Besides creating the Buffer Manual, we have partnered with local organizations to install native plants at five demonstration sites: Riverwalk in Great Barrington, Kennedy Park in Lenox, the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, Beartown State Forest in Great Barrington/Monterey and a private property on a local lake. Local landscape architects Okerstrom-Lang of Great Barrington and Greylock Designs of Lenox donated their time to design the buffers to meet the needs of the site and mitigate nonpoint pollution. The plants for the project – specially selected native species -- were graciously provided at a reduced rate by Ward’s Nursery in Great Barrington, Project Native in Housatonic, and Dr. Lahey’s in Pittsfield. In addition, Ward’s provided compost, mulch, and invaluable support. Thank you all!

We have also spoken about the benefits of vegetated buffers at the annual conferences of the Lakes and Ponds Association of Western Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissioners (MACC), and the New England Chapter of the North American Lake Management Society. We will be speaking again at the MACC Conference in March 2004. For more information on the project contact Lauren Gaherty at 413-442-1521 or lgaherty@berkshireplanning.org.

The Massachusetts Buffer Manual is available at BRPC or you can download it by clicking on a few or all of the chapters that interest you.

Title Page and Introduction
Chapter 1: What is a Vegetated Buffer and How Does it Work?
Chapter 2: Buffer Examples
Chapter 3: Designing and Planting Your Buffer
Chapter 4: Buffer Plantings and the Mass. Wetlands Protection Act
Chapter 5: Unfold your Imagination and Redesign Your Property
Glossary of Terms
Bibliography and Internet Sources
Appendix A: How Vegetated Buffers Improve Water Quality and Benefit Wildlife
Appendix B: Native Plant List for Vegetated Buffers in New England
Appendix C: Invasive Plant Species Found in Massachusetts
Appendix D: "Deer Resistant" Native Plants
Appendix E: Exempt Minor Activities in Riverfront Areas and Buffer Zones

Municipal Environmental Stewardship Compliance Assistance Project
Through this project, BRPC is working directly with the DPW Supervisors of Adams, Dalton, Lanesborogh and Mt. Washington to develop Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) for their vehicle maintenance facilities. The facilities were evaluated for their potential to impact stormwater runoff. Potential problems were identified and recommendations to minimize the impacts were developed. Some of the recommendations have already been implemented. BRPC is now pursuing a similar initiative that will evaluate the operating procedures of a local Parks Department, once again recommending ways to minimize the impacts of their activities on stormwater runoff. (Funding from DEP).

Resource Area Mapping for Public Works Departments (DPWs)
This project has produced and distributed maps of water resource areas that are subject to regulation under state and local environmental laws. The maps are especially created for the purpose of identifying when roadway projects are located close enough to the resources to require a DPW to file with the conservation commission or seek other permits. (Funding from FHWA)

Renewable Energy Options for Berkshire County Communities
The goal of the Renewable Energy in the Berkshires project is to create an open dialog in the Berkshires about wind power and to begin to define, through the objectives of the project, a renewable energy plan for the region. The objectives to meet this goal are to 1) increase the renewable energy “literacy” of Berkshire County residents and decision-makers, 2) guide them in the development of renewable energy policies for their communities, 3) work alongside them to create the local regulatory tools to facilitate the implementation of those renewable energy policies, and 4) identify barriers to renewable energy siting and production.

The Berkshires, along with the coastal region of Massachusetts, has been identified as a potential source of wind energy generation for the Commonwealth. The Berkshires, again like the coast, is an area rich in scenic and natural resources, for which its residents can be fiercely protective. BRPC held two workshops for local officials, providing them with basic information about modern wind turbine technology and suggesting tax options that will help them reap the financial benefits of a commercial wind project.

The next step in the project is to identify local barriers to renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaics, and suggest ways that communities can encourage developers to incorporate these technologies in development of redevelopment projects. (Funded by the Mass, Renewable Energy Trust).

Lakes and Ponds Association of Western Massachusetts (LAPA West)
BRPC provides support to this network of associations. LAPA-West's purpose is to preserve, protect, maintain and enhance the environmental, aesthetic, recreational and economic values of the lakes and ponds, and to promote watershed management within Western Massachusetts and to provide education with respect thereto. LAPA-West received funding to provide direct hands-on assistance to volunteers who are conducting water quality monitoring and/or developing lake study designs. This hands-on assistance will also involve training volunteers to use the shared water quality monitoring equipment provided by LAPA-West.