Minutes

Springfield Naturalists’ Club

September 21,2005

Attendance: 38

President Dave Gallup welcomed everyone back after a summer respite.

Summer sightings included a nose to nose bear encounter by Sonya Vickers (window between them), Foxes, Kettle of hawks, hummingbirds, group of monarchs, and more.

Review of Trips: A pleasant Littleville Lake canoe trip on August 20^th given by Tom Condon

Art O’Leary reported on the trip to Nourse Farms on Sept 17^th in which all were surprised at the size of the operation and volume of

berries that come from there.

The Stump Sprouts Weekend, September 9^th through 11^th was pleasant with perfect weather.

Treasurer Dave Lovejoy gave a brief treasurer’s report. $1,600 or so is in our treasury. He reminded us all that now, September, is time for our annual dues renewal.

Nancy Condon reported highlights of the minutes from our last meeting in May. She reminded people that the minutes will be posted on the web page and those seeking further details can access them there.

Tom Condon introduced the speaker for the evening: Bill Toomey. Bill is the local project manager for The Nature Conservancy (TNC). TNC has been active for 54 years, and is active in every state of the US, involved in 23 countries and has so far protected 118 million acres around the globe. TNC’s mission is to protect biodiversity. 10 years ago, TNC examined their methods and altered some approaches. They strive to protect forest systems, water systems and the human element.

The Westfield River watershed, which encompasses around 330,000 acres was targeted as an important priority for TNC in MA. There are 90 state listed species just in the watershed. Conservation priorities include rivers, species, natural communities and a new approach, forests. Strategies in Conservation include land protection, fish passage, Healthy Rivers, Forest Resources & working forests. Loss of habitat is a big threat in the watershed.

TNC’s fundamental strategy has been to work with private landowners to educate and encourage protection. MA is the 8^th most forested state and the 3^rd most dense in population. Most of the large forest reserves occur in Western Mass. They are threatened by fragmentation, pests, & pathogens. 7-8 million dollars per year are generated by forest products, so it is an economic asset. Projected into 2050, Western Mass will still be swathed in forest if all goes well.

A forest reserve is managed for biodiversity. There are stringent limits on development but allows for uses such as hunting, hiking, fishing, etc. MA has mostly mid-range forests, not much old growth or particularly young forests. It is not desirable to have even-aged forests. Need to have all ages to support a variety of wildlife. How big should a forest reserve be? Ans: big enough for 1- withstand catastrophic events & 2- support breeding populations. 15,000 acres minimum.

Ways to get involved in this process:

*bring local knowledge to meetings

*mobilize a constituency

*write a letter

*contribute $ to TNC

*volunteer

*tell others

Questions: 1- What % of protected land is west of the Connecticut River?

Ans: roughly 5 M acres owned by the state; another 3 M acres privately ownedf

2- How is membership dues used?

Ans: Most of the lowest level of membership goes toward supporting member benefits – ie newsletter, mailing, etc. You can designate your

donation to a specific chapter if you wish.

At the conclusion of the meeting, we partook of the “Welcome Back” carrot cake and visited with friends.