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.