Vineyard Conservation Almanac

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In This Issue:

Local News:
VCS hike at Quansoo

Feature:
Executives Urge Action to Cut Dependence on Foreign Oil

Calendar:
Rejuvenating Your Worm Bin;
Tisbury Great Pond Beach;
Toddler Time at Native Earth Teaching Farm;
More...

MVTV Update:
Opportunities for Mussel Ocean Farming in New England;
Shellfish Culture on Martha’s Vineyard

Wildlife Update:
All but Ageless, Turtles Face Their Biggest Threat: Humans

Climate Change Update:
Gore Plans Grass-Roots "Carbon Freeze" Movement

Sustainability Update:
Shellfishing prospects varied, but hopeful, in Island towns;
House Approves Overhaul of Rules for Fisheries

LOCAL NEWS

VCS hike at Quansoo
December 14, 2006
By Susan Safford
MV Times

Susan Whiting led the Vineyard Conservation Society (VCS) winter walk last Sunday, on her family's land in Chilmark. The land fronts on Tisbury Great Pond, stretching from the opening to Town Cove south to a point called Big Sandy. We watched sheep grazing along the boundaries of Arnie Fischer's property on Flat Point across the pond, and further out we could see the Land Bank property at Sepiessa, known to old-timers as Tississa.

http://www.mvtimes.com/calendar/
2006/12/14/quansoo.php

Energy Tips
Children can be exposed to phthalates, so called "endocrine disruptors" which can interfere with hormones that regulate gender, by chewing on soft vinyl toys or similar products. So dispose of all teethers, pacifiers, nipples, "sippy cups" and heavily mouthed toys made of soft plastic, unless they are labeled as PVC-free or phthalate-free.

http://www.time.com/time/health/
article/0,8599,1566958,00.html

FEATURE

Executives Urge Action to Cut Dependence on Foreign Oil
December 13, 2006
By MATTHEW L. WALD
NY Times

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 — More than a dozen prominent business executives and retired military officers, including the chairman of FedEx and a former commandant of the Marine Corps, are lobbying Congress and the White House to undertake a comprehensive campaign to reduce reliance on imported oil.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/
business/worldbusiness/13energy.html

CALENDAR

Rejuvenating Your Worm Bin

Mon. Dec. 18, 2006, 10 am
Community Solar Greenhouse (COMSOG), 114 New York avenue, Oak Bluffs.
Part four of a composting series with Barbara Stelle. For details, call 508-693-2019 or 508-693-3423.

Tisbury Great Pond Beach:

Tues. Dec. 19, 2006, 5 pm
The Howes House
Tisbury Great Pond Beach: West Tisbury town advisory board of the Land Bank hosts a public hearing on the draft management plan for the pond. Copies of the plan are available at the land bank office in advance.

Toddler Time at Native Earth Teaching Farm

Wed. Dec. 20, 2006, 9 am - noon
94 North Road in Chilmark
Visit anytime for casual and informal seasonal activities, animal visits and outdoor fun, supported by donation. For details, call 508-645-3304.

Help Needed for Native Seed Cleaning

Wed. Dec. 20, 2006, 9:30 am - noon
The Nature Conservancy Hoft Farm located on Lower Lambert’s Cove Road near Duarte’s Pond.
To sign up for a volunteer work day, please contact Liz Loucks at the Conservancy’s Islands Office: eloucks@tnc.org or 508-693-6287, ext. 15.

MVTV Update

Opportunities for Mussel Ocean Farming in New England

Channel 13
Mon, Dec. 18th - 8:30 PM
Tues., Dec. 19th - 6:30 PM
Wed., Dec. 20 - 6:30 PM
Dr. Richard Langan, a commercial fisherman turned ocean mussel farmer and director of UNH Cooperative Institute of NE Mariculture and Fisheries, presents the important details of mussel farming off the Isles of Shoals.

Shellfish Culture on Martha’s Vineyard

Channel 13
Wed., Dec. 20 - 5:00 PM
Fri., Dec. 22 - 6:30 PM
Interviews with Island shellfish constables.

Wildlife Update

All but Ageless, Turtles Face Their Biggest Threat: Humans
December 12, 2006
By NATALIE ANGIER
NY Times

This was no euphemistic brushoff, no reptilian version of “Sorry, I’ll be busy that night washing my hair.” Paddling around in a tropically appointed pool at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the husky female Gibba turtle from South America made all too palpable her disdain for the petite male Gibba that pursued her. He crawled onto the parqueted hump of her bark-brown shell. She shrugged and wriggled until he slipped off. He looped around to show her his best courtship maneuvers, bobbing his head, quivering his neck. She kicked him aside like a clot of algae and kept swimming.

http://nytimes.com/2006/12/12/science/12turt.html?8dpc

Climate Change Update

Gore Plans Grass-Roots "Carbon Freeze" Movement

BERKELEY, Calif. - Former US Vice President Al Gore said on Friday he would start a grass-roots political movement next month to seek a "freeze" on carbon emissions that scientists say are to blame for global warming.

Modeled after the nuclear freeze movement of the 1980s, Gore said he planned to enlist groups ranging from entrepreneurs and activists to political leaders to push for stronger policies to limit the growth of greenhouse gases.

http://www.planetark.com/avantgo/
dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=39406

Sustainablity Update

Shellfishing prospects varied, but hopeful, in Island towns
December 14, 2006
By Susan Vaughn
MV Times

Shellfishing isn't what it used to be on Martha's Vineyard, but town shellfish officials try to keep it alive, and recently they've seen signs of hope for the future.

West Tisbury will have its first commercial oyster fishing season in three years and the shortest season ever, Tom Osmers of the shellfish committee told the selectmen at the Dec. 6 selectmen's meeting.

http://www.mvtimes.com/news/
2006/12/14/shellfishing.php

House Approves Overhaul of Rules for Fisheries
Sunday, December 10, 2006
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer

Congress yesterday passed the broadest overhaul of the rules that govern the U.S. fishing industry in a decade, with provisions instructing fishery managers to adhere strictly to scientific advice so as not to deplete the ocean.

The final language of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which passed the Senate on Thursday and the House early yesterday, was a compromise between environmentalists and fishing interests. The measure mandates an end to overfishing of depleted species within 2 1/2 years and allows the selling and trading of shares in a fishery to promote conservation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2006/12/09/AR2006120900818.html

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