Are you planning a camping trip in Massachusetts? If so, you are camping in bear country. Massachusetts is home to at least 4,500 black bears. They are commonly found in western and central Massachusetts and the population is growing and moving eastward. Black bears will visit RV parks and campgrounds during the camping season in search of food. If they find food, bears will return more often and can become a danger to people. Your actions while camping have a direct impact on bear behavior. Do your part to keep your campsite clean and keep bears wild.
Here are 5 easy ways you can be "bear aware" and prevent bear problems when camping.
Never feed bears and other wildlife.
Intentional feeding can cause bears and other wildlife to lose their fear of people. When this happens, bears can become a threat to human safety and may need to be euthanized.
Stash trash out of sight, smell, and reach of bears.
Store your trash and recyclables in your RV or put it in a dumpster. Do not leave garbage outside. Use bear-resistant waste containers and dumpsters when available.
Secure all food and never store or eat food in tents.
Store food and beverages in bear-resistant containers where bears cannot see, smell, or reach them. Don't store food, beverages, or coolers outdoors or on porches or patios. Clean up picnic tables immediately after use and never leave food unattended. Don't throw food scraps or trash into the campfire or nearby woods. Burn off food on the grill and cover the grill after each use.
Close and lock RV, cabin, and vehicle doors and windows to discourage bear break-ins.
Bears will break into vehicles or through a screen door to access food they can smell or see. When you leave your site, lock doors and windows to RVs, vehicles, and cabins. Always keep exterior doors to RVs and cabins closed, even when you're there.
Leash and supervise pets outdoors.
Supervise and leash dogs whenever they're outdoors. Never let dogs chase or interact with bears as the presence of a dog could trigger a bear to be aggressive. Feed your pet indoors or clean up after outdoor feeding.
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BRTA Focuses on a New Run Schedule
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is still working on maintaining its run schedules after dropping the route realignment proposal.
Last Thursday's meeting was Administrator Kathleen Lambert's first official meeting taking over the reins; retiring director Robert Malnati stayed during a transition period that ended last month.
Lambert is trying to create a schedule that will lessen cancellations. There was a two-hour meeting the week before with the drivers union to negotiate run bids and Lambert is working with the new operating company Keolis, which is taking over from Transdev.
The board spoke about anonymous emails from drivers, which Lambert said she has not seen. iBerkshires was not able to see those letters, but has received some.
"They were lengthy emails from someone describing themselves as concerning BRTA employee, and there was a signed letter from a whole group of employees basically stating their concerns. So, you know, to me, it was a set of whistleblowers, and that, what my understanding is that this really triggers a need for some type of process to review the merits of these whistleblowers, not going to call them accusations, but basically expressions of concern," said member Stephen Bannon.
A letter iBerkshires received spoke of unhappy drivers who were considering quitting because of decisions being made without "input from frontline staff," frustration and falling morale, and the removal of the former general manager shortly after Lambert came in.
Lambert said it's difficult to navigate a new change. She also noted many drivers don't want to do Saturday runs and it has been hard negotiating with drivers on the new runs.
"I would like you all to keep in mind that the process of change is super difficult. Transdev has been here for 20 years, and some of these drivers have never known any other operating company, the way some of the operations have been handled has been archaic," she said. "So getting folks up to speed on how a modern transit system works is going to be painful for them. So I don't want to say that I'm unsympathetic, because I am sympathetic, but I am trying to coax people along with a system that's going to seem very strange to them."
The board spoke about better communication between them and Lambert, citing cooperation will be best moving forward.
"There's just a lot of stuff in the air right now, and there are a lot of fires to put out to make this a coordinated effort. And if we don't keep our communications open and be straightforward, then you get blindsided about how you know the input that you could get from us about your position, and how you know what's going on in your direction, and we get blindsided. And I think that we have to make sure that this is a collaboration," said member Sherry Youngkin.
"Both sides have responsibilities, because in the long run, this advisory board is going to have to make decisions as to how we brought forward and if we've gone forward in a fair and helpful way. And I think that's hopefully what everybody is looking for also."
Transdev and Keolis held a three-day recruiting event interviewing almost 40 candidates and offering jobs to eight, but only three stayed on to start training. Lambert said it was disappointing but she will keep trying to retain more people.
In her first report to the board, she noted that ridership dipped a little over 10 percent, but still remains higher than last year, adding that was because of cancellations of services because of the lack of drivers.
Like the last meeting, some of the advisory board members were torn over the start of the Link413 service, worried that the start of the service took drivers away and the numbers of riders are low.
Lambert, however, said the ridership has doubled from last month.
"As I've spoken before, we have, generally, a six-month adoption for brand-new service before you can really go in and evaluate, are you being successful based on the grant that my predecessor wrote along with the team for PBTA and RTA, we are ahead of schedule, which is pretty good, so I'm hoping that will continue to improve," she said.
Member Renee Wood said the board never approved the service, adding the only thing she could find in the minutes was a vote to accept the equipment. She said it was supposed to be put on the agenda to discuss.
"The Link413 service has been three years in the making. It's been a grant that was accepted and has been working with our partners, PVTA and FRTA, to put into place. So I don't have the entire history of how that process worked, but it's been three years in the making, and did we not understand that once we accept that grant that we were going to put in new service?" Lambert said.
The board discussed if Title VI, the Civil Rights Act, was followed with an accurate review and accurate amount of time for public comment period on the service changes and if its attorney should review if the grant conditions were properly followed.
Lambert said changes had the 60-day comment period included in the proposed route realignment packet, giving the opportunity for the community to respond to that as well but will look into the legality of the situation with their attorney.
The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is still working on maintaining its run schedules after dropping the route realignment proposal. click for more
The town election is less than a month away and, unlike recent ones, all open seats are uncontested, with even a vacancy remaining on the Planning Board.
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