Get Out, Speak Up - Get Involved with AMC's Current Conservation Initiatives

Welcome to the June 2009 edition of Get Out, Speak Up, the monthly conservation e-newsletter from the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Ask Congress to Increase Funding for Land Conservation and Recreation
Over the next couple of weeks, the House Appropriations Committee is slated to vote on the FY10 Interior Appropriations Bill. Included in this bill are funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Forest Legacy Program and the Highlands Conservation Act. These programs support funding for conservation of natural resources and acquisition of lands for parks, forests, refuges, trails and waterways. Across the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, and beyond are hundreds of places waiting to protected when the dollars become available. Please call your member of Congress today and ask him or her for:

$125 million for the USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program
$450 million for the Department of the Interior Land and Water Conservation Fund (including $325 million for federal-side and $125 million for state-side programs)
$11 million for the Department of the Interior Highlands Conservation Act
$10 million for the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program

You can reach your member of Congress by calling the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and asking for your Representative's office. See the land conservation projects in AMC’s Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region that would be supported through adequate funding of these programs>>

2009 Photo Contest; Mountain Wildflowers Say Cheese!
The Mountain Watch program is holding a Mountain Wildflower Photo Contest in 2009. Your photos of wildflowers taken on your next hike will help us to determine which species are commonly observed and would make good candidates as we look at adding new tareget species to monitor in the future (see new woodland flowers we are piloting this spring/summer).

While many flowers may make beautiful subjects, we will only be accepting photos of native woodland or alpine flowers, including our current target alpine and forest species, that can be found along the Appalachian Mountain corridor and other Northeast mountains (although the photo and/or monitoring can occur wherever the species is found, not just in the mountains). All flower development stages, from buds to berries, will also be accepted, as the monitoring program is aimed at tracking flower phenology from start to finish.

Choosing a good Mountain Watch flower species:

Common native plants throughout a portion of the AMC region (roughly Maine to Virginia). Check for species distribution maps>>
Easy to determine between different flowering stages (i.e.: is the plant not yet in flower, flowering, or past flowering)
Easy to identify, not easily confused with other local species

You can find out more about the contest, get tips on taking good photographs, and learn how to enter your photos by visiting the Mountain Watch photo contest page. The contest winner will have his or her photograph featured in our newsletter and on the web site. So get out there and start shooting…and make sure to bring your Mountain Watch monitoring materials with you to record your observations on the current Mountain Watch species you encounter.

Speak Up for Mass. State Forests: Public Forum June 23
Forests in Massachusetts cover about 60 percent of the state's 5 million acres, and they provide a wide range of benefits, including wildlife habitat, watershed protection, recreational opportunities, and wood products. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) manages more than 300,000 acres through its State Forest and Park system. DCR has convened a public involvement process to gather public and technical input and develop a renewed vision and recommendations for its forest management goals and practices.

A public forum has been slated for June 23 to provide the public with the opportunity to view examples of DCR forest conditions and management practices, and to provide input about public goals, values and concerns regarding the future of state forest management. This process was initiated in part due to growing public concern over cutting practices, and the upcoming forum is an opportunity to share your views on values associated with public forests.

Forest Futures Visioning Process Public Forum June 23, 2009
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm: Walk-in-the-Woods with DCR Forester, Leominster State Forest
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Public Forum, Doyle Conservation Center, Leominster, MA
RSVP to MODR@umb.edu

Find more information about the this forum and the full Forest Futures Visioning Process, meeting schedule and materials.

Plum Creek Concept Plan Moving Forward
On June 2 the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) directed its staff to proceed with finalizing the Plum Creek concept plan for the Moosehead Lake region based on feedback from the Commission and intervening parties, including AMC. Should LURC make a final vote on the plan at the August or September meetings, AMC would have 45 days to purchase the 29,000-acre Roach Pond tract, which adjoins AMC’s Katahdin Iron Works property.

Find out more on Plum Creek>>

New Recreation Resources and Web Pages for the Mid-Atlantic Highlands
Want to get out and go hiking, biking or paddling in the Pennsylvania Highlands but don’t know where to go? Curious about the new trail network, the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Network (PHTN) AMC is developing in the Pennsylvania Highlands? Looking for Critical Treasures in the four Highlands states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut)? Check out the new Highlands web pages. Here you can download our “hot off the presses” Hike the Highlands cards, featuring 22 hikes throughout the 13-county Pennsylvania Highlands. You can also follow our blog that includes updates on the PHTN and other happenings in the four-state Highlands. Are you a writer or do you like to take photos? We are looking for authors and photographers for our new Highlands blog. If interested, please contact, Jennifer Heisey.

Update on the Redington Wind Power Project
In early June, the Maine State Senate voted 29-6 to defeat a bill that would have cleared the way for the Town of Carrabassett Valley in the western mountains to annex the adjacent Redington Township. The area to be annexed would have included the site for the proposed Redington/Black Nubble wind power project, which was strongly opposed by AMC, and twice rejected by the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC). By annexing the site to an organized town, the legislation would have allowed the project to be reconsidered under the jurisdiction of the town rather than LURC. While AMC has supported, and LURC has approved, other large wind power projects in Maine, including projects in the western Maine mountains, this particular project would have brought industrial-type development to the middle of one of the state's most significant high mountain areas, and had a severe impact on the scenic character of one of the most remote and spectacular stretches of the Appalachian Trail, and on rare and pristine subalpine ecosystems and habitats. If passed the bill would have set an extremely poor precedent for the regulation of Maine's North Woods, allowing a developer that could not get a project permitted under existing laws and regulations in one jurisdiction to ask the legislature to get it moved into another jurisdiction so that it might pass.

Become a Fan: AMC on Facebook
You can see all of AMC’s conservation alerts, blogs, gear and guide updates and more. Simply log into your Facebook account, search for “Appalachian Mountain Club” under pages, and click, “become a fan.”

Get Out, Speak Up - June 2009