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:

    Long wait for PCB cleanup

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    EPA offers draft proposal for Housatonic, drawing new criticism By DAVID SCRIBNERContributing writer LENOX, Mass. Woods Pond in Lenox, Mass., is among the stretches of the Housatonic River most heavily contaminated with PCBs. Dredging to remove the pollution wouldn’t be completed until 2029 under a cleanup plan released last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection read more

    Long wait for PCB cleanup
  • Issue:

    Saving a planet, one step at a time

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    Pair from Berkshires join cross-country trek for climate-change action By ALEX ELVINContributing writer WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.   Shira Wohlberg has walked more than 1,000 miles since March, when she set out from Los Angeles as part of a coast-to-coast march aimed at spurring action to combat climate change.By late May, the group had made its way read more

    Saving a planet, one step at a time
  • Issue:

    On Hildene’s 400-plus acres, focus turns to ecological stewardship

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    On Hildene’s 400-plus acres, focus turns to ecological stewardship   By TELLY HALKIASContributing writer MANCHESTER, Vt. Stately historic properties make fine museums, though once visitors have seen some of these grand old estates they may figure they’ve already had the full experience. But Hildene, the Lincoln family home in Manchester, has spent the last decade read more

    On Hildene’s 400-plus acres, focus turns to ecological stewardship
  • Issue:

    Industrial legacy adds to region’s clean-energy potential

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    Industrial legacy adds to region’s clean-energy potential By ALEX ELVINContributing writer A. Perry Heller photos   NORTH BENNINGTON, Vt. Bill Scully says he had an epiphany while driving home on Christmas Day in 2008, past the historic mills and dams of southern Vermont. “Why,” he recalls wondering, “when there is an energy crisis, am I read more

    Industrial legacy adds to region’s clean-energy potential
  • Issue:

    Oil pipelines on wheels — Risks increase on region’s rail lines

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    Risks increase on region’s rail lines as traffic through Albany port grows By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer   While environmental groups have made opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline in the Midwest a cause célèbre over the past five years, rolling pipelines of oil have quietly been established in a lot of communities closer to home. read more

    Oil pipelines on wheels — Risks increase on region’s rail lines
  • Issue:

    For a locally grown Passover

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    ‘Vermatzah’ links ancient traditions, contemporary tastes By STACEY MORRISContributing writer   MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS, Vt. Micro-bakers Julie Sperling and Doug Freilich have enjoyed a decade of commercial and critical success for their organic, fire-baked Naga Bakehouse breads, but in the past few years they’ve also been developing a seasonal product for Passover. They call it Vermatzah. read more

    For a locally grown Passover
  • Issue:

    A new model for saving farmland

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    Investor group plans agricultural center in Columbia County By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer   COPAKE, N.Y.A large tract of open land in the central hamlet of Copake, once the proposed site of a controversial affordable-housing development, has now been earmarked for preservation as working farmland. The 122-acre property, a short distance off Route 22 and just read more

    A new model for saving farmland
  • Issue:

    In lieu of plastic, mushrooms

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    Cambridge mycologist helps company develop fungi-based products By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer   CAMBRIDGE, N.Y.Sue Van Hook is convinced that fungi hold one of the keys to saving the planet from choking on plastic. A professional mycologist and a retired Skidmore College senior teaching associate, Van Hook has embarked on a new career as chief mycologist read more

    In lieu of plastic, mushrooms
  • Issue:

    Mercury threat persists, studies show

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    Health risks linger in region despite cuts in emissions By CRAIG IDLEBROOK Contributing writer   Despite tougher pollution standards that have led to a sharp reduction nationally in emissions of airborne mercury, several new studies suggest that high concentrations of the toxic heavy metal are persisting in the environment and continuing to pose a health read more

    Mercury threat persists, studies show
  • Issue:

    Group aims to preserve grasslands for bird habitat

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    By EVAN LAWRENCE Contributing writer   FORT EDWARD, N.Y.After several years of raising public awareness about the birds and landscapes of the Washington County grasslands, a local conservation group says it wants to move beyond education to actually buying and preserving some of the open land. “We’re planning a fund-raising campaign to purchase land from read more

    Group aims to preserve grasslands for bird habitat