One-Day Track and Sign Certification with BEAT and a TCNA Evaluator

08:03AM / Thursday, October 24, 2024Print Story | Email Story

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) is offering a One-Day Track and Sign Certification led by Daniel Hansche, an evaluator with Tracker Certification North America and the founder of Spur Wander, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the Washington Marsh in October Mountain State Forest.

Learn how to recognize tracks of mammals, birds, reptiles, and invertebrates on your landscape and interpret animal movement and behavior. This explorative practice reveals a hidden world of wildlife sign and develops the ability to find subtle evidence of animal presence. In short, this skill set facilitates knowledge on a remarkable variety of life in an ecosystem.

Tracker Certification North America (TCNA) educates trackers of all skill levels and, through the CyberTracker Conservation Certification process, ensures reliable observations from professionals and community scientists alike. Using these skills to measure landscape health, CyberTracker Conservation’s mission is to create a worldwide environmental monitoring network.

This one-day evaluation offered by BEAT will provide an excellent springboard to practice and apply fundamental tracking skills. It will also give participants an opportunity to get certified as a Level 1 Tracker with TCNA.

Space is limited, and registration is required. There is also a limited amount of financial aid available. Learn more at www.thebeatnews.org/BeatTeam/event/one-day-track-sign-cybertracker-evaluation/.

This educational program is offered by Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Pittsfield. Learn more about BEAT's programs and what they do at www.thebeatnews.org.

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First Eagle Mill Units in Lee to Open in Springtime

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:02AM / Tuesday, February 03, 2026

Eagle Mills developer Jeffrey Cohen updates the Lee Chamber of Commerce as the project's phases, and the amount of heavy lifting to get it to this point.

LEE, Mass. — More than 50 affordable units are expected to come online at the Eagle Mill this spring.

This is the first of several planned development phases at the former paper mill that dates back to the early 1800s, totaling more than 200 units. The Lee Chamber of Commerce hosted an information session on the project during its Business Breakfast last Wednesday.

"We are here because we have a really big project that's happened for a very long time here in Lee, that, for myself, has provided a real sense of hope, and has has really defined this community as one of the few in the Berkshires that's really looking forward, as opposed to just being sort of stuck in the past," Chamber member Erik Williams said.

The estimated $60 million development broke ground in 2021 after nearly a decade of planning and permitting. Hundreds of workers once filed into the 8-acre complex, producing up to 165 tons of paper a week. The last mill on the property closed in 2008.

Hearthway is accepting applications for 56 affordable apartments called "The Lofts at Eagle Mill" with expected occupancy in May. The housing nonprofit was also approved for 45 additional units of new construction on the site.

Jeffrey Cohen of Eagle Mill Redevelopment LLC said the project dates back to 2012, when a purchase contract was signed for the West Center Street property. The developers didn't have to close on the property until renovation plans were approved in 2017, and the mill was sold for $700,000.

It seemed like a great deal for the structure and eight acres on the Housatonic River, Cohen explained, but he wasn't aware of the complex pre-development costs, state, and local approvals it would entail. Seven individually owned homes adjacent to the property were also acquired and demolished for parking and site access.

"If I knew today what I knew then, I'm not sure we'd be sitting here," he said, joining the breakfast remotely over Zoom.

Cohen praised the town's government, explaining that the redesigns and critiques "Could not have been done in a friendlier way, in a more helpful way," and the two Massachusetts governors serving during the project's tenure. The Eagle Mill redevelopment is supported by state and federal grants, as well as low-income housing tax credits.

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