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| This week in conservation AUGUST 31 - September 6, 2009 |
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| Calendar | ||||||||
| KAYAK QUEST | ||||||||
 August—September, KAYAK QUEST, Felix Neck Sanctuary, Tuesdays & Fridays 1:00 - 3:30 pm Mondays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays 9:00 - 11:30 am 11:30 am - 1:30 pm 1:30 - 4:00 pm Enjoy Sengekontacket Pond at your own pace on this self-guided tour. The Quest clues will help you uncover the story of the pond’s people, places and wildlife. Your Quest ends after you find the hidden Quest box. Kayaks, paddles, lifejackets and Quest materials are all included. Fee: $30M, $40NM per boat (all equipment included) |
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| Felix Neck Kayak Quest | ||||||||
| Mon, Aug 31, Felix Neck Kayak Quest 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy Sengekontacket Pond at your own pace on this self-guided tour. Kayaks, paddles, lifejackets and quest materials are all included. Cost is $40, or $30 for members, per boat. For details, call 508-627-4850. |
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| Island Plan Open House | ||||||||
 Mon, Aug 31, Island Plan Open House: Learn about the draft version of the Island Plan and discuss it with members of the Steering Committee from noon to 3 p.m. at the Martha's Vineyard Commission offices, 33 New York avenue, Oak Bluffs. For details, visit islandplan.org or call 508-693-3453. |
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| CREATURE FEATURE | ||||||||
| Tues, Sept 1st 10:30-11:30 am Wed, Sept 2nd 10:30-11:30 am CREATURE FEATURE, Felix Neck Sanctuary, This program offers young naturalists a close -up look at native animals of Martha’s Vineyard. Programs combine a story, craft and a look at the “creature” of the day! For children ages 3-5 with a parent/friend Fee: $6M, $9NM per child |
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| MARINE DISCOVERY TOUR | ||||||||
| Tues, Sept 1st 5:30-7:30 pm, Thurs, Sept 3rd 5:30-7:30 pm MARINE DISCOVERY TOUR, Felix Neck Sanctuary, Cruise from Oak Bluffs Harbor with Captain John and a Felix Neck naturalist to explore the waters of Vineyard Sound aboard a Coast Guard licensed vessel. We may tow a plankton net, use a scallop drag, and check lobster and fish traps for the diversity of crabs, fish and shellfish that live in the water around the island. Participants will have a chance to look at the catch up-close and to try their hand at scup fishing if time permits. This cruise is a great way to experience the tranquility of the ocean at sunset while discovering underwater wildlife. Registration required. Fee: $30M, $40NM per person Children under 8 are $4 less Recommended for ages 4 and up. |
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| Felix Neck Kayak Quest | ||||||||
 Tues, Sept 1, Felix Neck Kayak Quest 1 to 3:30 p.m. Enjoy Sengekontacket Pond at your own pace on this self-guided tour. Kayaks, paddles, lifejackets and quest materials are all included. Cost is $40, or $30 for members, per boat. For details, call 508-627-4850. |
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| GUIDED KAYAK TOUR | ||||||||
| Tues, Sept 1st 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Fri , Sept 4th 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, GUIDED KAYAK TOUR, Felix Neck Sanctuary. Join a naturalist on an exciting kayak adventure. Travel by Sarson’s Island to see nesting shorebirds. Watch American oystercatchers, cormorants and yellowlegs feed and frolic. Enter the salt marsh and search for great blue herons and egrets. All trips focus on the natural history of saltwater communities found on Martha’s Vineyard. Registration required. 508-627-4850. Fee: $28M, $35NM per person, Ages 11 and up with an adult |
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| Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance meeting | ||||||||
 Wed, Sept 2, Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance meeting, 12:30 PM at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, OB, all welcome |
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| The Great Pond Foundation's Nessie Launch Celebration | ||||||||
 Wed, Sept 2, The Great Pond Foundation's Nessie Launch Celebration is at Wilson's Landing in Edgartown at 5 p.m. The ceremony is open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to come by boat to join the flotilla. If not by boat, carpooling is recommended. For details, call 508-693-2306. |
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| DOWN BY THE SHORE | ||||||||
| Wed, Sept 2nd 10:00 –11:30 am, Thurs, Sept 3rd 10:00 – 11:30 am, DOWN BY THE SHORE, Felix Neck Sanctuary, Meet amazing creatures of the sea including crabs, whelks and scallops! Take a short walk through the forest to a protected beach, where you will explore shallow waters with dip nets, and use a large seine net. Wear clothes and shoes that can get wet, and don’t forget your hat, sunscreen, and mosquito repellent. For adults and children of all ages , Fee: $6M, $9NM per person Children under 3 years free |
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| Toddler Time | ||||||||
 Wed, Sept 2, Toddler Time, 10 a.m. to noon at Native Earth Teaching Farm, 94 North Road in Chilmark, with animal visits and farm crafts. Weather permitting. The farm is also open for tours Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For details, call 508-645-3304 or see nativeearthteachingfarm.org. |
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| Commonwealth’s Wind Energy Initiatives | ||||||||
 Wed, Sept 2, Commonwealth’s Wind Energy Initiatives: Information session and informal discussion on the draft Ocean Management Plan and proposed Wind Siting Act, organized by the Martha's Vineyard Comission at the Tisbury Senior Center, 7:30 PM, 34 Pine Tree Road. For details, call 508-693-3453. |
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| Paddle Into The Night – Guided Kayak Trip | ||||||||
 Thurs, Sept 3, Paddle Into The Night – Guided Kayak Trip, Long Point Wildlife Refuge, West Tisbury 6:00 p.m. Discover the beauty of Tisbury Great Pond paddling its waters at twilight – from sunset through moonrise. Weather permitting. Please call for reservations; space is limited. $45 for non-members of The Trustees of Reservations; $40 for members 508 - 693-7392 |
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| MOONRISE KAYAK | ||||||||
 Thurs, Sept 3rd 6:00pm, Fri, Sept 4th 6:00pm, Sat, Sept 5th 6:00 pm, Sun, Sept 6th 6:30 pm, MOONRISE KAYAK, Felix Neck Sanctuary, See Sengekontacket pond in a new light, moonlight, as we celebrate the different full moons of summer. With a guide, you will kayak on the pond as the moon rises and sparkles on the water. Equipment included. Registration required. 508.627.4850 Fee: $32M, $38NM per person, Ages 11 and up with an adult. |
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| Announcement | The Commonwealth’s Wind Energy Initiatives and the Vineyard | |||||||
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| MVC Update | Re: Martha's Vineyard Commission Preliminary Comments on Wind Energy Facilities Siting Reform Act | |||||||
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| Climate Change Update | Brazilian Farmers Offered Cash to Fight Deforestation |
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| Wildlife Update | New clue found to disappearing honey bees |
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| Sustainability Update | Now, markets cultivate farmers Competition high for local produce |
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 NEW BRAINTREE - It is 5:30 a.m., and that means Kate Stillman is scrambling through her family’s crowded barn, counting out bouquets of cut flowers, checking the freshly picked peaches, black peppers, blueberries, bok choy, and mesclun that employees of Stillman Farms are packing into plastic bins. Genially, she gives orders. The bins pile up in three large, white box trucks bound for three farmers markets across the state. The work will end around midnight, when the trucks are back and the empty bins unloaded. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/ articles/2009/08/25/markets_compete_for_farmers_in_bay_state_as_demand_grows/ |
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| Global Update | New Culprit Seen in Ozone Depletion |
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 Government scientists who study the depletion of Earth’s protective ozone layer are pointing to a previously unheralded culprit: nitrous oxide. Most of the nitrous oxide in the atmosphere emerges naturally, through the action of bacteria in the soil, the researchers say. But the gas is also produced by human activity, through the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, the application of livestock manure to fields, the burning of biofuels and in other ways. Though nitrous oxide is not regulated under the Montreal Protocol, the 1987 agreement to limit emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals, the researchers say it is emerging as the leading artificial cause of ozone loss. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/ science/earth/28nox.html?_r=1&ref=science |
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| Wind Update | Energy Issues Concern Island |
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 Draft legislation backed by Gov. Deval Patrick has again placed the Vineyard front and center in the statewide push to build large-scale wind farms on land and at sea, sparking some concern here that the rush to adopt clean energy technologies could come at the expense of fishing grounds, scenic views and the Island’s unique powers to regulate development through the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. Governor Patrick is aggressively promoting the development of green energy technologies in separate initiatives: the draft Oceans Management Plan, which has identified areas south of Noman’s Land and Cuttyhunk for large-scale commercial wind farms, and the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act, which would streamline approval of land-based wind turbines around the state. http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?22731 |
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| Energy Update | Persistence stops a train—and global warming slowed |
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 A massive new rail line planned to move millions of tons of low-grade coal from northeastern Wyoming to the Midwest has been stopped. For more than nine years Sierra Club and our allies have been battling plans by Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. (DM&E) to build this new coal line, and late yesterday DM&E announced the project is “on hold.” http://www.grist.org/article/ 2009-08-27-persistence-stops-a-train-and-global-warming-slowed/ |
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A flotilla of five commercial fishing vessels sailed from New Bedford into Vineyard Haven Harbor Tuesday afternoon to draw attention to issues facing the fishing industry. The draggers, horns blaring, made two slow circles between the harbor breakwater and Tisbury Wharf before departing for Oak Bluffs on their way to offshore fishing grounds. 
For decades, farmers, lawn care workers and professional green thumbs have relied on the popular weed killer atrazine to protect their crops, golf courses and manicured lawns. 
August 18, 2009
QUERENCIA, Brazil — José Marcolini, a farmer here, has a permit from the Brazilian government to raze 12,500 acres of rain forest this year to create highly profitable new soy fields. 
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Researchers have a new clue to the collapse of honey bee colonies across the country - damage to the bees' internal "factories" that produce proteins. Theories about the cause of bee colony collapse have included viruses, mites, pesticides and fungi