Berkshire County Historical Society Bird Banding Demonstrations

10:37AM / Monday, June 02, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Historical Society in partnership with Ben Nickley and Berkshire Bird Observatory will offer a series of bird banding demonstrations at Arrowhead beginning June 5.

This recurring, free drop-in event takes place June 5, 12, 26; July 3, 10, 24, 31 from 8 -10 am, and is weather dependent. The program allows visitors an up-close opportunity to see birds and watch the process of bird banding.

Bird banding allows researchers the opportunity to study a wide array of wild birds in their natural habitat. Arrowhead's woods, fields and shrub land make it an ideal site to monitor a broad range of breeding bird species.

Ben Nickley is the Executive Director of Berkshire Bird Observatory (BBO), a local nonprofit dedicated to bird conservation in the Berkshires and beyond. Nickley shares his passion for birds with others and weaves education and engagement into BBO's various scientific projects--including summer bird banding, migration monitoring, and their highly successful Kestrel Nest Box Project.

This program is sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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Berkshire Towns Can Tap State Seasonal Communities Resources

10:54AM / Monday, December 29, 2025

BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey announced that 18 additional municipalities across Massachusetts have been designated as Seasonal Communities, opening up new tools, support and grant funding to help them manage seasonal housing pressures.

Created as part of the historic Affordable Homes Act signed into law by Governor Healey in 2024, the Seasonal Communities designation was designed to recognize Massachusetts communities that experience substantial variation in seasonal employment and to create distinctive tools to address their unique housing needs. The law also established the Seasonal Communities Advisory Council (SCAC).

The Affordable Homes Act identified several communities to automatically receive the designation, including:

All municipalities in the counties of Dukes and Nantucket;
All municipalities with over 35 percent seasonal housing units in Barnstable County; and
All municipalities with more than 40 percent seasonal housing units in Berkshire County.

To identify additional communities, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC) reviewed available data, specifically focusing on cities and towns with high levels of short-term rentals and a high share of second- or vacation homes.

In Berkshire County, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, New Marlborough, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, West Stockbridge and Williamstown have been designated.

"Our seasonal communities are a vital part of Massachusetts' cultural and economic fabric, but they're also home to essential workers, families, seniors, and longtime residents who deserve a place to live year-round," said Governor Healey. "That's why we're committed to supporting these communities with innovative solutions like the Seasonal Communities designation to meet their unique needs, and I'm thrilled that we're offering this opportunity to 18 additional communities across the state. Everyone who calls these places home should be able to live, work and grow here, no matter the season."

As with the statutorily identified communities, acceptance of the designation for municipalities is voluntary and requires a local legislative vote. HLC will open an application for newly eligible communities that haven't accepted the Seasonal Communities designation to request consideration.

The Affordable Homes Act created several new tools for communities who accept the Seasonal Communities designation to be able to:

Acquire deed restrictions to create or preserve year-round housing
Develop housing with a preference for municipal workers, so that our public safety personnel, teachers, public works and town hall workers have a place to live
Establish a Year-Round Housing Trust Fund to create and preserve affordable and attainable housing for year-round residents
Create year-round housing for artists
Allow seasonal communities to develop a comprehensive housing needs assessment
Permit tiny homes to be built and used as year-round housing
Permit year-round, attainable residential development on undersized lots
Increase the property tax exemption for homes that are the owners' primary residence