Deer Ticks: One Bite Can Change Your Life

On Tuesday, May 23 Entomologist Larry Dapsis came to the Wildlands Trust Community Conservation Barn for a special presentation about ticks and tick-borne illnesses. Dapsis is the Entomologist for Barnstable County and Deer Tick Project Coordinator for Cape Cod Cooperative Extension. He works both to study tick populations and diseases and to educate the public. An engaged crowd of nearly 30 volunteers, members, and nonmembers made for an interactive program and lively discussion. If you missed it, or just want to review the information, you can download the PDF below.

Here at Wildlands Trust, we want to help inform and educate everyone who loves to get outside to enjoy nature in order to best protect themselves. Every time we're out on the trails with a group, without fail someone has a personal story about how tick-borne illnesses have effected their lives. Living in an area  where the rate of tick-borne illness is among the highest in the country, this information from Larry Dapsis is invaluable. We look forward to having him at Wildlands again next year! 

Summer Intern Position's Available at Wildlands Trust

The Wildlands Trust has 2 summer internship opportunities available for the summer of 2016.  Preference will be given to qualified candidates who are college students majoring in an environmental concentration. 

Position #1-  Natural Resource Monitor
Location:  Plymouth, MA

Hours:     10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  12 weekend days between June 25th and August 21st    
                   (some flexibility for you to pick days)

Duties:    Intern will monitor the public usage of the Halfway Pond Conservation Area in
                   Plymouth collecting data that will become the foundation of a management plan.
                   Training provided.

Skills:      Great attitude! Data collection and observation skills, strong interpersonal skills,
                   good judgement, ability to ride a mountain bike, interest in being outside.

Stipend:  $500 upon completion of project.

Position #2 - Trail Intern
Location: Plymouth, MA

Hours:      16 hours per week, through August

Duties:     Work to ground truth the accuracy of maps of existing trails so we can prepare a
                   new publication on hikes in Plymouth. Training provided.

Skills:       Great attitude! Comfortable hiking in the woods alone, valid driver’s license,
                   self-starter, experience with hand tools, strong computer skills. Ability to use GPS
                   unit desirable.

Stipend:   $500 upon completion of project.

If interested in either of these positions, please send a cover letter along with your resume to admin@wildlandstrust.org. No phone calls please.

Conservation Landowners

About Conservation Landowners

Wildlands Trust is proud to work with conservation landowners to protect over 90 separate municipal and privately-owned properties comprising over 2,200 acres throughout southeastern Massachusetts.  Conservation landowners are a special group of people committed to preserving the conservation values of their properties for future generations.  Through legal land protection mechanisms such as Conservation Restrictions (CRs), Agricultural Preservation Restrictions (APRs), and Deed Restrictions (DRs), Wildlands Trust is able to ensure the protection of many unique and precious habitats and landscapes. 

CRs, APRs, and DRs limit specified future uses of the land, such as development, but allow you to maintain ownership, management, and the right to sell your land or pass it on to heirs.  This may result in significant local and federal tax benefits.  As a conservation landowner, you are responsible for complying with the specific terms of the restriction as well as all of the local, state, and federal laws that regulate land-use activities in your area. 

Questions?

Wildlands Trust staff is always happy to discuss landowner interests and concerns.  Contact Scott MacFaden, Director of Land Acquisitions, by e-mail at smacfaden@wildlandstrust.org or by phone at 774-343-5121 x107.

Helpful Links for Conservation Landowners

• Invasive Plants of Massachusetts: http://www.massnature.com/Plants/Invasives/invasiveplants.htm

• Natural Resources Conservation Service – Massachusetts: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/ma/home/

• MA Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/

• Living with Wildlife: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/fish-wildlife-plants/living-with-wildlife.html

• Rare Plant Conservation: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/species-information-and-conservation/rare-plants/

The Gift That Keeps on Giving . . .

Our new website, aside from being beautifully streamlined and user friendly, also offers the opportunity for you to donate with a recurring automatic gift.  We received many requests from donors and were unable to offer that feature with our old website. 

Now, through Network For Good, users can enter a credit card, choose the amount and frequency of their gift, and a donation will be made to the Wildlands Trust automatically.  Users can change or stop their donation at any time, choosing “edit a recurring donation” in the top right corner of the donation page. 

We are excited to offer this convenience because we know it makes it much easier to budget and who doesn’t love getting fewer appeals in the mail?  A small gift, even $5 or $10, goes a long way in providing a steady stream of funding to protect the land you love.

We would love your feedback on our new donation page.  Please email ddisabel@wildlandstrust.org to let her know what you think.

Thank you for supporting land protection!

CONSTRUCTION IS WELL UNDERWAY

Construction on the new Community Conservation Hall began just a few short weeks ago, and look how quickly it is coming along!  With the opening of this new community center comes the opening of many new and exciting doors for Wildlands Trust and southeastern Massachusetts as a community.  The Hall will provide necessary space for programs, educational workshops, volunteer/community trainings, appreciation events and social gatherings, and much more!

 As we are approaching the final stage of this project please consider making a donation to help create a local community center for conservation.