Dear Friends and Acton Conservation Trust Members,
The October 30, Acton’s Trail Challenge Wednesday Walk was at the beautiful Wetherbee Conservation Land bordered by the ~33 acre 19 and 35 Wetherbee Street (Wetherbee Woods). The Town of Acton has an opportunity to purchase this woods, adjacent to the Wetherbee Conservation Land, Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, and Nashoba Brook. Its acquisition will help preserve the agricultural gateway and open space.
The acquisition will not increase Acton residents’ tax bills. Funding sources are secured through grants, donations, and existing funds. Please attend Special Town Meeting, 11/25, 6 PM, ABRHS.
To read more about this proposed land acquisition, please click on the attached flyer or visit ActonConservationTrust.org.
Also visit our website for the schedule of 5 trail walks or scroll down to Wednesday 11/20, Friday,11/22, Sunday 11/24.
Visit the Town website to view the Special Town Meeting Warrant or view the STM Warrant here.
2025 ACT Membership Drive
Our 2025 membership drive was added to our website under “News.” View it HERE. I encourage all non-ACT Member subscribers to “Events of Interest” to take this opportunity to join ACT to show your support of Land Protection in Acton!! Free Acton Conservation Trust baseball caps to those who renew, while they last!!
The following news and events may be of interest:
Wednesdays, October 13 – November 20
“I Hiked Acton’s Trails!”
2:30-4:00 pm
Walk the trails in Acton’s conservation areas with the goal of earning a sticker and a sew-on patch! This weekly set of walks (typically 1-2 miles) is a joint effort between Acton Conservation Trust and Acton Conservation Division. We will complete the remainder of 22 conservation land walks which started last spring. Check out the “I Hiked Acton’s Trails” Challenge form HERE for more information about the challenge.
An accessible option is also available for those with devices or mobility issues. Contact us if you are interested in this option. For more information or questions, please contact jharris.actonconservationtrust@gmail.com. REGISTER HERE!
Saturday, November 9
Plant-Based Harvest Gathering
Noon-2pm
Address sent with registration.
Are you trying to incorporate more plant-based meals into your diet? Please join Energize Acton for this informal “tailgate” potluck, with an emphasis on vegetarian/vegan appetizers. Instead of coming together for a sporting event, we are coming together to celebrate our plant world, share recipes, and affirm the importance of plant-based meals for our health and for our environment. This is being hosted at a private home in Acton. The address will be sent when you register. Drop by for delicious food and great conversation! Info/registration HERE.
Tuesday, November 12
The SuAsCo (Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area) CISMA Steering Committee will be hosting their annual Fall Meeting
Noon – Ian Bergemann, Community Conservation Specialist, will provide the Steering Committee with a site walk at 468 Main St, Acton, MA
468 Main Street, Acton
This site walk will showcase the 2 newly created pollinator gardens, 3 shade gardens, 1 rain garden, and the rehabilitated meadow.
1:00-3:00 pm
Acton Memorial Library
486 Main St, Acton
Conference Rm, First Floor
or via Zoom. Registration Required. You can find the agenda here.
November 12
Forests for Our Future: The Role of Massachusetts Forests in Combating Climate Change
7 PM
First Parish in Lincoln (4 Bedford Road).
MetroWest Climate Solutions is hosting a free event about Research into Forest Ecosystems on
The event will also be streamed online. Register online at metrowestclimatesolutions.org.
Massachusetts is unique in being both among the most populated and most forested states. Our residents look to forests for so much: from wood to water, from walking trails to wildlife. Dr. Jonathan Thompson, Senior Ecologist and Research Director at the Harvard Forest will speak about his research into forest ecosystems.
Thursday, November 14
Coyote Ecology and Behavior
7pm
Lincoln Public Schools, Learning Commons, Ballfield Road, Lincoln, MA
LLCT is pleased to welcome Jonathan Way to Lincoln in mid-November. This is part of LLCT’s continued efforts to provide education about how humans can co-exist with coyotes, an important carnivore in New England.
Way will speak about the coyote’s territory, activity patterns, denning behavior, and hybridization. He will also speak to the coyote’s successful survival in close proximity to urban and suburban areas.
This is a 90 minute presentation, free, and open to the public.
Jonathan (Jon) Way has a B.S. (UMass Amherst), M.S. (UConn Storrs), and doctorate (Boston College) related to the study of eastern coyotes/coywolves. He is the author of numerous books. Jon founded and runs his organization, Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research, where his goal is to conduct long-term ecological and behavioral research on eastern coyotes.
Friday, November 15
Full Beaver Supermoon – reaches peak illumination on Nov. 15, 2024
This is our fourth and final Supermoon of the year! Get more information, including Full Moon rise times, why we call it a “Beaver” Moon, and the best days by the Moon at https://www.almanac.com/full-moon-november
Why the “Beaver” Moon? This is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having laid up sufficient food stores for the long winter ahead. During the fur trade in North America, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts.
Tuesday, November 19
Metrowest Conservation Alliance (MCA) Fall Meeting
2-4 PM
Jericho Hill Recreation Area at 2PM.
496 Brigham Street, Marlborough 01752
Park in the main parking area, then head to the building abutting the playground, where we will convene promptly. (agenda here)
Learn about the 2023 River Report Card for the Sudbury, Concord, and Assabet Rivers from Matt Brown, OARs
Discuss how MCA can better support you in meeting your conservation goals. We are excited to announce that MCA received the Network for Landscape Conservation Catalyst Fund to plan for the next five years so we can best support members to learn, partner, and meet shared conservation goals. We look forward to hearing your ideas! Please register for the event here.
Wednesday, November 20
Guided Trail Walk at 19 and 35 Wetherbee Street (Wetherbee Woods), led by Brian Butler, founder of Oxbow Associates, (Wetlands and Wildlife Consulting Company)
2:15 PM
35 Wetherbee Street
Acton has an opportunity to purchase and conserve 33 acres of woods off Wetherbee Street. The Town of Acton has worked with the landowner toward this goal, and the warrant article will be voted on at a Special Town Meeting. The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) recommends purchase of this property, and it has support of the Select Board, Open Space Committee, and Finance Committee. The Special Town Meeting will be held on November 25 at 6PM at ABRHS to approve this purchase.
Earlier this year ACT members and friends created a viewing trail on the property (about a mile long), so that you can tour this beautiful piece of land and learn of its many historical and natural features. We are excited to hold these walks for the public, and hope you will attend the Special Town Meeting!
Click here to register.
Thurs., November 21
Plant ID & Natural History Walk
10:00am-12:30pm
Nobscot Scout Reservation, Sudbury
The Nobscot Scout Reservation comprises 452 acres of open space laced with trails and dramatic viewpoints. Join Boot Boutwell for an informative nature walk. We’ll focus on winter woody plant ID, but will also look for late blooming flowers and plants still in fruit as well as other plants we may find. The walk will focus on plant ID as well as fun and interesting natural history about the plants we see in these beautiful woods.
To register, click on the following link: https://svtprograms.funraise.org/
Friday, November 22
Guided Trail Walk at 19 and 35 Wetherbee Street (Wetherbee Woods), led by Jody Harris
10 AM and 1 PM
35 Wetherbee Street
Same as above
Click here to register.
Friday, November 24
Guided Trail Walk at 19 and 35 Wetherbee Street (Wetherbee Woods), led by Jody Harris
10 AM and 1 PM
35 Wetherbee Street
Same as above
Click here to register.
Monday, November 25
Town of Acton Special Town Meeting
6 PM
ABRHS
Article 1: Authorize Acquisition of Property Located at 19 and 35 Wetherbee Street (2/3 majority vote)
Visit www.ActonConservationTrust.org to learn more about this property.
View the STM Warrant HERE.
At the Special Town Meeting, Article 1 will propose to purchase this land using a combination of Community Preservation Funds, a $500,000 LAND grant from the Commonwealth and a donation of $100,000 from the Acton Conservation Trust. Because of these grants and the use of existing land preservation funds, this acquisition will not increase Acton residents’ tax bills.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CPA Update
New Milestone of 200 CPA Communities!
The results from this year’s CPA elections mark an impressive new milestone for the statewide program, as a total of 200 cities and towns have now adopted CPA – the communities of Sheffield, Swampscott, Townsend, and Winchester were all successful at the ballot on Tuesday. With these new communities included, 57% of municipalities in the Commonwealth now have CPA, and 71% of Massachusetts residents live in a CPA community. It’s a remarkable track record for a program that is less than 25 years old!
And while this is certainly exciting news, unfortunately a majority of the campaigns this year did not succeed in their adoption efforts. Seven communities with CPA adoption on the ballot did not pass their respective measures: Clarksburg, Colrain, Douglas, Halifax, Rutland, Sherborn, and Spencer.
Mass. weather: Red Flag Warning extended into Saturday, fire risk continues
According to the Massachusett Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), “Abnormally dry conditions, combined with low humidity levels, are allowing numerous brush fires to continue across the Commonwealth. In the last 7 days, 126 fires have burned 548 acres. While most of these fires have been addressed at the local level, some have required State support to augment local efforts”.
Friday’s Red Flag Warning in Massachusetts will stay in effect through Saturday as humidity remains low and spiking wind gusts. The warning will remain in effect until 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9, for all of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, according to the National Weather Service.
“Expect relative humidity as low as 25% and wind gusts up to 35 mph,” forecasters said in a post on X. “Fires could start and spread rapidly — avoid outdoor burning.” Forecasters anticipate temperatures on Saturday to be in the high 40s and in the 50s, with Boston expected to be at 50 degrees.
Light rain is expected to come on Sunday possibly totaling between 1.2 and 1 and a half inches, and continue until Monday morning, according to forecasters.
News of the initial Red Flag Warning came as the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs declared that parts of Massachusetts are now in a major drought starting Thursday. Rainfall totals were minuscule in October, with the month going on record as the all-time driest month for nearly 80 climate stations across the eastern United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday.
“In the short term, outlooks from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center indicate drier-than-normal conditions could persist through November for an area from southern Maryland up to coastal Maine,” NOAA said in a statement. “…However, in the longer term, with a weak La Niña pattern forecast to develop, the odds of below-normal precipitation through winter across much of the southern and eastern United States is favorable to continue in the months to come.
VOLUNTEERS:
Boston Area Gleaners is looking for gleaners!
Sign up to volunteer at BAG
See you on the trails!!
Susan Mitchell-Hardt
President, Acton Conservation Trust
www.ActonConservationTrust.org
P.S. Welcome new “Events of Interest” subscribers! As a non-profit organization focused on conserving land in Acton, we rely upon the support of our members. Visit our ACT website, and click on “Join Us”