ACTION ALERT! MA Forestry Association Meeting 1/22/05

[Robin]

Let's get as many wheelers here to show our support to keep the Western Massachusetts area open for our use. This is the home of our Rocktoberfest event and the wheeling community cannot afford to lose it!!

When: Saturday, January 22, 9:00 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Where: Crane & Co., 30 South Street, Dalton, MA 01226

Information HERE about the previous meeting held November 22, 2004 and the Berkshire Ecoregion Assessment.

As you'll see below, lunch will be provided so please confirm your attendance with me as soon as possible and I will confirm NE Jeep attendance for food count. Let me know if you have any questions and hope to see you all on January 22!!

On Saturday January 22 the Massachusetts Forestry Association will be holding its annual meeting. This is an open invitation to all members of the recreational community. If you attend one meeting to help promote our sport, this is the one to attend. The members of the Massachusetts Forestry Association are the people we work with for access to private property. These are the Foresters, Land Managers, and landowners that we deal with when securing permission. If anyone has ever been to NE4WI’s Wayne’s World, you know the quality of terrain we have permission for.

Bob O’Connor, Land Policy Director for MA Executive Office of Environmental Affairs(EOEA), will be giving a presentation on Forest Reserves. Basically, Forest Reserves is EOEA with steering from The Nature Conservancy to set policy on all state owned land. Given TNC’s anti-recreation policies, rest assured this means locking everyone out. Tom Brule will be giving a presentation PROMOTING motorized recreation and the economic benefits to the landowners and communities.

We need to have a large turnout to demonstrate to the stakeholders the we are serious about promoting 4 wheeling and the economic benefits we provide. Snowmobiles and ATC/Dirtbikes will be representing themselves as well. We will have a spokesman representing our group for questions to the floor. There will be a free catered lunch. Those that would like lunch please let me know so I can forward a head count. The following agenda has some topics that look to be pretty interesting.

AGENDA

MFA's Winter Meeting will be held at the recently restored Model Farm, a 19th century mansion owned by Crane & Co., in Dalton on Saturday, January 22nd.

Our morning program will start with a talk by Amos Eno of New England Forestry Foundation on Ways to Keep Working Forests Working explaining how private woodlands can be conserved and still be kept part of the local economy.

Bob O'Connor from the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs will then explain EOEA's proposed Forest Reserves and the function they would serve in the management of the rest of the state¹s forests.

After a short break, our program will resume with a series of short presentations on Emerging Opportunities for Woodland Owners, highlighting alternate sources of income landowners might consider while practicing long-term forestry on their lands. Among the speakers and topics are:

Paul Catanzaro - UMass Extension - Emerging Uses for Massachusetts Woodlands

Bill Hull - Hull Forestlands - Consider a Hunting Lease

Fred Heyes - Heyes Forest Products - Could a Cell Tower Help Your Forest

Tom Brule - N E Forestry Consultants - Are Wind Energy or Off Road Vehicles Compatible with Wildlife Management and Forestry

At lunch, Ken Gooch from the Department of Conservation & Recreation will give us an update on the threats of Sudden Oak Death and the Emerald Ash Borer.

Our program concludes with a tour of either the nearby Crane Paper Museum showing the history of fine papermaking in Berkshire County

The Schedule is as follows:

9 a.m. Coffee & Donuts/ Registration

9:30 Introduction Ð Dicken Crane

9:45 Keeping Working Forests Working

10:20 Forest Reserves

10:40 Break

11 Emerging Opportunities for Woodland Owners

Noon Lunch

Sudden Oak Death & Emerald Ash Borer Update

1:30 MFA Annual Meeting

2:15 Crane Paper Museum Tour

 

[Robin]

MFA METING Directions

Directions to Model Farm: Model Farm is in Dalton just off the combined Routes 9 + 8.

To get there from the Mass Pike:

Take the Pike to Exit 2 (Lee)

Go North on Route 7 to Pittsfield

Take Route 9 East through Pittsfield to Dalton. Route 9 and Route 8 join in Pittsfield to go east to Dalton. (don¹t turn north onto Route 8 to
Lanesboro)

Just past the Dalton town line, watch for Crane & Co. signs for Model Farm on your left. (just prior to the double stoplights).

From the east on Route 9

Take Route 9 to the center of Dalton (Route 9 combines with Route

Go past the Dalton Town Hall, then downhill to the double stoplights.

After the 2nd stoplight, turn right into Model Farm.

 

[RI Earle]

Im in

 

[xjmark]

I may be on call for work that week.
I'll check, but if I'm not on call, I will be there.

 

[Robin]

<crickets> Hello... Bueller? Anyone there?

Please give me a show of hands - who's going besides Earle, xjmark, Marty and me? We need to show overwhelming support to the DEM to allow us to keep using our Rocktoberfest location for wheeling!!!

 

[J.R.Cabral]

Copied from an email by S Hatch.
Anyone remember The Nature Conservancy?

This is private interest group with an agenda that is completely against any
type of motorized recreation on lands that they control.

Here is the scary part......

The Nature Conservancy is being considered to MANAGE Massachusetts State
Lands.

Given The Nature Conservancy's anti-recreation policies, rest assured this
means locking everyone out. Tom Brule will be giving a presentation
PROMOTING motorized recreation and the economic benefits to the landowners
and communities.

So you think the The Nature Conservancy will have YOUR interests at heart
when considering ANY motorized use on public lands in Massachusetts?

Come out and show your objection to this insanity in land management!

Now if you are interested and as angered as I am please log onto the NEA's
forum and join in the discussion.

http://forum.nea4wd.org/viewtopic.php?t=67

 

[tiggertj]

Robin,

I'm in. Will there be group goin up there? A meeting place?

Tina

 

[Robin]

So far I have:

Robin
Marty
xjmark
Earle
Tina
J.R.Cabral?

Any others? The 4 CT folks can easily fit in our car so let us know and we can get a 2nd car going.

Tina - let us know a good place to pick you up off 91.

Earle/John - maybe we can meet up with you off the pike?

 

[tiggertj]

Robin,

I'll wait for you in the BurgerKing parking lot off of exit 45 in East Windsor. Across the street from the Moive theater on 140/Bridge St.

Let me know what time and I'll buy the coffee.

 

[Robin]

That sounds perfect - I need to figure out how long it will take and then post a time. Glad to have you along!

 

[Robin]

I just want to remind everyone that this meeting and similar meetings may be boring, not suited to your tastes, you'd rather sleep in or go wheeling, you hate politics, etc. but the future of wheeling in this area is at stake. This action directly affects each and every one of us if we want to continue wheeling public lands because as you all know, there is no place to go legally in CT unless you have permission with a private land owner. I don't want to go either, we're celebrating one of my best friend's birthday on Friday night and I'll have to go home early. We need to make sacrifices if we're going to make an impact. And the only way to make an impact is to show we have numbers. Without bodies we can't show local, state, and federal governments that there is a major population out there that has an interest in the sport or that care. No one is asking you to speak, all you have to do is show up and support the effort of the folks that will be speaking.

With that said:

Mapquest shows Dalton, MA 2 hours from Hebron so we are going to leave Hebron at 6:30am. Pick up xjmark and tiggertj at the Burger King off 91 exit 45 shortly after 7am. We'll grab drive-thru and that should get us up there on time.

If anyone else wishes to join us, meet as above and follow us 8)

There is also a convenient meeting spot off the Pike in Lee. There's a gas station, I believe it's a Texaco, on the right hand side of route 20 going west before you hit the Lee Outlets. Call me on my cell 860-209-4002 if you want to meet there.

Don't forget the NEA will be feeding us lunch so if you want it and haven't RSVPd here, make sure to let Carl Merrick know on the NEA forums.

Thanks 8)

 

[tiggertj]

Sounds good...I will see you around 7.

Thanks

 

[ScottCJ7]

Did everyone make it home OK? Took me 4.5 hours but no problems

 

[xjmark]

We made it back to my place with no problems.
Dropped tiggertj off at the meeting spot in E.Windsor near her home.
Marty and Robin left my place a while later, but I'm sure they got home OK.

 

[Robin]

Notes on today’s Massachusetts Forestry Association’s Annual Meeting.

The first half of the day was composed of several well-presented lectures on possible methods for “Keeping Working Forest Working” (as stated by Amos Eno). During these lectures Tom Brule presented two untraditional methods for generating income from the forest:
· 1) Wind farms for the generation of electricity. He not only talked of the concept but also of the plans that are currently being executed in Western Mass.
· 2) How Off Road Vehicles, specifically 4x4, currently generate $5,000,000 for the residence in Western Mass and that further income could be generated thru the development of trail systems and the sales of recreational passes.

The second half we enjoyed two more lectures. The first lecture was about things that are killing the forest, Sudden Oak Death and the Emerald Ash Borer. The second lecture was also about killing the forest. The EOEA (and I do not know exactly what it stands for but I do know that it represent a group that can take away the state forest from motorized recreational activities) has put together the DEM, Fish and Game, and the Department that governs the fresh water supplies with a forestry representative and a conservation group. This group has been given the task of identifying 20% of the state forest which will be shut down to commercial use, i.e. logging. We are not sure what this means to our sport because OHV representatives have not been allowed to participate in any of the planning meetings. Scott Hatch did question Bob O’Connor, EOEA representative at the meeting, as to when an OHV representative will be allowed to participate on this committee but by the way Mr. O’Connor skated around the question it sounds like his intention is to allow participation after the process has gone to the point of no return.

Well that’s my take on today’s event and if you do not like the fact that your sport is not being represented as BOB O’Connor decides what he is going to do with the Massachusetts State Forest write your congress person and tell them so.

 

[Rubi04TJ]

jsut did a google search for "wind farm" bats, and came up with a ton of links to websites about this topic.

Bats are cool

 

[Robin]

Tom Brule did touch on the bird/bat issue with the wind farms as well as the poor aesthetics of the mills themselves. The bird/bat issue is a concern and being worked on.