are pri-vately owned by thousands of families and individuals, many who live locally but others who live great distances from their land. One challenge to ensuring our woods remain valuable is that average land ownership in western Massachusetts is about 25 acres, which is pretty small in terms of wildlife habitat, stream and water quality, recreation, and timber management. With so many parcels of land, it is impor-tant that landowners think of their property as part of a bigger picture, so that when it’s time to make land use decisions, they will be well informed about how their property fits into a greater landscape. The recently redesigned MassACORN (A CoOperative Resource Network; www.massacorn.net) is a website created by the University of Massachusetts’ Department of Natural Resources Conservation with the goal of serv-ing as a local resource for woodland owners and enthusi-asts. Covering the Deerfield and Westfield River water-sheds, MassACORN features recently upgraded interac-tive mapping (including aerial photos and the ability to create and personalize your own map with everything from land use patterns, endangered species habitats, to-pography, and more), the ability to ask an expert forester questions or to join a discussion, plus extensive commu-nity and ecological information, and more. MassACORN is an invaluable resource for woodland owners and others who are interested in their community and the conservation of Massachusetts woodland. This new outreach method, which provides landowners with fully integrated, locally relevant, always available online content and networking opportunities, will appeal to woodland owners who participate in traditional programs like Chapter 61 and Tree Farm, and those who choose not to. For anyone who cares about the present and fu-ture of their woods, MassACORN is worth a visit. For more information, visit www.massacorn.net, write to massacorn@nrc.umass.edu, or call 413-577-1562.

Lisa Romano, MassACORN

Why not

RENEW Your DRWA membership

NOW???

3

A Close Look at Vernal Pools Pat Serrentino Last spring was one of those times when it seemed the snow would never melt and winter would never end. I kept checking vernal pools near my house in Greenfield, begin-ning in late March, listening for the distinctive quacking calls of the wood frogs which would signify the beginning of their breeding season. Finally, on a cool day in early April I was rewarded with the sound of quacking voices as I approached the pool. The frogs seemed so intent on getting started that they pretty much ignored me. I sat down next to the pool and watched as the male frogs floated in the pool and called inces-santly, hoping to attract a female. I was so quiet and the frogs were so intent on their task that individual frogs would hop right by me on their way to the pond. In the past year, the DRWA was awarded a grant from the Deerfield River Enhancement Fund, managed jointly by the Vermont Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of Western Massachu-setts, to train people in the watershed to identify and certify vernal pools. Certifying a vernal pool increases its level of protection by proving that it exists and provides important habitat for wildlife. Twenty-four people attended training sessions in Greenfield taught by several biologists, including myself, Joan Milam, and Alex Haro. Participants learned how to find vernal pools on the landscape, how to distinguish among the different frog calls, and how to identify spotted salamander and wood frog eggs and adults. In mid-April, 10 people attended an outdoor training session at several vernal pools in Highland Park in Greenfield. We found not only wood frog and spotted salamander eggs, but also the smaller creatures, mostly insects, that are prey for the frogs and salamanders, but prey upon the tadpoles, too, in some cases. Participants were able to see several types of beetle larvae, caddisflies, mosquito larvae, and snails. After attending the training sessions, participants fanned out in their respective towns to search for pools and re-cord the information necessary to begin the certification process. Certifying pools is a time-consuming endeavor

because it involves mapping the loca-tion of the pool so that others who are unfamiliar with the area can find it, pho-tographing the eggs of wood frogs or spotted salamanders, and describing the pool and its location. Completed certifi-cation forms are sent to the Massachu-setts Natural Heritage Program (NHESP) where biologists decide if the pool is “certifiable” according to the program’s criteria. At this point in the project, we are waiting to hear how many participants sent certification forms to NHESP. Next spring we hope to continue the project, depending on the results of funding initiatives and level of interest. If you are interested in learning more about the project or would like to volunteer, please contact Pat Serrentino at 413-772-0520 or pserr@crocker.com.

Become a DRWA Member!

Name………………………………….. Street…………………………………... Town……………………Zip……….... Email…………………………………..

Individual $15 ● Family/Business $25

Contributing $50 ● Sustaining $100 Patron $500

Send to DRWA, 15 Bank Row, Suite A Greenfield, MA 01301

Wood frogs work fast to give their eggs time to hatch and grow before the water in vernal pools disappears.

4

Children loved examining macroinvertebrates at DRWA’s “bug table” during Riverfest in Shelburne Falls. (Story page 2)

DEERFIELD RIVER CURRENT Published by

Deerfield River Watershed Assn. Inc. 15 Bank Row, Suite A Greenfield, MA 01301

The Deerfield River Watershed Association is a volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation, protection and care of the Deerfield River and its tributaries in the interests of its adjacent communities. Its activities include water quality monitoring, educational programs, administration of volunteer programs and participation in regulatory matters.

Officers: Marie-Françoise Walk, President

Robert May, Vice President Jay Rasku, Secretary

Joan Adler, Treasurer Board Members:

Polly Bartlett, David Boles, Michael Cole, Peter Buell, Dina Kail, Ted Merrill

www.deerfieldriver.org

Deerfield River Watershed Association 15 Bank Row, Suite A Greenfield, MA 01301