Keystone Arches Bridge Trail

This afternoon, I took a break from writing to go hiking with some friends. We headed west toward Chester, MA and hiked along the Keystone Arches Bridge Trail (KAB). You can Google for more links, but this one is pretty good. And for a slew of pictures, see this site.

For now, enjoy the picture that is 3 hours old.

Annual Westfield River Symposium

18th Westfield River Symposium:

WRWA's annual river symposium is scheduled for Saturday, March 24, 2012 in the Scanlon Banquet Hall on the campus of Westfield State University.

The program begins at 8:30 a.m. with introductions and the keynote address "A Resilient Future for the Westfield Watershed", by Andy Finton, the MA Director of Science & Conservation for The Nature Conservancy. Half a dozen speakers will fill out the morning program, with talks on migratory fish restoration, invasive plants, road crossings, coldwater fisheries, dam removal, and the effects of Tropical Storm Irene. A half hour is set aside mid-morning for viewing of exhibts from approximately 20 local and state organizations.

There will also be a raffle and a showing of The Watershed Waltz, a new DVD version of Marmalade Productions' puppet show on healthy watersheds. Afternoon field trips will offer opportunities to visit the West Springfield Fish Ladder or the Flood Control Dams on the Westfield River. You'll find the tentative program in the Symposium section of the website.

Trails, trails and more trails

There are a boatload of organizations out there devoted to hiking and trail related organizations. I mean, just type in "Appalachian" Trail or add in your favorite trail in the quotes.

I belong to a few, but the one I want to highlight today is the American Hiking Society. You can view their story at this link.

Enjoy on a rainy day, save the good ones to hit a trail near you.

Westfield River Trail Guide

For your hiking pleasure, check out the

Lower Westfield River
Trails User Guide


Prepared for the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management
with funding from
The Massachusetts Watershed Initiative

Trails and hiking

With the mild weather we are having in the Northeast, simple day hikes are the best thing right now. I walked around Ashley Reservoir last weekend and caught a Bald Eagle flying over the un-frozen water looking for some fish I guess. The bird was too far away to photograph, but in any case, we stopped and watched for a few minutes!

Here is a short report from the local paper on this wonderful place.

It is amazing that the water department lets people walk here. I mean, try doing that at Cobble Mountain Reservoir and you'd probably get sent to Guantanamo Bay!

Mass SCORP

that is, the Massachusetts State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Last prepared in 2006, we are due one....
See also NARRP (National Association of Recreation Resource Planners) for details about this important document.

Cannibal Tours

Check out this video found on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQiDufdir_M

It is an interesting exchange between western Tourists and local citizens.

Makes you think!

Linking Tourism and Conservation survey

Paraphrased from the website:

Linking Tourism and Conservation survey

A new UNEP/GRID-Arendal Linking Tourism and Conservation survey is available. This survey is aimed at collecting information on existing global Sustainable Tourism initiatives that support protected areas.

Click to take the survey now!

With this survey we hope to identify, learn from and replicate positive examples where tourism supports the creation, management, and development of protected areas. This is a global UNEP/GRID-Arendal project that supports the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD; www.cbd.int).

The main goals of the survey are to:

Capture global cases of Linking Tourism and Conservation
Identify communication tools that efficiently convey how tourism supports protected areas
Highlight functioning models and produce incentives for replication
This initiative supports the overarching aim of protecting global biodiversity and enabling future generations to experience healthy ecosystems and the beauty of nature.

Your participation in completing this survey will contribute to these efforts and is greatly appreciated. Please forward this information to relevant contacts. Follow the weblink to the Linking Tourism and Conservation

The Linking Tourism and Conservation initiative is a recognised project of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism (GPST).

The survey was developed by UNEP/GRID-Arendal as part of a partnership with the European Commission project entitled FAST-LAIN - Further Action on Sustainable Tourism.

Nothin' on TV this weekend?

Since there is nothing to watch this weekend, I figured I'd catch a Bowl game.

Yes, it is the Puppy Bowl VIII

Catch all the action!

Ban Plastic Bags!

I carry a few cloth bags in our vehicles so I will always have them available when I go grocery shopping. But I also take the bags into other stores. If I am getting just one item, I just say, save the oil and refuse the plastic bag.

I now have picked up some larger sturdy bags since the cloth bags given out at conferences tend to be small and only carry a modest amount of groceries.

Ban the Plastic Bag!