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What's new with the HLT: |
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Past news items:
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![]() American Kestrel |
Speaker Series by Alana Bordewieck The Hartland Land Trust has continued its Speaker Series that started with Jason Hawley’s presentation in September on bears. (See article and pictures from that presentation here.) In November CT DEP Service Forester, Larry Rousseau, presented Managing Your Forest for a Healthy Habitat. Did you know that our state is 58% forest, 80% of which is privately owned? Did you know that Hartford County is the third most forested county in the State? Mr. Rousseau explained tolerance of various trees (e.g., the Sugar Maple is shade tolerant, the oak fire tolerant). Our state flower, the Mountain Laurel likes shade if it is not too dense. Unfortunately small but destructive pests such as the emerald ash borer, the Asian longhorn beetle and the woolly adelgid can damage our ash, Norway maple and hemlock trees respectively. Cold enough temperatures can help diminish the adelgid sacs, but the best prevention is not to bring in firewood that may harbor insects from other states. Although unsightly, native cherry and choke cherries will recover from the spring tent caterpillars and fall web worms as by the fall the tree already has enough reserves. Forestry goals over the next five-ten years include replacing invasives with native species, regenerating white pine and providing two cavity trees per acre. The latter is important to the subject of February ‘s presentation on Live Birds of Prey by Scott Heth, Director of Sharon Audubon and the Edith Leopold Sanctuary in Hartland. Mr. Heth brought live birds of prey, some of which need tree cavities to nest in. As each bird perched on his finger or gloved hand, he held the audience in the palm of his hand with fascinating information on winged predators as we observed the American kestrel, saw whet owl, barred owl, great horned owl and turkey vulture.
In our own backyard Aimee Petras of the Farmington Watershed Association (FRWA) will present Natural Lawns and Gardens April 26 on how we can keep harmful chemicals out of our soil and water. The final presentation for this year will be the Annual Forum June 11 at the Hartland School. This year’s topic is Moose by Andy LaBonte, DEP Deer Biologist. Upcoming topics for 2010-2011 include Reptiles and the Ct Landscape in September with Peter Brazaitis, former reptile keeper at the Bronx Zoo, current Curatorial Affiliate at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and author of You Belong in a Zoo; in November Protecting Water Quality with Low Impact Development by Sean Hayden of Northwest Conservation District (NWCD); in February Geology of Hartland by Hartland resident John Raabe; and in April Invasive Species by Peter Picone of the DEP. We are so fortunate to live so close to nature. The more we know about it, the more we can enjoy it. Watch for signs and postings of the HLT Speaker Series at the Town Hall 7:30 p.m., the fourth Monday of the presentation month. |
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Barred Owl |
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Horned Owl |
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Scott Heth with Saw Whet Owl |
Turkey Vulture |
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All photos by: Harald Bordewieck |
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September 28 around 50 people attended the first of the Hartland Land Trust Speaker Series. Newly elected HLT Director, Jason Hawley, who grew up in Hartland, now a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) expert on Fur Bearing Mammals spoke on bears. Jason debunked several myths:
Bears become a nuisance when they are habituated i.e. accustomed to a food source near a person’s home. Precautions include: removing bird feeders from March to November, keeping pet food and garbage contained (adding ammonia helps deter animals), removing any left over food from grills. Although cubs are cute, they are wild and unpredictable animals. Never approach a bear or cub. Future speaker series at 7:30 pm are:
Watch for signs for more information or visit www.hartlandlandtrust.org |
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Hartland Land Trust Awarded a Challenge Fund In July 2009, Hartland Land Trust received a Connecticut Land Trust Challenge Fund-Capacity Building Award. The goal of the Challenge Fund is to build long-term strength and effectiveness of land conservation organizations in Connecticut and to advance land trust efforts to implement Land Trust Standards and Practices. The Challenge Fund provides technical assistance and consultant-led support services to enhance the capacity of Connecticut land trusts. The three main areas of capacity building for the Hartland Land Trust consist of:
Consultation services for Hartland Land Trust are provided by Housatonic Valley Association’s, Tim Abbott, Director of Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative. Tim’s expertise, knowledge and experience in the conservation field will impart invaluable training to us. We look forward to working with Tim on our project and our ongoing partnership. This project is funded in part by an award from the Connecticut Land Trust Challenge Fund, administered by the Land Trust Alliance in partnership with the Connecticut Land Conservation Council. This collaborative effort to increase the pace and quality of land conservation is made possible by the generous support of the Northeast Utilities Foundation, The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Lead Trust. The Land Trust Alliance’s mission is to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation across America. Please contact Katelyn Homeyer, Northeast Program Assistant, for more information; khomeyer@lta.org. The Connecticut Land Conservation Council works to increase the pace, quality and scale of land conservation in Connecticut while assuring the perpetual, high quality stewardship of conserved lands in the state. For more information, please contact Sarah Pellegrino, Program Coordinator, at spellegrino@tnc.org. For additional information on Hartland Land Trust’s Challenge Award, please contact Susan Murray, Project Overseer, at suemur@sbcglobal.net. |
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Trails Volunteer Work Day Hartland Land Trust directors, Fred Jones, Tom Dyer, Alana Bordewieck and two members, Harald Bordewieck and Nancy Dyer joined Dan Bowler, Chair of the Hartland Board of Education, and Bob Fish, Supt. of Schools for another Trails Volunteer Day. They cleared brush on the second leg of the community trail. This portion is not as refined as the first leg. It is a rugged but enjoyable trail that runs from the school trail near the bridge to Berg Pond on Rengerman Hill Road. Beautiful old trees, stunning fungi and a lovely brook enhance the hiking trail. A huge glacial erratic is located just before the descent to the pond road. Put on your hiking shoes, grab a walking stick and enjoy the serenity and beauty of this trail! |
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