Controversy over the proposed development of the Waubeeka Golf

May 2016 www.greylockindependent.com 1.00
Controversy over the proposed development of the Waubeeka Golf Course
A guide to the voter: It’s all about zoning
By Tela Zasloff
The Waubeeka Golf Course property,
at the southern gateway to Williamstown,
is one of the most beautiful sites in the
Berkshires. Over 100 years ago, one local
historian didn’t restrain himself about this
area of mountains and valleys: “Nowhere
east of the Rockies or north of the Great
Smokies is there a gorge so awful in its
geometric majesty and so feminine in its
mists and shades, colors and moods.” Since
September 2015, Michael Deep, owner of
Waubeeka and his lawyer, Stan Parese, have
been discussing with the Williamstown
Planning Board their proposal to develop
the Waubeeka property. Deep is requesting
a zoning change to build a hotel there, which
has involved much argument both among
the Planning Board members themselves
and between the Board and Deep, with
concerned town citizens joining in. Several
times over the months following his
September presentation, Deep changed the
nature of what he was proposing, moving
initially from a small country inn concept on
a few acres, to a time-share hotel to be built
on up to 40 acres of the 200-acre property.
Also, over these months, Deep did
not provide much of the information asked
by the Board, on hotel design, potential
developers, scale and marketing data.
As a result, his seventh meeting with the
Planning Board in January resulted in an
impasse, with the Board voting 3-2 to table
his proposal. In the following two weeks,
Deep drew up a Citizen’s Petition, with 20
signatures, proposing the zoning change he
wanted, as a warrant article at the May 17
Town Meeting. If passed with a 2/3 vote of
those present, the zoning change would be
granted, the next step being that Deep would
take his proposal to the Zoning Board of
Appeals. Members of the Planning Board,
the Town Manager and the Selectboard
have been trying to work out how to amend
Deep’s Citizen’s Petition for a zoning
Waubeeka Golf Course golfclubatlas.com
change, that would pass at Town Meeting.
So now we’ve arrived at the recent
Planning Board meeting, April 12, where
arguments among Board members and with
Deep and Parese, have continued, focusing
on possible amendments to Deep’s Citizen’s
Petition proposed by Jason Hoch, Town
Manager. The crux of the discussion is this:
how to find a balance between two priorities
historically familiar to our area--the need
to conserve open space and the need to
encourage development. The legal process
through which such a balance is insured
is zoning, which is why all the attention is
now focused on Deep’s Citizen’s Petition
requesting a zoning change and on which
we as a Town will be voting on May 17.
Finding this balance is not a question
of our having to choose between conserving
open space and promoting development—
although some advocates for Deep’s
Citizen’s Petition have taken this stance,
accusing those questioning Deep’s zoning
change request of being anti-development,
using the dreaded label NIMBY against
those who are close neighbors of Waubeeka,
implying they are selfish and unconcerned
about the good of the whole town, so have the
least right to speak out. This name-calling is
not helpful to our voting thoughtfully on the
Citizen’s Petition.
Let’s look at Town Manager Hoch’s
amendments to the original Petition, now
being discussed by The Planning Board.
The intention of proposing these new
amendments is to give several choices to
voters at the May 17 Town Meeting—
voters can consider or table Deep’s original
petition, or amend it with language from
Hoch’s proposal or elsewhere. Hoch’s
proposal, drafted with the help of Town
Planner Andrew Groff and at least one
Planning Board member, changes the
description of the development (§70-9.2)
from a hotel to a country inn with a public
golf course of at least nine holes, and
eliminates any mention of time-sharing
ownership. “Country inn” is described as
“an establishment where overnight transient
sleeping accommodations are provided. .
.without kitchens [and including] common
sitting and dining areas and may include a
restaurant open to the general public.” It may
further include “limited accessory recreation
facilities, e.g., swimming pool or hiking
trails,” and areas to accommodate social
gatherings. Hoch’s amendment to (§70-7.4,
F.(5)) stipulates that all development must
preserve the existing golf course and the
style and form of the whole Five Corners
historic district, and eliminates the right of
a developer of a country inn to build singlefamily homes on the property.
The required dimensions of the country
inn (§70-7.4, F.(4)) are: no more than three
stories and a maximum height of 40 feet.
The total floor area of all the buildings
will not exceed 20,000 square feet—but
there immediately follows an exception to
this limit. As a “conservation bonus”, this
amendment allows an up-to-50,000 square
feet limit, with the restriction that the floor
area square footage exceeding 20,000
require a permanent conservation restriction
on a minimum of 67 acres, restricted
from development and “transferred to
the town or a qualified conservation
organization”, allowing only open space
recreation, including golf, or agriculture.
continued on page 2
Page 2
The Greylock Independent
continued from page 1
The amendment further specifies that, for
every four acres of land added to the 67acre conservation restriction, the floor area
may increase by 1,000 square feet up to the
maximum 50,000.
In the present Planning Board and
Town discussion, the most difficult point
for finding balance between open space and
development is in this “conservation bonus”
section of Hoch’s proposal. Note, first of all,
that there is no conservation restriction or
monitoring at all in the proposed zoning until
the total floor area of the buildings exceeds
20,000 square feet. This is contrary to the
key concept for the Town, that from the
beginning of any new development, business
development rights have to be exchanged
for open space protection—in building a
commercial enterprise, you have to give
something back to the town. So at the start
of issuing a special permit for new building
and development—in one of our Town’s
most important open space areas—the Town
should be permanently preserving that open
space. As the amendment now stands in the
Hoch proposal, there is no permanent open
space protection provided and the language
is open to interpretation and challenge.
For example, as this amendment is
presently stated, advocates for even more
development on this property can argue for
increasing the gross square footage threshold
that is buildable before a developer has to
place land into conservation restriction,
arguing that more building will serve the
values of economic development for the
Town. But zoning changes are based
primarily in conditions and requirements,
not in a more general and amorphous
discussion of “values”. The basis of all
zoning is clear: a town looks at its interests
and puts conditions and requirements on
land development consistent with them.
Unfettered development is not a value
supported by zoning anywhere. All property
owners have conditions and requirements on
their land and all developers have to abide by
town requirements.
Which leads to the final and most
important question we have to ask ourselves
before voting on Deep’s Citizen’s Petition
at the May 17 Town Meeting: Is voting at
Town Meeting the right way to make zoning
changes? Who—someone competent in
zoning and planning—has prepared the
documents to insure that the proposed zoning
May 2016
change is legal, not subject to challenge,
and is consistent with the interests of the
Town? It is precisely the Planning Board
that has been designated, by State law, as
the Town committee charged with that task.
Deep’s Citizen’s Petition for zoning change
presented at Town Meeting, is a hurried
attempt to bypass the Planning Board, get
the Special Permit from the Zoning Board,
and begin development. But there is no
emergency situation here for the Town. The
whole question of zoning change in this
case, should go back to the Planning Board
for careful and deliberate consideration.
As of this writing (April 21), the Planning
Board has now scheduled an April 28 public
hearing on the case. This is reassuring. Let’s
all stay tuned.
See our website for:
1. Commentary from Town residents on
this issue, at
greylockindependent.com/?s=commentary
2. Candidates’ statements on why they
are running for Planning Board in the
May 10 Town Election, at
greylockindependent.com/?s=candidates+statements
May 2016
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Page 3
The Greylock Independent
May 2016
Heed the call! Birdcalls are at their peak in prime locations a few minutes
from where you live
Tree Swallow
By Pat Wilk
Photo: Leslie Reed-Evans
When you leave your home
tomorrow morning, stop for a moment
and just listen. You should hear a bird
call or two, and then a few more. The
longer you pause, the more complex
the soundscape becomes. Perhaps
you’ll notice the goldfinch, whose call
sounds a bit like, “potato chip, potato
chip” or the little chickadee, who keeps
saying his name, “chicka-dee, dee, dee”.
Maybe you’ll hear the steady tap of a
downy woodpecker finding some tasty
morsels in a nearby trunk. If you let
your eyes follow the sound, catch some
movement, and see an unexpected flash
of color, you’re likely to be rewarded
with the sight of a tiny little body with
complex and beautiful coloring, and a
constitution sturdy enough to survive our
most brutal winters—or strong enough
to fly hundreds of miles each year to
be here. Maybe later, you could spare a
few minutes to open up an app on your
smartphone or go to a website on your
laptop, where you could learn the name
of the birds you saw, study a few images,
and hear a few sounds. Next time, you’ll
know. Wait! You’re becoming a birder.
Spring is perhaps the most exciting
time of the year for Berkshire County
bird enthusiasts. For one thing, we’re
able to see not only the usual avian
residents who make their homes here,
but migrating species, such as wood
warblers, who are passing through
our territory on their way north. “The
forests and fields are full of birdsong,”
said Audrey Werner of Williamstown,
a biologist who has been birding
since 1982, and is a past president of
Berkshire County’s Hoffman Bird Club.
Right now, birds are using their voices
to attract mates and establish territories.
Not only are we in the right time of
year for birding; we’re also in the right
place. “We have so many accessible
places to bird,” says Leslie Reed-Evans,
executive director of Williamstown
Rural Lands Foundation, at Sheep Hill,
who leads free bird walks for local
residents. “What makes a place a really
good birding location is a variety of
habitats. Take Cole Field, for example.
There’s water, grassy area, shrubs, and
mature trees. When you have that mix,
you optimize the number of birds you
are able to see. [Local birders identified
35 species on an April 20th bird walk
there.] You could see a Great Blue
Heron on the pond, bluebirds in the
shrubs at the edge of the woods, and a
rose-breasted grosbeak in the forest.”
Field Farm is another special birding
location. So is Linear Park, where you
can park at the town tennis courts off
Route 2, across from the Maple Terrace
Motel, and take a footpath to the Hoosic
River. Sheep Hill is a gem for birders.
Hopkins Forest is home to many species
of birds, too, although once the trees
have leaves, Reed-Evans notes, they are
harder to see.
Cornell’s ornithology website is a
good place to learn birdcalls, and offers
a new app you can download for free
called Merlin, which quickly helps you
identify the bird you saw.“There is so
much information at your fingertips
now,” said Werner. “Twenty years ago,
you had to have all of that knowledge
in your head.” Werner brought two
enthusiastic college students to the most
recent meeting of the Hoffman Bird
Club. “I’m obsessed,” said Veronica
Colacurcio, an English major about to
graduate from MCLA. “Once you know
the birds, you can hear them in the air.
You can pick them out one by one.”
“I started getting totally geeked,” said
Jonah Levy, a sophomore at Williams.
“I’d pick a random page from the
Peterson Field Guide and study it over
breakfast, and then I’d look up calls
when I didn’t know what they were, and
listen to different calls online.”
“Birding is a fun challenge,” says
Colacurcio. “It gets you outside, and it
makes you realize what’s in the world
besides humans. It’s really easy. You go
outside and you open up your eyes and
ears. That’s pretty much it. You learn to
pay attention.” “It’s kind of cool to know
more about your environment than you
do when you’re just a casual observer,”
said Levy. “Knowing the names of the
birds helps you to feel more a part of the
natural community than someone just
passing through.”
Physical birding locations you should
go to:
• Field Farm, Williamstown
• Linear Park, Williamstown
• Sheep Hill, Williamstown
• Mass Audubon Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lenox
Virtual birding locations you should go to:
• hoffmanbirdclub.org
• aba.org
• massaudubon.org
• eBird.org
• birds.cornel.edu
• allaboutbirds.org
Leslie Reed-Evans bought her first pair of
binoculars when she was 12 years old with
S&H Green Stamps. She has been birding ever
since.
Photo: Pat Wilk
Page 4
The Greylock Independent
May 2016
Wanted: Planners with Expertise and Independence
By Harry Montgomery
Williamstown’s great good luck this year is that the
run-up to this year’s Town Election May 10 and Town
Meeting May 17 has brought a major focus to development
issues, and nuanced philosophic differences on how to
preserve and better the Village Beautiful. We have an
especially strong and competitive field of candidates for
two vacancies on the Planning Board. They’re amazing
people you’ve come to know, if you didn’t already: Anne
Hogeland, Chris Kapiloff, and Bruce MacDonald are
running for one two-year slot, and Sarah Gardner and
Susan Puddester are running for one five-year slot. All
five are qualified, but we must choose one from each
group.
One major development issue is Michael Deep’s
request for a zoning change to build a hotel at his
Waubeeka Golf Links, to be presented as a warrant article
at Town Meeting (see lead story). Much less time and
attention have been devoted to the College’s plans for
closing down the present Williams Inn and building a new
hotel at the foot of Spring Street. Like Deep’s proposal,
this, too, would require major changes in present zoning,
with a big increase in the present business district.
Leaving aside the fate of the Inn we’ve long enjoyed
on Field Park, the Spring Street hotel project raises
uncertainties at least equal to those at Five Corners in
South Williamstown. Looming traffic issues have brought
forth a proposal, shelved for now, to push adjacent
Walden Street through as a connector to South Street and
the Clark Museum. These big proposed zoning changes
ZINGBATS
By Derek Carbin
WhatareZINGBATS?
Theyaretypicallywordpuzzlesthatdisguisephrases,
idioms,namesoffamouspeople,books,films,etc.and
candriveonecrazybeforethesolutionisfound—which
thenimmediatelyseemstobeobvious!
have generated little evident debate within a Planning
Board much concerned about Waubeeka. Approval of
an expanded business district around the hotel site came
quickly from the Board, three of whose members happen
to work for Williams College.
A consideration emerges, to be borne in mind
in filling Town offices, especially vacancies on the
Planning Board. Williamstowners share the serendipity
of tremendous talent and expertise they can draw upon
from fellow citizens who happen to work for the College.
For planning, it helps greatly to have the competence
of an engineer and a Town Manager aiding the process.
But, in choosing citizens to help shape the town’s future,
we also need independence of judgment and expression,
including sensitivity to the parameters within which
private entrepreneurs must navigate their initiatives. The
neighbors of Waubeeka best know the lay of its land, but
we would not rely solely on their views on matters of its
business viability, the generation of future tax revenues
etc. Recusal of interested parties from planning decisions
can help, but is an imperfect option.
Whatever the Waubeeka outcome at the Town
Meeting, other major planning issues will be in the
offing, many related to the College’s spurt of building. No
one should be disqualified by reason of employment—
or street address. But let’s be sure that, whatever their
affiliations, the candidates we elect to the Planning Board
have independence of judgment as well as expertise.
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Page 5
Annual Town Election
The Greylock Independent
May 2016
Candidates for Selectboard and Planning Board have submitted to our website, statements on why they are running,
at www.greylockindependent.com.
Annual Town Meeting
[See http://www.williamstown.net to read Town Meeting Warrant]
The following Articles on zoning appear in this warrant:
• Articles 30-33. ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENT – ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE SPACE
HOME OCCUPATIONS, BIKE SHOPS
• Article 34. ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENT – VILLAGE BUSINESS EXPANSION
Extends existing Village Business District to General
Residence areas. See greylockindependent.com for Jim
Kolesar’s Q&A on the Williams College proposal to build
a hotel at the bottom of Spring Street.
• Article 35. ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENT –
WAUBEEKA OVERLAY DISTRICT
Page 6
The Greylock Independent
GAILSEZ: WHAT TO DO IN MAY 2016
I want to focus on theatre this month because, even
though only two of our four major theatre companies open
this early in the season, there are lots of other great shows
coming up that you should know about.
BREAD & PUPPET: At 7 pm on May 6, Vermont’s
own Bread & Puppet Theater returns to Oldcastle Theatre
in downtown Bennington with a brand new giant puppet
show they say is “inspired by the forthcoming elections in
the greatest country in the history of the universe.” Tickets
$20 adults, $10 students.
WAXWORKS: Director Kristen van Ginhoven calls
Trina Davies’ “Waxworks”--“a big, beautiful, boisterous
challenge…with student actors who are pretty darn
awesome.” The first fully staged production of this new
play, about Anne-Marie Grosholtz Tussaud and how she
came to open Mme. Tussaud’s Wax Museum, takes place
May 5-7 at 7:30 pm in the AMT at the ’62 Center on the
Williams College campus. Tickets $3.
CREATIVELY INDEPENDENT: Williamstown
native, Christopher Beaulieu, may be all grown up, but
he hasn’t stopped playing. In fact, play is the foundation
of his revolutionary arts education company, Creatively
Independent, which tours internationally bringing ferocious
play and mindfulness to students of all ages through
physical theatre. Christopher returns to Williamstown,
May 21-22 from 1-5 pm, with his trademark intensives in
“Productive Play”, “High-Stakes Intention”, and “Being
Present”, fundamentals for artists ages 18+ at any level
of their career. This two-day, eight-hour intensive will rev
up your process and expand your horizons on exactly how
much—and how many different ways—you need to inject
play into your life. Cost $65.
THE BIG TIME: Barrington Stage Company
opens their 2016 season with the new musical “Presto
Change-o”—in which three generations of magicians find
themselves under one roof for the first time in years—
on their St. Germaine Stage May 18 – June 11. And
Shakespeare & Company starts off with “The Taming” (no
shrews involved) by Lauren Gunderson where America’s
overheated political rhetoric is exposed through the
passions of three slightly insane women who just might
be revolutionary geniuses, running May 27-July 30 in the
Bernstein Theatre. Over the border in Chatham, NY, the
Mac-Haydn Theatre kicks off their season of musicals with
“My Fair Lady,” running May 26-June 5.
“MISS LABELED”: WAM Theatre’s Inaugural Girls
Ensemble presents their original, devised theatre piece
May 11 at 7:30 pm at the Spectrum Playhouse in Lee.
May 2016
By Gail Burns
Williamstown native Christopher Beaulieu (left center) comes
home May 21-22 to teach a Play Intensive Workshop. Christopher
is also launching his first Kickstarter campaign for “Shakespeare’s
Ensemble,” a dynamic print and online resource to inspire student
ownership and empower teachers to build playgrounds with
Shakespeare’s text.
Photo: Aimee Barusch
“Miss Labeled” focuses on the labels young girls feel they
are given by society and their peers. It explores issues such
as bullying, domestic violence and school dress codes.
Admission is free and the show is suitable for ages 10 and
up.
THE CRUCIBLE: The production photos from Arthur
Miller’s “The Crucible,” running weekends through May
8 at Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, NY, are just stunning!
And, as usual, this play is ironically timeless as a tale of the
results of mass hysteria.
THEATRE FOR ALL: Community Access to the Arts
(CATA) presents “Wallflowers,” their Annual Performance
& Gala celebrating the artistry of people with disabilities,
on May 14 & 15 at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer
Playhouse.
PARTICIPATORY THEATRE at MASS MoCA:
French duo Projet In Situ presents “The Round,” an
experimental, site-specific work combining movement,
technology, and sound installation, on May 19 & 20 during
regular museum hours. This is a performative answer to
The Space Between, a museum-wide exhibition focused on
transitional spaces. Audience members get earbuds to use
with their cell phones, then follow instructions that uncover
a choreographed solo journey through the museum. Tickets
$5-$10, purchase by phone.
Page 7
The Greylock Independent
May 2016
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Is the NFL and its feeding chain in trouble?
A Review of “Concussion”, Columbia Pictures, 2015 By Nicholas Wright, MD, MPH
It does not take long before the
arrogance and dissimulation of a corporate
National Football League takes over the
film, “Concussion”. The provocation
comes from a quirky, but curious Nigerian
forensic pathologist, Dr.Bennet Omalu,
played by Will Smith, who works (and
talks to his patients) in the Allegheny
County Coroner’s Office in Pittsburgh. In
2002, Mike Webster, longtime Pittsburgh
Steeler lineman and local hero, dies at age
50 of a heart attack in hospital. Because
the death certificate indicates that postconcussion syndrome was a contributing
cause of death, thereby suggesting strongly
an accidental manner of death, the body
makes its way to the Coroner’s Office for
more detailed examination. Knowing some
of the details of Webster’s last few years,
including drug abuse, depression, dementia
and confusion—but absolutely nothing of
professional football— Dr. Omalu, against
the advice of his supervisors, decides to go
beyond the hospital diagnosis on the death
certificate, and look at the brain.
He expects to see signs of atrophy.
Instead, the external appearance of the
brain is normal, prompting Dr.Omalu to fix
the tissue so that the brain may be examined
microscopically. The slides reveal a
seriously damaged internal brain structure,
which Dr.Omalu labels chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE) and, with several
co-authors, publishes, all after trying to
share and discuss his findings. Almost
immediately, two senior NFL physicians
demand that the paper, which already
has passed a more intensive peer review
process than usual, be retracted. He refuses.
Except for a very few colleagues, including
the former Steeler physician, Dr.Omalu
finds himself isolated, ostracized, shunned
by professional groups, facing demeaning
interviews from NFL officials, racial slurs,
and dealing with late night anonymous
telephone calls. After his wife is followed
by another car, she miscarries. Throughout,
he keeps his faith in science, although it is
clear that some close to him—and more
https://sp.yimg.com
cynical— find him naïve. Not a campaigner
by nature or profession, he is increasingly
disturbed, yet strengthened by the forces
arrayed against his observations.
Following this sentinel case of CTE,
two other brains of former NFL players,
Terry Long and Andre Waters come to
his autopsy table. When his boss balks
once again at the public cost of a complete
pathological examination, Dr.Omalu pays
for it—about $20,000, as he did for the
complete Webster autopsy. Both autopsies
show extensive CTE, and, in each case,
there were histories of depression, dementia
and confusion. At about this time, the
NFL commissions a study of concussions
and dementia among NFL retirees by the
University of Michigan. The results, not
mentioned in the film, suggest a fivefold
increase in the incidence of dementia
by age 50 among NFL players with a
self-reported history of concussion, as
compared to men in the general population.
The study is suppressed, but eventually is
leaked to the New York Times in 2009.
Although the particular study design used
cannot yield the strongest evidence of a
causal relationship where the outcome
follows the exposure by 20 or more years,
it remains the best estimate we have of
the relationship between concussion and
premature dementia.
The tumult in Dr.Omalu’s life
continues. He is forced from his position
in Pittsburgh, and is compelled to sell
a fine new house in the suburbs that he
and his new wife were looking forward
to occupying. In anger and frustration,
which one has not been prepared for by
his previously calm and unruffled manner,
he physically attacks the inner walls of the
house with a two by four.
Controversy follows him to his new
job in California. Another former NFL
player, Junior Seau, newly retired, commits
suicide, leaving his brain untouched so
as to allow pathological examination.
Dr.Omalu, now the expert, is called in, but
there follows a most unseemly tug-of-war
over who will do the autopsy. Omalu loses
out, and Seau’s brain goes to the NIH for
pathological evaluation. The clear message
here in a campaign of slurs and innuendoes
is that by keeping the pathological
examination out of his hands, the NFL
might have a better chance of controlling
the science.
Dr.Omalu expresses on several
occasions his belief that the pattern of
concussions in football begins with very
young boys in the Pop Warner (youth
football) leagues, and given young,
developing brains, is especially dangerous
in high school football. This belief
increasingly influences the attitudes of
public health physicians as does the role of
sub-concussive blows in the development
of brain pathology. The last frames of
“Concussion” show Dr.Omalu stopping
his car and getting out too watch a group of
high school boys at football practice. The
very last frame shows two players launched
in the air toward a serious head collision.
The message is clear. “We still don’t get it.”
In recent years, since the three sentinel
cases of CTE were uncovered, the NFL
has settled a large damage suit with the
NFL Players Union and it has been shown
that much of the NFL-sponsored research
on concussion in the 1990s is both poorly
designed and incomplete. Just this past
year, Dr.Omalu has contributed to several
op-ed articles in the New York Times, one
continued on page 8
Page 8
continued from page 7
advocating flag (touch) football leagues
for youngsters, and another suggesting
that men should not be allowed to play
football until they are 18 and can legally
give informed consent. Earlier in the film,
as Omalu was being patronized in a private
meeting with NFL physicians, and accused
The Greylock Independent
of not knowing what he was doing, he is
told that if 10% of mothers decide to keep
their young boys from playing football,
the NFL will be in big trouble. Recent
participation data suggest that recruitment
for football before college is down at least
3 %. Increasingly, mothers/parents ARE
May 2016
saying “No”. Very recently, it was reported
that for the very first time the Pop Warner
League just settled a legal case for brain
injury. The young man had played youth
football and suicided in his teens; he had
extensive CTE, yet had never played
college or professional football.
Making Your Backyard Friendly for Pollinators
By Adrian Dunn
We have all heard
of the sharp decline of
Monarch butterflies in
the last two decades,
due to habitat loss and
pesticide use. Known
for their beauty and
for their remarkable
migration from Mexico
to Canada each year,
clker.com Monarchs are one of
the best recognized and
most loved pollinators. While backyard gardens can’t substitute for
the rebuilding of the Monarch super-highway that used to stretch
diagonally across the country, these can help. Monarchs require
milkweed for their caterpillars to feed on, and nectar-producing
flowers for the adults to eat. Butterflies also need water, so leaving
a patch of muddy ground or a bird bath is helpful to them.
The plight of the Monarch has highlighted the importance of
pollinators in the natural environment. Pollinators in Massachusetts
include honey bees, but also wild bees called solitary bees, bumble
bees, wasps, butterflies and moths, pollinating flies, beetles, and
ruby-throated hummingbirds. Besides providing us with a third
of our vegetables and fruits, pollinators allow wild plants to
reproduce.
Here are a few easy steps you can take right now to ensure a
comfortable habitat for pollinators.
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Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis )
Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum )
Bird’s foot violet (Viola pedata )
Smooth swamp-milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Goldenrods (Solidago species)
Wild lupine (Lupinus perennis )
1. Don’t use pesticides or herbicides in your backyard
These aren’t healthy for you, your pets, or the wild
environment.
2. Mow your grass on a higher setting, to allow low flowers
like violets to bloom. If you can, leave one area of your yard
unmowed and plant wild flowering plants there. If you have a
large field, consider mowing just once in the autumn after the
goldenrod and asters have bloomed and set seed. This assures
a food supply for nectar-feeders into the fall.
3. Leave dandelions in your lawn. These feed the wild bees.
4. Plant a native pollinator garden.
Mass Audubon
recommends the following native plants to attract pollinators:
Remember, butterflies and moths also need host plants for
their caterpillars to hatch and feed on. Monarchs require milkweed
(Asclepias species). Other butterflies may prefer other plants.
For more information:
http://www.butterflywebsite.com/butterflygardening.cfm and
The Xerces Society, http://www.xerces.org/pollinatorconservation/plant-lists/.
Locally, the team at Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation
(wrlf.org) have a wealth of information to share with you. Making
your backyard friendly to pollinators helps to restore the natural
environment, and enhances the beauty and vitality of your yard.
5. Plant a butterfly garden. Here are some suggested plants to
feed the adult butterflies:
• Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
• Butterfly bush (Buddleia, many varieties)
• Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
• Day lily (Hemerocallis)
• Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium)
• Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
• New England aster (Aster novae-angliae)
• Purple cone-flower (echinacea)
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Plant a hummingbird garden. Hummingbirds love:
Bee balm (Monarda didyma)
Salvia (Salvia splendens)
Balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorum)
Bellflower (Campanula persicifolia)
Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Lily (Lilium)
Lupine (Lupinus)
Penstemon (Penstemon barbatus)