Category: News

Managing Invasive Plants

As part of its educational initiatives, the Egremont Land Trust is sponsoring a FREE presentation on identification and removal of non-native invasive plant species, without the use of chemicals.

The event will be held on Saturday, April 19, 2025 from 10:00-11:30 AM at April Hill (Greenagers) at 62 N. Undermountain Rd, South Egremont. Sign-in and refreshments will begin at 9:30 AM. Advance registration is required as space is limited.

You can register here.

The presentation, which will focus on multiflora rose, knotweed and bittersweet control, will be given by Mike Bald of “GotWeeds?”, a business he established to perform organically acceptable removal of non-native plant species. It will be followed by a demonstration outdoors (weather permitting).

Mike works with private landowners, businesses and municipalities who contract with him to survey a site, determine tactics, and return each year over a period of time to remove the undesirable plants manually. He also provides training to those interested in safely doing the work themselves.

Mike began to work with invasive plants when he joined the US Forest Service, in Vermont, in 2002. By 2010, Mike had identified a need for non-synthetic, chemical-free invasive plant control and went into business on his own. He approaches the work scientifically, by analyzing the terrain and environment at each site, creating a plan and tracking his methodology and progress on spreadsheets. He also benchmarks site transition with time-lapse photographs.

Mike currently has 50 clients/project sites across New England, with many coaching and advisory relationships as far away as Ireland and the UK.

We look forward to seeing you on the 19th.

ELT’s annual meeting at French Park Sept. 7, 2024

On September 7, 2024, ELT’s annual meeting was held at French Park, North Egremont. Tom Tyning, field biologist and environmental scientist, presented “Frogs and Snakes are Fascinating”

Bow Wow Woods Project Update

Sheffield Land Trust, Egremont Land Trust, and Greenagers have almost met our goal to purchase, protect, and maintain a new community trail and woodland education area called Bow Wow Woods.

This project, part of the Sheffield-Egremont Corridor Project, is a 54-acre wooded parcel along Route 41 and Bow Wow Road, where Egremont borders Sheffield. Of the project’s total cost ($1 million), we secured about $900,000 through foundation grants, a generous gift from a long-time Sheffield Land Trust member, and membership support.

Greenagers now owns the land and will act as its day-to-day steward. Sheffield Land Trust and Egremont Land Trust hold a conservation restriction on the property and share the monitoring of the land.

We now need to raise the remaining $100,000 for ongoing maintenance. If you can help, please click on the To Join, Renew, or Donate Online or by Mail button on this site, and either enter your information online or send a check. Be sure to mention Bow Wow Woods in the comments (online) or in the check memo. Thank you!!

September 9 Annual Meeting and Nature Presentation

Birds of Prey: Saturday September 9, 11 a.m. Join Egremont Land Trust and Wingmasters (from Adams) for a free event featuring falcons, hawk, and owls (all native to New England). Wingmasters is dedicated to increasing public understanding of North American birds of prey. French Park, North Egremont, rain or shine. Afterwards, ELT will conduct its annual meeting, followed by a lunch provided by ELT. Everyone is welcome.

Sept 25, 2022 Forest Walk in Bow Wow Woods

September 25, 2022 at 1 p.m. The Forested Landscape of Bow Wow Woods.

Author and ecologist Tom Wessels will lead a walk interpreting the forest history of Bow Wow
Woods. Wessels is professor emeritus at Antioch University, where he founded the master’s degree
program in conservation biology.

Bow Wow Woods was recently acquired by Greenagers and will soon be protected by a
conservation restriction to be held by the Egremont and Sheffield land trusts.

The walk will start at Bow Wow Rd., just off Route 41, and will follow the property’s old logging
roads. Good shoes and long pants are advised!

Please park at Greenagers’ headquarters, just up theroad at 62 Undermountain Rd. (Route 41) in South Egremont.

There will be cider and seasonal refreshments, and we’ll be running a van shuttle to the walk site.

Please arrive early so the walk can start on time. RSVPs requested but not required: shefland@bcn.net or 413-644-9090.

2022 Sept 25 Forest Walk flier for website

Download

Bow Wow Woods Project Fundraising

We’re still raising money toward the $1 million goal for the Bow Wow Woods project. Donations can be made through any of the partner organizations. Online at www.egremontlandtrust.org, greenagers.org, or www.sheffieldland.org. Or by mail to Egremont Land Trust, P.O. Box 132, S. Egremont, MA 01258; Greenagers, P.O, Box 157, S. Egremont, MA 01258; or Sheffield Land Trust, P.O. Box 940, Sheffield, MA 01257. (Please specify that the donation is “for Bow Wow Woods and the Sheffield-Egremont Corridor.”)

$500,000 challenge!

Bow Wow Woods

to purchase, protect, and maintain a new community trail and woodland education area

Learn More

Donate Now

Slide 2

Nature Presentation and Annual Meeting September 10, 2022

September 10, 2022, Saturday 11 AM Annual free nature-oriented event. French Park, North Egremont, rain or shine. Our presenter this year is Wingmasters, based in Adams, MA, and operating since 1994. Wingmasters, a partnership of two people (Julie Anne Collier and Jim Parks), is dedicated to increasing public understanding and appreciation of North American birds of prey. They care for injured birds, and if the birds cannot be released back into the wild, Julie and Jim provide a home for them and use them for educational programs. They will bring with them 2 falcons, 1 red-tailed hawk, and 3 owls. Everyone is welcome to this educational event.

September 10, 2022, Saturday noon Annual ELT meeting at French Park, North Egremont. Our brief business meeting will be followed by a lunch provided by ELT. We welcome all interested residents to our annual meeting.

A Tribute to Wendy Linscott, 1947 – 2022

The members of the board of Egremont Land Trust join our local community in mourning the death of Wendy Linscott, on April 19, 2022. Back in the mid 1980s, she played an instrumental role in helping to preserve Jug End Reservation in Egremont from developers, which led to the formation of the Egremont Land Trust, and she joined the ELT board in 2005. Wendy served on the Egremont Planning Board from 1988 to 1994. Her Berkshire County advocacy also included serving on the boards of Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Berkshire Botanical Garden, Community Health Program, Edith Wharton Restoration, Southern Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association, and Berkshire Choral Institute.

Generous with her time and legal expertise, Wendy was a strong and valuable presence on our board. As Peg Muskrat, our board president, said, “I always knew I could go to her for advice and knew I would get a straight answer.”

We will always be grateful for Wendy’s commitment and wisdom. We feel her loss deeply.

Bow Wow Woods Challenge Fundraiser

Sheffield Land Trust, Egremont Land Trust, and Greenagers are proud to announce a dollar-for-dollar $500,000 challenge to purchase, protect, and maintain a new community trail and woodland education area called Bow Wow Woods

Herpetologist Tom Tyning speaks at ELT Annual Meeting

When: September 18 11am
Where: French Park in North Egremont.

Tom Tyning, field biologist and environmental scientist, will discuss “Why Frogs and Turtles Matter” at 11 am, rain or shine. All are welcome. ELT’s brief business meeting will be at noon. Due to safety precautions, lunch will not be provided. We will be socially distanced and we recommend that everyone wear a mask.

Tom went to work at MA Audubon after graduating from college. He received both his BS (wildlife biology) and MS (organismic and evolutionary biology) from the UMass Amherst, where he focused on the biology and conservation of the timber rattlesnake. Since 1999, he has been a professor of environmental science at Berkshire Community College. Prior to that, he was a field biologist and Master Naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society for 24 years.