Newsletters
August 2013-Coal Protest, Ruffed Grouse, Snapdragon, Erosion
WELCOME TO GREEN FUTURES !
AUGUST, 2013
“The police are not here to create disorder, they’re here to preserve disorder.”
- Richard J. Daly
“Policemen so cherish their status as keepers of the peace and protectors of the public that they have occasionally been known to beat to death those citizens or groups who question that status.”
– David Mamet
“I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"
-Mick Jagger, Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones)
PROTEST AGAINST THE BURNING OF COAL - Too little, too late?
The recent protest against the burning of coal at Dominion’s Brayton Point Power Plant in Somerset was one small part in a larger campaign by the organization 350.org, in states across the U.S., to stop the burning of fossil fuels and halt the progress of global warming. For more info go to http://350.org/
At the Brayton Point demonstration this past Sunday, July 28, between 400 and 450 concerned citizens rallied, marched and engaged in civil disobedience to bring attention, locally and nationally, to the dire consequences of climate change.
Watch a David Weed video of the demonstration at Brayton Point here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLmJHxiYU3Y&feature=youtu.be
Unfortunately we saw very few residents of Somerset and surrounding communities at this event. Perhaps the years of power plant mercury emissions has adversely affected their brains? Mercury deposition has impacted fish populations in area waters. Fish from the Watuppa and Copicut Reservoirs have the highest levels of mercury and other heavy metals in the state.
Amazingly some who live(?) in the shadow of the plant don’t want to see it close. At the demonstration we overheard one neighborhood resident telling a reporter they were concerned taxes would rise should the power plant close. Her neighbor stated the power plant cleaned the soot off her house and car on a regular basis. We wonder, do they also clean her lungs on a “regular basis?”
As for taxes, the power plant is heading toward economic obsolescence and is paying minimal tax now. We would be more concerned with the tax dollars spent on equipping a small town police department with riot gear and the public funds expended on having such a huge police presence for a demonstration that was totally choreographed, down to the minutest detail, by the demonstration organizers and the police. The Somerset police weren’t wearing their normal duty uniforms either, but were all fashionably dressed in black BDUs (battle dress uniforms) that appeared to be brand new.
To view a fantastically over-the-top photo of a couple of Somerset police officers …no, those are not invading Ninja Turtles …check out this photo by master photographer …and fisherman …Dave Sousa, in the July 25 edition of The Herald News:http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x273441072/In-Somerset-police-and-protesters-planning-large-scale-showdown?photo=0
For some local background on the Brayton Point Power Plant you might find the following articles from our past e-newsletters interesting.
October 2008 – http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=993tRS0CloiwiEMQ
March 2009 – http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=o00tLR3wFmoLIo0S
August 2012 – http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=ScvmYG7qhmISYUw1
September 2012 – http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=EcbsJw80uku1tLNA
October 2012 – http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=BcJpry9szgknULLL
April, 2013 - http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=EdjrPn32Ggjb93XR
May 2013 – http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=FdjraB4jxkfHOtlC
June 2013 – http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=ndSnqV5CViYpysBI
BIORESERVE FAUNA OF THE MONTH – Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)
Ruffed Grouse by John James Audubon
The ruffed grouse is our wildest wild fowl. Other “game” birds such as pheasant and quail are easily raised in captivity and wild turkeys are so at home in suburbia they have domesticated themselves and become a pest in some area towns.
Our ruffed grouse shun civilization. They are not interested in living next door to you or me. Instead, they prefer wild areas of mixed-age forest, old pasture lands reverting to forest and rough, deep forested swamps where they can shelter in thickets and evergreens.
Ruffed grouse are chicken-like birds that spend most of their time on the ground foraging about the forest floor searching for acorns, seeds, berries and insects. These plump birds measure 16 to 22 inches in length and have a 2 foot wingspan.
In northern New England ruffed grouse are often called “partridge.” A partridge is a totally different bird and true partridges are not native to New England.
Overall, ruffed grouse are well camouflaged and blend into the forest floor. Their feathers are a mottled reddish-brown, tan, gray and white. The long feathers on either side of the neck …the “ruff” …are black and possessed by both sexes. These ruffs are longer in males and are fluffed out during the mating season. Both male and female have a brownish-black terminal band across the tail. Female grouse often have a break in the middle of this band. Males spread their tails and strut about like miniature turkey gobblers during the spring mating season. These grouse also have a feather crest that usually lies flat on the head but can be erected when strutting about or when anxious or startled by a predator.
In spring the male grouse makes a loud drumming sound by beating its wings rapidly while standing erect on a forest log, stump or rock. On still mornings this “drumming” is loud and incessant. This sound attracts females and also serves as a challenge to any nearby males that this territory is taken and trespassers, if any, better be ready for battle.
Female ruffed grouse lay 6 to 12 tan colored eggs, one a day before incubation starts, in a leaf nest scratched out on the forest floor usually near the base of a stump or log. The eggs hatch in 24 days and the grouse chicks immediately begin to scratch about and feed on small insects and other protein rich invertebrates. They are cute and fluffy scurrying about covered in yellow and brown downy feathers. A warning cluck from their mother and they scatter immediately hiding under leaves, alongside branches or in small depressions on the forest floor. The hen will lure predators away from her chicks by feigning a broken wing and when she has led the predator far enough away she will spring into the air and fly back to her brood. On her call they will magically appear from where they were hiding. About a week after hatching the chicks can fly sufficiently to escape ground predators by flying up into nearby trees.
Like screech owls and a few other birds the ruffed grouse comes in one of two color phases depending on where the ruffed grouse lives. Birds from northern New England and up through Canada, where winters are long and the woods predominately gray, are usually grayer than grouse from southern New England down through the Appalachians where the winter forest is mostly reddish-brown . The grouse in the Audubon print, above, are reddish-brown phase grouse.
The range of the ruffed grouse extends across northern North America. In the west their range extends from central Alaska down to Oregon and along the Rocky Mountains to contrail Utah. In the east their range extends from mid-Quebec and Newfoundland down through New England and then the Appalachian Mountains to extreme northern Georgia.
Ruffed grouse have a number of unique strategies to cope with winter weather and to avoid grouse hunting predators.
Although grouse can quietly walk or fly away when they sense a predator approaching from a distance, they also have the ability, when surprised at close range, to “explode” into flight with a great beating of their wings. This “escape” commotion often startles the predator long enough for the grouse to make its escape to thick cover.
Another amazing grouse adaptation occurs each winter. As summer wanes and winter approaches ruffed grouse begin to grow “snowshoes.” Fleshy ridges grow along the sides of their toes. This foot adaptation allows the ruffed grouse to walk on top of the snow instead of sinking in. This allows the grouse to walk away through the winter forest on top of the snow instead of floundering about making easy prey for fox or weasel.
Also in winter, if the snow is very deep, ruffed grouse will dive from a tree branch into the snow and burrow deep enough to remain hidden from predators. The surrounding insulating snow also provides protection from below zero night-time temperatures.
Ruffed grouse are common in the wilds of northern New England. They are rare in our local fragmented woodlands. If you see one while out hiking in the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve consider yourself fortunate. You’ve just met a true native New Englander.
BIORESERVE FLORA OF THE MONTH – Wild Snapdragon aka Butter and Eggs (Linaria vulgarus)
The wild snapdragon is a native of Europe and Asia that has, like many of us, prospered and spread since its arrival sometime during the colonial era.
Wild snapdragon thrives on bare ground and nutrient poor soil along country roads, around log landing/timber loading areas in forests and even in city vacant lots.
Although often classified as a “weed,” the wild snapdragon is a very attractive and long-lasting wild flower appreciated mainly by children who “antagonize” the snapdragon into snapping by gently squeezing each side of the corolla (the petals of a flower enclosing the reproductive organs).
Wild snapdragon is a perennial plant reaching 1 to 2 feet in height. It sometimes is found growing upright and at other times lying on and spreading along the ground. Leaves are a pale bluish-green and narrow, resembling short pine needles, in shape.
Flowers of the snapdragon average one inch in length. The lower part of the flower …the dragon’s mouth …reaches up and encloses the upper part of the flower. Bumblebees are one of the few insects strong …and “brave?” …enough to force their way into the snapdragon pollinating the flower in the process.
Flowers are arranged in clusters high on the stem and are yellow on the upper surfaces and orange on the lower. In our area they bloom from late June through mid October. Once pollination occurs, small round seeds form in reddish-brown seed pods.
Few animals eat wild snapdragon. Unless starving, even deer and rabbits, which will eat just about anything green, ignore this plant. Wild snapdragon is important as a food source for numerous species of moth and butterfly caterpillars that feed on the foliage.
On your next outdoor walk watch for this interesting wild flower. If you do encounter a snapdragon …watch your fingers and toes!
Snapdragons are “wild” flowers. As you can see in these photos, this snapdragon is snapping at the hand holding it.
MA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION (DCR) – A failed state agency!
If you’ve been following this issue you know that we have been trying to work with DCR in rehabilitating and restoring what was a formerly beautiful wooded hillside above Rattlesnake Brook.
They have ignored, stalled and single-mindedly continued on in their quest to log barely merchantable white pine upslope from Rattlesnake Brook while ignoring the damage that they allowed to occur on the surrounding land and brook.
If you need some background on this issue, click here: http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=IcgqAjb5ugG5jhoR
Read DCR’s “mission statement” –
DCR Mission
To protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources.
In meeting today's responsibilities and planning for tomorrow, DCR's focus is on:
- Improving outdoor recreational opportunities and natural resource conservation
- Restoring and improving our facilities
- Expanding public involvement in carrying out DCR's mission, and
- Establishing first-rate management systems and practices.
The health and happiness of people across Massachusetts depend on the accessibility and quality of our green infrastructure - our natural resources, recreational facilities, and great historic landscapes. The DCR continues to improve the vital connection between people and the environment for the well being of all.
All that’s left to say is, “Shame on the present leadership at DCR for failure to even come close to living up to their mission statement.”
Here you see Rattlesnake Brook filled with rock, gravel and sediment from the eroded hill above. DCR’s “plan” is to drop the trees from the surrounding forest, along with roots, slash and wood debris, from their logging project, into the ruts and brook. Great plan, huh? What a mess.
Aesthetics? Heck! We ain’t seen none of them aesthetics in that brook.
LAST FULL SUMMER MONTH FOR 2013 – Enjoy it now!!!
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