Maple trees turn golden along the Hoosic River in Williamstown in November. Photo by Kate Abbott

Nature

Here are the Hill Country Observer’s articles about nature, listed from newest to oldest. In the country, the living world of our forests, mountains and lakes influence our communities and our daily lives. The Hull Country Observer explores stories of the environment and the landscape in a changing climate.

  • Issue:

    Berkshires’ path to the future? A network of walking trails

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    Group aims for 200-mile network of walking trails across county By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer PITTSFIELD, Mass.   Olivia’s Overlook, which offers a sweeping view of Stockbridge Bowl from Richmond Mountain Road in Lenox, is among many properties conserved by the Berkshire Natural Resources Council. The group recently unveiled an ambitious effort to link these sites read more

    Berkshires’ path to the future? A network of walking trails
  • Issue:

    Town may veto conservation deal

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    Plan to protect bird habitat clashes with dreams of growth, development By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer FORT EDWARD, N.Y.   Merrilyn Pulver-Moulthrop wants to conserve 180 acres of her farm as habitat for threatened bird species, but town officials may veto the deal because of concerns it could hinder a water system for future development. Joan read more

    Town may veto conservation deal
  • Issue:

    Tax break for renewable energy draws skepticism

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    Washington County debates opting out of incentive program By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer   A 16,000-panel solar installation along county Route 21 in Whitehall is one of three such projects planned in the town by Borrego Solar. But county supervisors are considering doing away with a property tax exemption the developer says it was counting on read more

    Tax break for renewable energy draws skepticism
  • Issue:

    Counterculture lives on as Rainbow Gathering visits Vermont

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    By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer MOUNT TABOR, Vt.   More than 10,000 people are estimated to have set up camp last month in the Green Mountain National Forest near Mount Tabor for the national Rainbow Gathering, an experiment in alternative living that traces its roots to the anti-war counterculture of the late 1960s.Tracy Frisch photo When read more

    Counterculture lives on as Rainbow Gathering visits Vermont
  • Issue:

    From water to blood — Got PFOA?

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    Anger, frustration grow as blood tests show hundreds with high levels of toxin in Hoosick Falls, Petersburgh By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y.   State tests this spring showed Emily Marpe of Petersburgh had the chemical PFOA in her blood at a concentration of 332 parts per billion, far above the typical background level read more

    From water to blood — Got PFOA?
  • Issue:

    State pesticide-reporting effort lags

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    New York program, adopted with fanfare, yields old, opaque data By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer   Twenty years ago, a coalition of breast-cancer activists, environmentalists and others celebrated a hard-fought victory when New York agreed to set up a statewide system for tracking the sale and use of pesticides. When the legislation was signed into law read more

    State pesticide-reporting effort lags
  • Issue:

    Vermont sees evidence of tainted water

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    Concern grows along with list of towns contaminated by PFOA By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer NORTH BENNINGTON, Vt. Relying on bottled water for drinking and cooking is a new and unwelcome experience for Jim Sullivan. Like the rest of his neighbors on a small street at the southeastern edge of North Bennington, Sullivan gets his water read more

    Vermont sees evidence of tainted water
  • Issue:

    Riding to the rescue — Chatham farm helps horses

    Chatham farm gives sanctuary to equines saved from slaughter By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer CHATHAM, N.Y.   The mule Emma, one of the animals rescued by Equine Advocates, stands with the group’s founder and president, Susan Wagner. The group currently cares for 81 animals at its sanctuary in Chatham. Susan Sabino photo The four-legged residents of read more

    Riding to the rescue — Chatham farm helps horses
  • Issue:

    Village in crisis over tainted water

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    In Hoosick Falls, contamination finding prompts fear, anger By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. For more than a year, some local citizens had been warning about the presence of a toxic chemical they’d found in samples collected from the Hoosick Falls water system, but state and local officials insisted the water was safe. Then read more

    Village in crisis over tainted water
  • Issue:

    In Mass., a hot debate over saving bees

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    Farm lobby’s plan prompts pushback from beekeepers By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer   Beekeepers in Massachusetts have been organizing in recent months to challenge regulatory and legislative proposals they say would not do enough to protect bees from pesticides — and might actually put them in greater jeopardy. The changes are aimed at curbing recent mass read more

    In Mass., a hot debate over saving bees