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More than 500 kinds of wildflowers at Sheffield site – Berkshire Eagle Online
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Article Last Updated: 05/06/2008 03:21:35 AM EDT
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SHEFFIELD — Springtime at Bartholomew’s Cobble means a riot of wildflowers in bloom: Red-and-white trillium. Deep magenta columbine. Shiny yellow trout lilies. The delicate blue of blunt-lobed hepatica.
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More than 500 kinds of wildflowers bloom on the 329-acre Trustees of Reservations property on Weatogue Road in Sheffield’s Ashley Falls section.
The floral diversity is due in part to Bartholomew’s Cobble’s unusual geologic makeup. The soil is alkaline-rich, or “sweet,” as Wendell put it, because of the limestone in the area. And the cobbles themselves, two mammoth outcroppings of limestone, marble and quartzite that thrust out of the bedrock 500 million years ago, support a vast amount of sweet soil-loving ferns, trees, flowers and plants.
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in addition, Bartholomew’s Cobble, named for the farmer who owned the land before the Trustees purchased it in 1949, straddles the line between
northern and southern climate zones
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To help battle the invasives, the Cobble recently received a landowner incentive grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wendell said.
The Cobble will be holding a “Garlic Mustard Jamboree” on May 14, and volunteers are invited to help rip out the invasive — but edible — pest. Wendell also will be holding a “Wild Edibles Extravaganza” on May 24, when he will show participants how to eat from the Cobble’s bounty.
For information about all of Bartholomew’s Cobble programs, call (413) 229-8600 or visit www.thetrustees.org.
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Beetles Love Weed: They Control Loosestrife for a Song
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National Invasive Species Information Center What’s New
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Recent Weed Science Society of America Press Releases: Beetles Help Take a Bite out of one fo the World’s Most Aggressive Weeds (Purple Loosestrife) (Apr 21, 2008; PDF | 181 KB)
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Longest Walkway Bridge: Spectacular Hudson Views
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Schumer proclaims his support for walkway project | PoughkeepsieJournal.com | Poughkeepsie Journal – Annotated
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By Jenny Lee • Poughkeepsie Journal • April 19, 2008
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HIGHLAND – Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., saw the breathtaking view from the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge Friday and announced he’s pushing for $1.5 million in federal money to help transform the bridge into Walkway Over the Hudson and pay for Quadricentennial activities.
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Walkway Over the Hudson will be 1.25 miles long, becoming the longest walkway bridge in the world. It is scheduled to open in time for the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the river in 2009.
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Walkway Over the Hudson Board of Directors Chairman Fred Schaeffer was grateful for the senator’s efforts.
“We’ve had tremendous support from the community,” Schaeffer said. “It’s icing on the cake.”
The construction of the bridge would cost about $25 million, plus an additional $5 million to pay for an elevator from the waterfront and an endowment for the maintenance of the bridge, Schaeffer said.
Hinchey, who was at the bridge Friday, said he hopes to get about $2 million for the project in the transportation funding bill. When the project first began, he secured about $875,000.
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PlantRight Helps Gardeners Protect California Wildlands
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PlantRight: Spread the Word – Annotated
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You can help protect California wildlands! Always choose non-invasive alternatives for your own garden.
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Download and share the list of invasive plants and their suggested alternatives for your region.
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The Great Wall of America
A Natural Treasure That May End Up Without a Country – New York Times Annotated
WHERE THE CHACHALACAS CHATTER The Sabal Palm Audubon Center in Brownsville, Tex., named for the stocky palm trees of the Rio Grande Valley, is home to rare birds and other wildlife, and may end up on the Mexico side of a planned border fence.
BROWNSVILLE, Tex.
At the very bottom of this country, where the Rio Grande loops up and down as if determined to thwart territorial imperatives, there sits a natural wonderland called the Sabal Palm Audubon Center. Rare birds of impossible colors dart about the rustling jungle, while snakes slink, tortoises dawdle and the occasional ocelot grants a rare sighting.
After decades of reclamation and preservation, and after millions of public and private dollars spent, this has become a vital place in one of the nation’s very poorest cities.
This Land
Dan Barry takes readers behind news articles and into obscure and well-known corners of the United States. His column appears every Monday.
Dan Barry’s Columnist Page »Multimedia
This Land: The Wrong Side of the Fence
Ángel Franco/The New York Times
The guardians of Sabal Palm fear, and with good reason, that in trying to keep out illegal immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security will soon be erecting the border fence just north of the bird sanctuary, effectively trimming this natural treasure from the rest of the country and probably forcing its closure.
Conservationists and landowners worry that the Fence will also cut across a river-hugging wildlife corridor that stretches over several Texas counties, painstakingly restored and maintained by, among others, the federal government.
Online: Jimmy Paz, manager of the Sabal Palm Audubon Center, talks about the center’s history and its endangered future, nytimes.com/thisland.