Wednesday, April 11, 2012

MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (MBTA) RAPID TRANSIT LINES Yearly Operational Plan 2012 
Read the plan:  
http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/yop/MBTA-2012-YOP.pdf

This Yearly Operational Plan (YOP) describes the vegetation management operations for the Railroad’s rights-of-way scheduled for vegetation maintenance during this calendar year in compliance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Rights-of-Way Management Regulations 333 CMR 11.00.

This YOP is a companion document to the Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) which has been approved by the Department of Agricultural Resources.


MUNICIPALITIES WHERE TREATMENT WILL BE MADE
Boston
Braintree
Brookline
Cambridge
Malden
Medford
Milton
Newton
Quincy
Revere
Somerville

Herbicides 
Razor-Pro
Oust Extra
Escort

Rights of Way Vegetation Management Contacts:

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Healthy Communities Conference, March 30-31 in New Haven, CT. Join researchers, authors, beekeepers, organic business leaders, elected officials, activists, and others to discuss the latest pesticide science, policy solutions, and grassroots action.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Herbicides in Purgatory Cove?

DCR has just filed a NOI to use mechanical removal, hand-harvesting, and herbicides to remove vegetation from the Purgatory Cove.  They have also file in Waltham.  

The hearing in Newton will be held at City Hall, Room 209, on March 22.

Friday, February 17, 2012


Ponds in Peril - Again.  The way to reduce vegetation overgrowth is to protect the watershed from fertilizers and pesticides that run off into the Cove. EG
Article form Newton PATCH:

Improvements Coming to Purgatory Cove in Newton/Waltham
Purgatory Cove in Waltham and Newton to have vegetation removed.
If all goes according to plan, Purgatory Cove on the Waltham/Newton line will be rid of overgrown vegetation by this summer.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation plans to start removing the vegetation at the cove this coming May, according to Waltham City Councilor Stephen Rourke. DCR officials will to monitor the cove, which connects to Auburndale Cove, over the next several years and possibly perform chemical treatments. Hopefully, the work will open the cove for boating and fishing again, Rourke said.

An informational meeting will be held in Waltham tonight at 6:30 p.m. to present the project to neighborhood residents. The meeting will be held at the Hovey House Apartments at 315 Crescent St., Waltham. Parking is available on Woerd Avenue or on the DCR boat launch.

The vegetation has overrun the cove over the past several years making it unavailable for boating and fishing, according to Rourke.

“Over the past couple decades ... it has gotten more and more vegetated to the point now where there is no open water,” Rourke told Patch. “If you leave nature to run its course, over time it would become a swamp and eventually a meadow.”

The water became stagnant over time, partly because a stream that used to flow from the former Newton landfill on Rumford Avenue was cut off from the cove, Rourke said.

If chemical treatments are proposed, Rourke said officials would need to get the proper permits from both Newton and Waltham before performing any treatments.

The work has been “a long time coming,” Rourke said. For the past several years, officials and residents have asked DCR for assistance, even submitting petitions, according to Rourke. No funding, however, was available, until now.

Last fall, Step Rep. John Lawn, D-Watertown, toured the area and agreed to push for funding for the project, which resulted in the creation of the recent plans, Rourke said.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Bare Shoulders: Herbicide Along the Highway

Highway departments across the nation put time, energy and resources into maintaining the side of the road, often preferring to keep it clean and clear of plants. But, as Living on Earth’s Ingrid Lobet reports, in Oregon, some residents don’t want chemicals used to keep the highway shoulders bare.

Week of January 20, 2012 stream/download this segment as an MP3 file