This will be my final journal entry, as the semester is coming towards a conclusion and I am preparing to wrap up my entire internship project. All in all I would say that my experience with the Council was a very positive one. Overall I enjoyed doing this mini internship although it did present several difficulties. To start, the time I spent in the field with Doug was physically demanding. Walking around mountains is not something that I am designed for, at least not at the break neck speeds of someone who is in good physical shape. Second, scheduling time to meet with Doug was nearly impossible. I was only available to work with him one or two days a week. Doug is very busy throughout the week so planning for us to meet for a day was a challenge and an exercise in time management. The first day Doug and I got together I said th at I would like to finish up all my hours by Thanksgiving, the calendar was leaning more towards Christmas than Thanksgiving by the time I finishedbut that just stands to prove how difficult it was to schedule time.
I do have a few regrets in my time with the Resource Council. I never got a chance to do any field work in South County, and was relegated to stay around the North Adams area, where Doug actually needed my services. I didn’t get to spend as much time doing physical labor for the Resource Council as I would have liked to either, which is unfortunate because my ability to cut trails, etc. definitely exceeds my abilities with a compass.
; While my internship did not afford me with a chance to put forward what I exceed at in terms of work, I did learn quite about working for a Conservation organization that a text book never could have taught me. While Holden’s writings described the types of major issues that surrounded conservation throughout the 20th ce ntury, it could not adequate describe the minor nuances of conservation that I observed through the Council. Text books can teach students the various political forces that went into the battle for Hetchy Hetch Dam, but cannot give meaning to the battles between an organization and a neighboring land owner over one foot of land. Obviously I learned things through my internship about conservation, like mapping skills, how to mark boundaries, what conservation restrictions are and general things like facts about G.I.S. (Geographic Information Systems), it was the minor details about the day to day operation of the Council that made this an eye opening experience.
All in all this was great experience and believe it or not, my work with the Resource Council will not be ending with the finish of this internship. I will continue to help Doug on the Council properties in the great North Adams area. It is fun work and I enjoy the people that I work with, that makes continuing with this organiz ation until graduation and easy choice for me.
Monday, December 8, 2008
BNRC Old office, new technology
To finish up my requirement for my internship with the Berkshire Natural Resource Council, I finally made the big trip to Pittsfield to see the office and get a feel for what Doug Bruce does when he isn’t traversing mountains. To paint an accurate picture of the Resource Council office one must understand that it is in a cluttered office above Patrick’s Pub on a busy street in Pittsfield. One would not assume that an office that handles as much land in Berkshire County as the Resource Council does would be confined to such a small space, but it truly is.
I was fortunate enough to meet Tad Ames today, the President of the Resource Council and Narain Schroeder, the Director of Land Conservation for the agency. I had read about these two gentlemen on the Resource Council’s Website and knew that they were both well educated men who worked at the Council because they loved the outdoors. What I learned today that the website could have never taught me, is what nice people they were. In the brief exchange I had with these gentlemen, I was instantly impressed by their enthusiasm. Mr. Ames thanked me for being involved in the agency when I arrived and again when I left. I can honestly say that the Berkshire Natural Resource Council, aside from owning some pretty property, are very friendly people.
Focusing now on the office itself, as I mentioned before it is rather small, but well organized. The Resource Council has a tremendous amount of paper work that all needs to be kept in large, fire safe filing cabinets. What kind of paper work one may ask? For each piece of property the Resource Council owns, they have to keep a portfolio with various pieces of documentation. In these portfolios, which they have to keep so things like the government can inspect them, they have maps charting the type of habitat each property holds. Maps that indicate where the boundary markers are, maps that indicate what types of soil are found where on each property and finally maps that indicate where various type of habitat controls need to be or have been implemented on the land. The Council owns hundreds of parcels of lands all across Berkshire county and with each parcel requiring its own large folder, that creates a lot of documents that need to be organized. In addition to the paper work within the office, Doug stated that by law they are required to keep back ups of each file and he estimated that they have at least five copies of each individual file stored in various locations around the Pittsfield area.
What does the Berkshire Natural Resource Council office tell us about the agency? A good bit. For starters, the very atmosphere of the agency is enjoyable, and from that one can discern that the people who work there are all around good folks. What does the office tell us about conservation? The very idea that every single minute detail is so meticulously documented shows us that conservation is more than cutting trees and being outdoorsy. Conservation is a large tangle of paper work and legal matters. The detail and technology involved in mapping a parcel of land show us how evolved conservationist has become. People like Teddy Roosevelt were drawn to “Conservation” in part because of the unknown that the great outdoors represented. Modern conservations don’t deal with the unknowns, their GPS system will not allow them to. These systems do make it easier however, for a guy staring at a computer in Pittsfield to plan his day marking boundaries in North Adams weeks later.
I was fortunate enough to meet Tad Ames today, the President of the Resource Council and Narain Schroeder, the Director of Land Conservation for the agency. I had read about these two gentlemen on the Resource Council’s Website and knew that they were both well educated men who worked at the Council because they loved the outdoors. What I learned today that the website could have never taught me, is what nice people they were. In the brief exchange I had with these gentlemen, I was instantly impressed by their enthusiasm. Mr. Ames thanked me for being involved in the agency when I arrived and again when I left. I can honestly say that the Berkshire Natural Resource Council, aside from owning some pretty property, are very friendly people.
Focusing now on the office itself, as I mentioned before it is rather small, but well organized. The Resource Council has a tremendous amount of paper work that all needs to be kept in large, fire safe filing cabinets. What kind of paper work one may ask? For each piece of property the Resource Council owns, they have to keep a portfolio with various pieces of documentation. In these portfolios, which they have to keep so things like the government can inspect them, they have maps charting the type of habitat each property holds. Maps that indicate where the boundary markers are, maps that indicate what types of soil are found where on each property and finally maps that indicate where various type of habitat controls need to be or have been implemented on the land. The Council owns hundreds of parcels of lands all across Berkshire county and with each parcel requiring its own large folder, that creates a lot of documents that need to be organized. In addition to the paper work within the office, Doug stated that by law they are required to keep back ups of each file and he estimated that they have at least five copies of each individual file stored in various locations around the Pittsfield area.
What does the Berkshire Natural Resource Council office tell us about the agency? A good bit. For starters, the very atmosphere of the agency is enjoyable, and from that one can discern that the people who work there are all around good folks. What does the office tell us about conservation? The very idea that every single minute detail is so meticulously documented shows us that conservation is more than cutting trees and being outdoorsy. Conservation is a large tangle of paper work and legal matters. The detail and technology involved in mapping a parcel of land show us how evolved conservationist has become. People like Teddy Roosevelt were drawn to “Conservation” in part because of the unknown that the great outdoors represented. Modern conservations don’t deal with the unknowns, their GPS system will not allow them to. These systems do make it easier however, for a guy staring at a computer in Pittsfield to plan his day marking boundaries in North Adams weeks later.
Oddities in Conservation
On a recent day of being manly and clearing paths and wandering around the woods sweaty and exhausted, I had a chance to have a very interesting conversation with Mr. Doug Bruce, the Stewardship Manager at the Council. Doug told me about a parcel of land the Resource Council recently purchased the conservation restrictions on in South County. It is a lovely farm land with lots of potential, Doug only spoke of one minor downside; he is now in charge of the upkeep of the two hundred year old farm house on the property, which still has a tenant in it. The provision of the CR Doug explained, is that the Council gets the land, but the elderly lady living there can remain. This is fine and all but Doug has now become a slum lord of sorts, trying to keep up on the repairs of the failing house.
Another oddity about my time with Doug is that we rarely seem to be productive. Whether it’s a minor detail like a chain saw malfunction, or an inability to find a surveyor’s pin (locating where the boundary we would be trying to paint actually is) Doug and I have yet to have what he considered a really productive day. Doug often dismisses this as part of the territory of his job, explaining that when you’re paid to wander in the woods and look for small pieces of rebar on the forest floor, your success rate wont be that high. While these usual interferences have come to be expected by me when I set out with Doug, I couldn’t help but be amused by his most recently tale of woe as to why we could not paint boundaries. It seems the neighbor of the land that the Council holds the conservation restriction on, had accused the Council of moving the surveyor pins two feet onto his property. This seems rather ludicrous for multiple reasons to me. To start, it would be highly illegal for the Council to move pins set by a surveyor. Next, what would two extra feet of property gain the Council when they own a good chunk of Berkshire County already.
While all of the aforementioned events led to a lack of great productivity by the Council, Doug did have some great news, a mountain biking group out of South County had recently agreed to donate the time and energy into clearing new trails for the Council. This is a great thing for the Council, as it saves time and money for them, two commodities that are very valuable in this tight fiscal time for the small organization. Donations of work aside, Doug pointed out that by getting more people involved in the Council, they are going to getting more people to visit their lands as well (the group should spread awareness of the trails etc.). Just like the National Park system in the early 20th century, the Resource Council strives to draw visitors to their land and fund themselves, while trying to maintain a healthy ecological place that visitors and wildlife can enjoy.
Another oddity about my time with Doug is that we rarely seem to be productive. Whether it’s a minor detail like a chain saw malfunction, or an inability to find a surveyor’s pin (locating where the boundary we would be trying to paint actually is) Doug and I have yet to have what he considered a really productive day. Doug often dismisses this as part of the territory of his job, explaining that when you’re paid to wander in the woods and look for small pieces of rebar on the forest floor, your success rate wont be that high. While these usual interferences have come to be expected by me when I set out with Doug, I couldn’t help but be amused by his most recently tale of woe as to why we could not paint boundaries. It seems the neighbor of the land that the Council holds the conservation restriction on, had accused the Council of moving the surveyor pins two feet onto his property. This seems rather ludicrous for multiple reasons to me. To start, it would be highly illegal for the Council to move pins set by a surveyor. Next, what would two extra feet of property gain the Council when they own a good chunk of Berkshire County already.
While all of the aforementioned events led to a lack of great productivity by the Council, Doug did have some great news, a mountain biking group out of South County had recently agreed to donate the time and energy into clearing new trails for the Council. This is a great thing for the Council, as it saves time and money for them, two commodities that are very valuable in this tight fiscal time for the small organization. Donations of work aside, Doug pointed out that by getting more people involved in the Council, they are going to getting more people to visit their lands as well (the group should spread awareness of the trails etc.). Just like the National Park system in the early 20th century, the Resource Council strives to draw visitors to their land and fund themselves, while trying to maintain a healthy ecological place that visitors and wildlife can enjoy.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
I recently spent a day out in the beautiful Berkshires with Doug Bruce of the Berkshire Natural Resource Council. Our most recent endeavor into the woods was slightly more productive and slightly less exhausting then are first day together. The property that we spent the day in is located near the MCLA Athletic Complex, and I’m not sure of the name of the property. The lot was a recent Resource Council purchase, bought from a man who planned to create housing developments at the base of the mountain we would be working on. While walking up to the Resource Council’s lot, Doug spoke of how interesting this parcel of land is to the Council. As mentioned before the parcel, which is a mountain ridge, is right next to a future housing development. This seems rather odd if you consider the idea of conservation, which is to preserve land for the use of the public. While the Council would prefer to own all of the land and not have more housing developments come to the Berkshires, they also realize that they must pick and choose their battles. In a sense the Council really embodies the ideas of Pinchot, in that they realize land must be practically used.
Up to this point, if I had to tie the works of the Resource Council back to the text I would say that they embody the National Park Services’ approach to Conservationism. This approach, as Wellock showed in the text, has its ups and downs. The Resource Council today faces the same double edged sword that the National Park System faced in the early parts of the 20th century. Both of these groups need visitors to their lands in order to receive funding. However, any time you bring people into the wilderness you run into problems. Just like the roads that had to be built through early 20th century national parks, modern housing developments that can be seen from scenic ridgelines, are a necessary evil in today’s efforts in conservation.
Going along with the theme of necessary evils I must discuss the boundary markers for the Resource Council. Along the boundaries of parcels, similar to posted sings, the Council puts up markers that state whose land this is and where the property line runs. The big problem with these boundary markers however, is the wording on the sings. The sings, designed by Doug’s predecessor, state the name of the organization followed by the following; NO vehicles, dumping, camping, fires. The problems with these sings according to Doug, is that they state what visitors cannot do in a bold fashion, rather than outlining what they can do, hunting, fishing etc. I certainly consider it to be true that a visitor to Resource Council lands will most certainly notice the NO signs first. This is truly a shame, but yet again highlights the very difficult task of a keeping a park system open to the public. While obviously the Council or any park service would love to attract lots of visitors, they must remember that visitors can often spell problems and sometimes bold signs saying no are the best way to avoid some of these problems.
Up to this point, if I had to tie the works of the Resource Council back to the text I would say that they embody the National Park Services’ approach to Conservationism. This approach, as Wellock showed in the text, has its ups and downs. The Resource Council today faces the same double edged sword that the National Park System faced in the early parts of the 20th century. Both of these groups need visitors to their lands in order to receive funding. However, any time you bring people into the wilderness you run into problems. Just like the roads that had to be built through early 20th century national parks, modern housing developments that can be seen from scenic ridgelines, are a necessary evil in today’s efforts in conservation.
Going along with the theme of necessary evils I must discuss the boundary markers for the Resource Council. Along the boundaries of parcels, similar to posted sings, the Council puts up markers that state whose land this is and where the property line runs. The big problem with these boundary markers however, is the wording on the sings. The sings, designed by Doug’s predecessor, state the name of the organization followed by the following; NO vehicles, dumping, camping, fires. The problems with these sings according to Doug, is that they state what visitors cannot do in a bold fashion, rather than outlining what they can do, hunting, fishing etc. I certainly consider it to be true that a visitor to Resource Council lands will most certainly notice the NO signs first. This is truly a shame, but yet again highlights the very difficult task of a keeping a park system open to the public. While obviously the Council or any park service would love to attract lots of visitors, they must remember that visitors can often spell problems and sometimes bold signs saying no are the best way to avoid some of these problems.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Berkshire Natural Resource Council's Mission
Nearing the end of my internship with the Resource Council I felt it necessary to dedicate a journal entry to what the BNRC is. I felt that the best way to accurately portray the Council, rather than my through my own often irrelevant interpretations, would be to give a run down of the Council’s Mission Statement according the Council themselves. According to the Councils website, WWW.BNRC.NET the Mission Statement of the council is to “To protect and preserve the natural beauty and ecological integrity of the Berkshires for public benefit and enjoyment.” Approved by Board of Directors, October 20, 2006.
According to the Council’s Board of Directors, they aim to preserve the Berkshires for public benefit and enjoyment. A common theme throughout my reports on my internship with this organization is the idea of a balance in modern conservation. Constantly throughout our text book we find classic examples of maintaining a balance between practical conservation and preservationists wishes. Logging National Parks, hunting rights and regulations, and even things as specific as the battle for Hetchy Hetch Damn, are all examples of trying to find a balance where people’s reliance on natural resources should coincide with the desire to protect nature. In the BNRC mission statement this constant battle in conservation is rather clear, they aim to protect the Berkshires, but for the sake of benefit and enjoyment of the public.
Now that we understand the purpose of the BNRC, which is seemingly to help both nature and those who wish to enjoy it, we should understand the origins of the group. According to the website the Council was opened in 1967 and since its origin has
“worked closely with hundreds of Berkshire landowners to help them meet their preservation and planning goals.” (WWW.BNRC.NET) As I stated in earlier posts, these preservation and planning goals are related to the Conservation Restrictions that private land owners sign over to the Council.
Just how big is the Council today? According the website, “The Council today owns and manages 7,100 acres and protects an additional 9,200 acres through the use of conservation restrictions.” That is certainly a large piece of territory within Berkshire County and on these various parcels of land the Council is mainly concerned with “forests, streams and ridge lines – the great landscape features that give us clean water, fresh air, local produce, healthy wildlife and outstanding recreational opportunities.” (WWW.BNRC.NET)
Obviously the intent of this entry was to present Berkshire Natural Resource Council the way they wish to be perceived in the public eye. The real question is, what have I observed in my internship that would help me evaluate how well the Council is doing in working towards the intent of their mission statement? From what I have seen I would say that the work for the Council I have done is spot on in terms of syncing with the intent of the organization. I have observed several parcels of land that the Council owns the conservation restrictions on and they certainly are preserving the beauty of the area. Furthermore, I have done work that would have increased public access to the land and increase the ability of the visitors to utilize the lands for personal use. It is rather evident that people are using the land to hunt and hike and I believe that would be the ultimate goal of any conservation organization- getting people to use the land.
According to the Council’s Board of Directors, they aim to preserve the Berkshires for public benefit and enjoyment. A common theme throughout my reports on my internship with this organization is the idea of a balance in modern conservation. Constantly throughout our text book we find classic examples of maintaining a balance between practical conservation and preservationists wishes. Logging National Parks, hunting rights and regulations, and even things as specific as the battle for Hetchy Hetch Damn, are all examples of trying to find a balance where people’s reliance on natural resources should coincide with the desire to protect nature. In the BNRC mission statement this constant battle in conservation is rather clear, they aim to protect the Berkshires, but for the sake of benefit and enjoyment of the public.
Now that we understand the purpose of the BNRC, which is seemingly to help both nature and those who wish to enjoy it, we should understand the origins of the group. According to the website the Council was opened in 1967 and since its origin has
“worked closely with hundreds of Berkshire landowners to help them meet their preservation and planning goals.” (WWW.BNRC.NET) As I stated in earlier posts, these preservation and planning goals are related to the Conservation Restrictions that private land owners sign over to the Council.
Just how big is the Council today? According the website, “The Council today owns and manages 7,100 acres and protects an additional 9,200 acres through the use of conservation restrictions.” That is certainly a large piece of territory within Berkshire County and on these various parcels of land the Council is mainly concerned with “forests, streams and ridge lines – the great landscape features that give us clean water, fresh air, local produce, healthy wildlife and outstanding recreational opportunities.” (WWW.BNRC.NET)
Obviously the intent of this entry was to present Berkshire Natural Resource Council the way they wish to be perceived in the public eye. The real question is, what have I observed in my internship that would help me evaluate how well the Council is doing in working towards the intent of their mission statement? From what I have seen I would say that the work for the Council I have done is spot on in terms of syncing with the intent of the organization. I have observed several parcels of land that the Council owns the conservation restrictions on and they certainly are preserving the beauty of the area. Furthermore, I have done work that would have increased public access to the land and increase the ability of the visitors to utilize the lands for personal use. It is rather evident that people are using the land to hunt and hike and I believe that would be the ultimate goal of any conservation organization- getting people to use the land.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
sherpas in the Berkshires!
I had my first day with the Resource Center yesterday. I’m exhausted. I met with Doug Bruce, whom I still have yet to figure out what exactly his title is, and did some trail work. We went to a parcel of land owned by the Center just off route two headed up the mountain towards NY. It was cold and snowing, well at least not when we got there. After two hours of hiking and reaching the top of all of Berkshire County, it was in fact snowing. Doug and I had a nice chat on the way to Williamstown and I knew from the start he was a guy I would enjoy working with. Doug informed me that this parcel of land was relatively new to the organization much like himself and that we were going to hike the boundary and see what kind of markings the trails had. Resource Center land, like any state park would, is supposed to have clearly defined boundaries for visitors to respect. This new parcel of land however had little to no markings, making it impossible to see where Resource Center land ended and where adjacent property began.
Despite there being no boundary, Doug was quick to dash off into the woods. As someone who has spent a considerable amount of time in the woods adding to their virility, I was not for one second scared we may become lost or eaten by a bear. I was however quick to realize that my time in the woods had not prepared me to work with Doug Bruce. From the trail head we began a vertical climb up the mountain. When I say climb, I mean to imply that I huffed and puffed as I walked delicately up the seemingly never ending mountain. Doug meanwhile, was moving like a mountain goat. An in shape individual who explores parcels of mountains for a living Doug moved up the mountain like a man-goat. While I dragged behind, he walked with his hands in his pockets taking in all the splendor around him. Ten minutes into our walk I was convinced that I had already earned an A in Environmental history as it was quickly turning into a boot camp.
Despite the terrible walking uphill in the snow, it was enjoyable to see the land that the Resource Center owned. It was a beautiful piece of land open to hunters and hikers alike and it was our job to try and figure out where these people could go on the property. After many hours of wandering Doug and I came to a conclusion, there was a lot of boundary work to be done in this place! It was quickly decided rather than spends hours accomplishing little we would do some trail maintenance. Personally I have always been a big fan of physical labor over things like hiking with man-goats, so the prospect of moving wood and cutting things was a big delight for me. Cutting wood and clearing trails are jobs I have done before (even though I would never admit to Doug that operate a four wheeler) and the work was rather refreshing compared to a typical classroom setting. After a few hours in the woods my first day was over. I came home happy to have found a place to volunteer at that I could actually contribute to in some capacity and I also found myself ecstatic that it would be at least another week and a half before I had to chase my new sherpa friend up a mountain again.
Despite there being no boundary, Doug was quick to dash off into the woods. As someone who has spent a considerable amount of time in the woods adding to their virility, I was not for one second scared we may become lost or eaten by a bear. I was however quick to realize that my time in the woods had not prepared me to work with Doug Bruce. From the trail head we began a vertical climb up the mountain. When I say climb, I mean to imply that I huffed and puffed as I walked delicately up the seemingly never ending mountain. Doug meanwhile, was moving like a mountain goat. An in shape individual who explores parcels of mountains for a living Doug moved up the mountain like a man-goat. While I dragged behind, he walked with his hands in his pockets taking in all the splendor around him. Ten minutes into our walk I was convinced that I had already earned an A in Environmental history as it was quickly turning into a boot camp.
Despite the terrible walking uphill in the snow, it was enjoyable to see the land that the Resource Center owned. It was a beautiful piece of land open to hunters and hikers alike and it was our job to try and figure out where these people could go on the property. After many hours of wandering Doug and I came to a conclusion, there was a lot of boundary work to be done in this place! It was quickly decided rather than spends hours accomplishing little we would do some trail maintenance. Personally I have always been a big fan of physical labor over things like hiking with man-goats, so the prospect of moving wood and cutting things was a big delight for me. Cutting wood and clearing trails are jobs I have done before (even though I would never admit to Doug that operate a four wheeler) and the work was rather refreshing compared to a typical classroom setting. After a few hours in the woods my first day was over. I came home happy to have found a place to volunteer at that I could actually contribute to in some capacity and I also found myself ecstatic that it would be at least another week and a half before I had to chase my new sherpa friend up a mountain again.
meeting my internship
For my first journal entry I suppose it would only be appropriate to describe what organization I will be mini-interning with and what I will be doing with these people. I chose the Berkshire Natural Resource Center as my place to volunteer, initially I was not quite sure what these people did but through their website I was able to understand that they manage private lands for public use. I called up the Resource Center and the first person I talked with was absolutely befuddled by my request. Initially the person I spoke to asked me several questions; why are you doing this? what do you want to do for us? what special talents do you have? After replying “I dunno!” to all of the aforementioned questions the person I spoke with finally asked “do you know anything about the outdoors or computers?” Finally a question I could answer, I love the outdoors, hunting and fishing are my favorite pastimes. Thanks to this response I was assigned the duty of “trail work.”
Obviously I had no clue at the time what trail work entailed, I imagined a machete and a safari hat which I would later learn that I would not receive. Before I get into the theatrics that were my first day of doing trail work, a topic worthy of its’ own journal entry, I must first describe my initial reaction to the people at the Resource Center. The man I first spoke with, while confused as to my motives was very pleasant and patient. The man who I was referred to from this mystery phone man, Doug Bruce, also seemed like a great guy over the telephone. The first question I asked Doug once we decided that outdoor work was the best way to get anything accomplished by me was “What do you people do at the Resource Center?” Doug proceeded to basically summarize the Resource Center in the following way “we’re like a state park system but it’s private land.” What this means is that the Resource Center takes privately owned land and buys the conservation restrictions to the land. In state parks the state decides what can and cannot be done on the state land. The Resource Center buys conservation restrictions, or has them donated and opens private land up for public use and determines what can and cannot be allowed on their parcels of land.
From there I had two questions, first, why would anyone want the Resource Center to tell them what can and cannot be done on their land? The reason if I may paraphrase Doug is that if you sell the resource center a conservation restriction you get money and a tax break. Also people will donate land just to make sure it is preserved for the good of the Berkshires. Secondly I needed to know what can and cannot be done on Resource Center land. The can do’s on Resource land involve hiking, hunting, fishing, timbering and farming (with the Resource Center’s permission of course of timbering and farming.) The do not’s involve off roading (Jeeps, 4-wheelers etc.), dumping garbage and camping. The mission of the Berkshire Natural Resource Center is to protect the Berkshires for the public to use in generations to come. After talking with some people within the organization I was eager to begin my mini internship.
Obviously I had no clue at the time what trail work entailed, I imagined a machete and a safari hat which I would later learn that I would not receive. Before I get into the theatrics that were my first day of doing trail work, a topic worthy of its’ own journal entry, I must first describe my initial reaction to the people at the Resource Center. The man I first spoke with, while confused as to my motives was very pleasant and patient. The man who I was referred to from this mystery phone man, Doug Bruce, also seemed like a great guy over the telephone. The first question I asked Doug once we decided that outdoor work was the best way to get anything accomplished by me was “What do you people do at the Resource Center?” Doug proceeded to basically summarize the Resource Center in the following way “we’re like a state park system but it’s private land.” What this means is that the Resource Center takes privately owned land and buys the conservation restrictions to the land. In state parks the state decides what can and cannot be done on the state land. The Resource Center buys conservation restrictions, or has them donated and opens private land up for public use and determines what can and cannot be allowed on their parcels of land.
From there I had two questions, first, why would anyone want the Resource Center to tell them what can and cannot be done on their land? The reason if I may paraphrase Doug is that if you sell the resource center a conservation restriction you get money and a tax break. Also people will donate land just to make sure it is preserved for the good of the Berkshires. Secondly I needed to know what can and cannot be done on Resource Center land. The can do’s on Resource land involve hiking, hunting, fishing, timbering and farming (with the Resource Center’s permission of course of timbering and farming.) The do not’s involve off roading (Jeeps, 4-wheelers etc.), dumping garbage and camping. The mission of the Berkshire Natural Resource Center is to protect the Berkshires for the public to use in generations to come. After talking with some people within the organization I was eager to begin my mini internship.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Update
Hi all,
I am going to be doing my mini internship with the Berkshire Natural Resource Center.
Well, I decided not to do a journal entry last week as I had yet to meet with the Resource Center people but I had my first experience today, working closely with Doug Bruce from the Center. We cleared some trails and hiked around the mountains on Resource Center lands. I am too exhausted to actually write the journal entries at this point but I will most certainly have journal entries posted by the end of the week.
I am going to be doing my mini internship with the Berkshire Natural Resource Center.
Well, I decided not to do a journal entry last week as I had yet to meet with the Resource Center people but I had my first experience today, working closely with Doug Bruce from the Center. We cleared some trails and hiked around the mountains on Resource Center lands. I am too exhausted to actually write the journal entries at this point but I will most certainly have journal entries posted by the end of the week.
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