image description — BEAT Staying Connected Initiative Coordinator Mikael Cejtin, left, and Executive Director Jane Winn show off their locally-made stewardship awards, presented by Patricia Cramer, director of the Wildlife Connectivity Institute.

BEAT Receives International Stewardship Award

05:17PM / Monday, July 10, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Environmental Action Team received a stewardship award for its work protecting and re-connecting wildlife habitats in the Berkshire Wildlife Linkage area.

The award was presented June at the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation.

The local environmental organization's habitat effort is part of a larger Staying Connected Initiative: a partnership of many conservation organizations that work together to maintain landscape connectivity across the Northern Appalachians in the Acadian Region of the United States and Canada.

Tags: BEAT, recognition event,

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Lanesborough to Discuss Short-Term Rental Bylaw

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
03:00PM / Sunday, February 08, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Short-term rentals have been a hot topic in town recently following inconsistency surrounding whether they are permitted; the Planning Board is working to fix that.

At the June 2024 town meeting, voters approved new taxes and fees on short-term rentals, which are stays of less than 30 days. These include:

• A local excise tax of up to 6 percent on total rent for each stay at bed and breakfasts, hotel lodging houses, short-term rentals, or motels

• A 3 percent impact fee on "professionally managed" short-term rentals

• A 3 percent impact fee on short-term rentals in two- or three-family dwellings

Although the need for regulations was mentioned during some meetings, none were promulgated, and voters were presented with options for taxing short-term rentals but not for regulating them.

Some residents have short-term rentals, flying under the radar, despite the town not having approved zoning regulations to ensure safety and preserve the character of the town, board members said at its meeting on Tuesday.

"I don't want to see people not be able to do short-term rentals, but I don't think we can just open it up and let it be a free for all, because that's what it's been and in some areas of town, it's becoming a bit of a nightmare for the people that live there,” board member Leanne Yinger said.

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