Newsletters
May 2015 - Sustainable trails, Wren, Boneset
WELCOME TO GREEN FUTURES !
MAY, 2015
“God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, ‘Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It’s yours.”
-Ann Coulter
"It kind of reminds... I could use the Third Reich, the Big Lie. You say something over and over and over and over again, and people will believe it, and that's their strategy... A hot summer has nothing to do with global warming. Let's keep in mind it was just three weeks ago that people were saying, “Wait a minute; it is unusually cool."
-James Inhofe
ITEMS OF INTEREST – Received from our readers
Solar Struggle:
Why couldn't they connect their rooftop solar panels to the local distribution grid? Here's an interesting article from Bloomberg:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-15/elon-musk-s-cousins-battle-utilities-to-make-solar-rooftops-cheap
Mercury and the EPA:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365451138/
Mercury in the food chain. http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/environmental/exposure/fish-consumption-advisory-list.pdf andhttp://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp
Sorry!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z7PrQ-sZ2o
North Woods National Park?
CONTINUING FAILURE – Three years and counting
For far too long the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has failed to live up to its mission, “To protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources.”
For the past three years we've been trying to get DCR to close illegal trails and repair a formerly lovely hillside and ridge overlooking Rattlesnake Brook. The damage occurred due to DCR's negligence.
Fortunately for the Bioreserve some individuals have recently been volunteering to work on trail maintenance and in cataloging and prioritizing trails to determine which should be kept and maintained and which are redundant and should be closed. Interestingly they are using DCR's “Trails Guidelines and Best Practices Manual” as their guide. Kudos to these volunteers! It is a shame that DCR does not follow its own trails guidelines and best practices.
Here's a snippet from DCR's manual:
“Moreover, the placement of any trail on the landscape has an ecological impact. The challenge is to keep impacts to a minimum while providing the desired experience. To be sustainable, a trail must serve the needs of users for generations to come, while preserving the sense of place and protecting the quality of the surrounding environment.
Sustainable trails begin with thoughtful planning, good design, and meticulous layout. Many of our trails suffer from lack of planning and poor design. Many are user created pathways, or leftover routes from historic farm roads and logging activities that are not appropriate for long-term recreational use.
Improperly planned and constructed trails need frequent maintenance, can require significant investment in time and money, and still may not meet the needs of the user or protect the surrounding natural resources. A sustainable trail will require little rerouting and minimal maintenance over extended periods of time. A successfully designed trail will entice visitors back time and again.
To be successful, a trail must be designed to be physically, ecologically, and economically sustainable. Designing trails to retain their structure and form over years of use and under forces of humans and nature is a key factor in sustainability. Trail use promotes change, so trails must be designed in anticipation of change to ensure that they remain physically stable with appropriate maintenance and management.
Ecological sustainability minimizing the ecological impacts of trails, and protecting sensitive natural and cultural resources is fundamental in sustainable trail design and development. Economic sustainability for any trail, the implementing agency or advocacy group must have the capacity to economically support it over its life cycle. Developing and committing to a long-term maintenance strategy is a critical aspect of a successful trail program.”
DCR trails in the Freetown State Forest section of the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve. Do you think DCR is following their “Trail Guidelines and Best Management Practices Manual?”
BIORESERVE FAUNA OF THE MONTH – Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
Photo – Liz Garant
What a charming little bird. Yes, everyone loves the Carolina wren, but what is it doing way up north here in Massachusetts? The answer is, taking advantage of global climate change.
As their name implies, these wrens are southern birds. They are permanent residents where found, but dispersal of young birds of the year seeking territory of their own finds them expanding their range outward.
Northern outliers, unless they have access to bird feeders and shelter during severe winters, like the extreme cold and snowy one we just had, will be eliminated. Mild winters will see new fledglings arrive and even advance further north as long as mild weather continues. A cold and snowy winter halts northern expansion, but when summer comes new wren pioneers will arrive to try again. Over time, as northern latitudes slowly warm, the range of the Carolina wren inches its way north.
The present range of the Carolina wren is the eastern half of the United States and the northeastern corner of Mexico and Yucatan north to southern Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, New York and Massachusetts. Pioneering wrens reach coastal Maine and New Brunswick.
Although tiny, 4 ½ inches in length, this wren is very vocal and very loud. Like other wrens it is always alert and on the move flitting about thickets, brush piles and tangled forest understory and quick to take notice of anything unusual in its environment.
Carolina wrens, both males and females, have chestnut-colored plumage on the head, wings and back, white to tan throat and underparts, white horizontal line just above the eye and a brown upward-cocked tail with small tan/white markings. The dark bill is long and slightly downcurved.
Male Carolina wrens sing throughout the spring, summer and fall. The have a wide repertoire of songs. Their most common call is often described as sounding like “teakettle-teakettle-teakettle.”
Carolina wrens are monogamous. In spring the males call constantly to tell other males to stay away, that the territory he's claimed belongs to him and his mate. Females do not call, they chitter and scold if disturbed or if they see a predator.
Prior to mating males display for their female by drooping their wings and spreading their tail. These wrens lay 3 to 6 brown speckled white eggs which hatch after a two week incubation period. They have 2 to 3 broods from spring to late summer.
Their dome-shaped nests, complete with a side entrance, are rather large, messy affairs. Nests are usually close to the ground and composed of dried leaves, strips of bark, scavenged fur/hair, dried grass and other plant materials. Females pick the nest location which is often in tree hollows, stumps, abandoned cabins/buildings, in cavities under bridges.
Both parents bring home caterpillars and other insects to feed the wrenlets which fledge in two weeks and then are off to claim a territory of their own.
In severe winter weather Carolina wren families and others living in the vicinity will often communally roost in hollow trees, old buildings and other sheltered areas.
Carolina wrens forage through thickets, vines and along the forest floor searching for insects and other small invertebrates. They also eat seeds, berries and fruit.
Being “bite size” Carolina wrens have many predators to watch out for. Hawks and owls will prey on adults and young. Crows, ravens, blue jays and purple grackles will steal eggs and eat hatchlings as will chipmunks, squirrels and other small forest rodents.
Raccoons, opossums, skunks, fishers, mink and weasels will gobble up any young wrens they encounter and black racer snakes patrol thickets and old buildings looking for eggs and young birds to swallow.
Cowbirds will also parasitize Carolina wren nests often dumping the wren's eggs out before laying their own.
It's a tough world full of danger, but that doesn't stop the Carolina wrens from exploring their neighborhood, expanding their range, and enthusiastically singing while going about their daily lives.
BIORESERVE FLORA OF THE MONTH – White Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Bonset is a very attractive native wild flower in the aster family. It is closely related to Joe Pye weed and like Joe Pye weed boneset was valued by Indians and early settlers for its medicinal properties. Also like Joe Pye weed boneset blooms from late summer through fall and they often can be found growing in close proximity to each other along sunny stream banks and in wet meadows. For more on Joe Pye weed, go here: http://www.greenfutures.org/?content=seUqhJ9Cmpiz1IKL
Bonset is native to the eastern half of the United States and Canada from Quebec and New Brunswick south to Texas and Florida.
The species name, perfoliatum, refers to the appearance of the large 4 to 8 inch long, lance-shaped, opposite leaves that encircle the stem as if the stem is growing through them “perforating” the leaves.
The “doctrine of signatures” ...the belief that each plant is marked with a sign or signature that reveals its purpose in curing disease or healing the sick ...dates back to the ancient Greeks. In the case of boneset, because the leaves encircle the stems as bandages would a broken bone, early healers and doctors believed this “signature” indicated the leaves of the plant would be useful in setting broken bones.
Indian shamans and early European colonial herbalists also used a tea made from boneset leaves to treat coughs, colds and influenza.
Boneset grows to a height of 2 to 4 feet and the hairy stems are topped with large composite clusters of small white florets.
Dried boneset leaves and boneset tea are still in use today. The Internet lists many suppliers.
ENJOYING MAY
Here are two upcoming walks you might be interested in. For other things to do in May ...and beyond ...click on our Calendar here.
May's Exploring the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve Walk will be May 9, Saturday, meet at 8 a.m. at the Freetown State Forest Headquarters by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) statue, Slab Bridge Road, Freetown, MA.
We will be exploring the headwaters of Mill Brook and searching for what may be the largest hemlock in the Bioreserve. Spring conditions may mean some soggy/muddy sections of trail so wear appropriate footwear. Water and snack always a good idea. Time to start carrying insect repellent. Length of walk approximately 5 miles. Rain cancels walk. This is a free event.
TTOR's BIG WALK is slated for May 2, Saturday. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Fall River Water Department's Watuppa Reservation Watershed Headquarters, 2929 Blossom Road, Fall River, MA.
The 2015 walk will be the 22nd BIG WALK and this year we will walk the southeastern end of the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve and then return to our Blossom Road starting point. Water and snacks suggested. Wear sturdy footwear and appropriate clothing depending on the day's weather. Length of walk is still being determined but is usually 10 to 12 miles from start to finish. This is a free event.
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