“When it Comes to Wetlands, It’s Hard to Improve on the Original”

To compensate for development in and around wetlands, developers are sometimes encouraged or required to create new ones. GOOD reports, however, that these restored wetlands are inferior: …ecologists have found that restored wetlands are not as ecologically valuable as the originals—a new analysis of 621 wetland sites shows that, on average, restored wetlands regained only […]

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Video: “An Illustrated Talk on The Natural History of Our Meadows”

Here is a YouTube video of “An Illustrated Talk on The Natural History of Our Meadows”, a presentation by naturalist Laurie L. Sanders, author of Rediscovering Northampton: The Natural History of City-Owned Conservation Areas. This presentation was part of the 11/16/11 annual meeting of the Meadow City Conservancy Coalition. This recording was made by Adam […]

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“UMass geologists: New England may be facing higher risk of flooding as groundwater levels rise”

Yesterday’s Springfield Republican reports on work by geologists at the University of Massachusetts: The study was authored by David F. Boutt, a hydrogeologist and assistant professor, and Kaitlyn M. Weider, a graduate student in geology… “More precipitation is falling as rain and less as snow with average annual precipitation displaying a gradual increase of 5 […]

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Video: Conservation Commission Rebuts Dawson, Discusses Plassmann

Here is a complete YouTube video of the 4/14/11 meeting of Northampton’s Conservation Commission. This video is 1 hour 47 minutes long and was recorded by Adam Cohen. Highlights: 0:51:45-1:01:32 Members of the commission craft a letter to the Gazette that responds to a March 17 guest column by Alexandra Dawson. She had written: The […]

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New York Times: Non-Native Species Contribute to “Mother Nature’s Melting Pot”

In the March 17 Gazette, Alexandra Dawson cautioned against well-intentioned efforts to “improve” wetlands, as opposed to giving them adequate buffer zones and leaving them undisturbed. An opinion piece by Hugh Raffles in the April 2 New York Times underscores this sentiment, cautioning against indiscriminate attempts to eradicate non-native species: Mother Nature’s Melting Pot …just […]

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Alexandra Dawson: “Standing tall for our wetlands”

Alexandra Dawson has an excellent column in today’s Gazette. Here is an excerpt: …in the long run, nearby development [to wetlands] can result in grass clippings, raked leaves and dog droppings – or worse – getting pushed over the line. And then the wetland loses a lot of its resource value.The Northampton City Council some […]

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Ward 3 Open Space Survey Results

The Ward 3 Neighborhood Association and Smith College have just released the results of an informal survey regarding open space and recreation. Here are the top five responses to Question 7 (among the 94 respondents who answered the question correctly): If you could tell the City three things that we needed in Ward 3 that would make […]

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September 23: Second Forum on Northampton Open Space, Recreation & Multi-Use Trail Plan

Northampton’s Office of Planning and Development announces today: The second public forum on the draft Northampton Open Space, Recreation, & Multi-Use Trail Plan: 2011-2017 will be held this coming Thursday, September 23rd, at 7:00 PM in the basement of the Unitarian Church next to City Hall. The first public forum was held on Tuesday [see video]. […]

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Video: Wayne Feiden Presents Draft 2011-2017 Open Space, Recreation & Multi-Use Trail Plan

Wayne Feiden, Director of Northampton’s Office of Planning and Development, presented highlights from a draft of the 2011-2017 Open Space, Recreation & Multi-Use Trail Plan (PDF, 237 pages, 5MB) to the public at Northampton High School’s Little Theater last night. Here is a complete blip.tv video of the presentation and discussion (1 hour 20 minutes). The recording was […]

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Summer Thunderstorm Pressures Stormwater Infrastructure

This afternoon’s thunderstorm pressured Northampton’s downtown storm drains. Police closed the North Street underpass after a car began floating and had to be pushed out. Photos by Adam Cohen. Water at the corner of Hampton Avenue and Old South Street overran the sidewalk… State Street approaching Summer Street… See also: Flooding Incidents in the North […]

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