WILLIAMSTOWN - The Hopkins Forest Fall Festival will be held Sunday, Sept. 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. Hopkins Forest is managed by the Williams College Center for Environmental Studies and is situated at the intersection of Northwest Hill Road and Bulkley Street. The annual event is free and open to the public.
Festival-goers will be able to explore the life of the forest at a number of science stations, forest-related trades and crafts stations, and a cider-pressing station. It will include children's events and performances by local musicians. Refreshments will be provided.
The forest has long been a center of scientific research and exploration. The widow of Col. Amos Lawrence Hopkins, the son of college President Mark Hopkins and an 1863 alumnus, offered the forest to the college in 1934. From 1934 to 1971, the U.S. Forest Service used it as a research site. In 1971, the original 1,600-acre plot expanded to 2,500 acres and the forest has become an invaluable research facility for Williams College.
The forest service's research projects focused on forestry, meteorology, hydrology and tree genetics. Today, professors and students are building on that collection of work. Professor of geology and mineralogy David Dethier carries out meteorological, hydrological, and biogeochemical monitoring in the forest. Landscape historian and professor of biology Henry Art studies the developments of plant communities with the help of forest monitoring records that date back to the 1930s. Tom Baribault from the University of Vermont studies sugar maples that the forest service planted in the 1960s. The trees are peculiar for their high sap sweetness potential and Baribault is working to identify the genes for sweetness in the tree's DNA.
New projects are always emerging. Professor of biology Joan Edwards is analyzing the population dynamics of the invasive garlic mustard plant in the forest. Assistant professor of biology Manuel Morales is studying ant/treehopper mutualism. Senior lecturer in biology David Smith has studied black-capped chickadees, among dozens of other research projects in the forest.
The Center for Environmental Studies encourages disciplinary and interdisciplinary teaching, academic activity, and research in the forest. Andrew Jones is the manager of the forest.
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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