Author Archives: Hillary T.

About Hillary T.

Where: Mass Audubon Headquarters, Lincoln Who: Massachusetts transplant by way of Florida and New York. Raising two young girls, who she hopes will be budding naturalists Favorite part of the job: Learning something new every day from some of the smartest and most enthusiastic groups of people

Action Alert: Mass Endangered Species Act

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Hillary T.

Eastern box turtle by Joy MarzolfEfforts to repeal the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA) are once again underway, and we need your help!

On Monday, November 4, the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture will hold a hearing that includes two bills Mass Audubon strongly opposes. These bills would result in a repeal of endangered species protections in the Commonwealth.

Environmental groups and the business community alike have supported the standards the program currently uses to protect endangered species. The effort to gut endangered species protections is coming from a limited, but very vocal, few.

Both bills would:

  • Dismantle MESA’s Priority Habitat framework for protecting endangered species of plants and animals administered by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program.
  • Leave property owners with no advance notice of or ability to avoid harm to a state-listed species, leaving them potentially subject to fines and criminal prosecution for causing harm to that species. The existing permitting process, which takes into account the characteristics of each proposed development site, would be replaced by a costly and cumbersome regime that would rely on action against landowners after the harm to the protected species has occurred. Such a regime would not provide effective guidance to landowners or protect endangered species.

We urge you to contact Chairman Pacheco and Chairwoman Gobi today—by phone, email, or mail—to ask them to protect endangered species and halt Senate Bill 345 and Senate Bill 411.

In addition, you can let your own Representative and Senator know where you stand, and ask them to speak to the Chairs as well.

Please also express your support for An Act Relative to the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, H.756. Mass Audubon supports this consensus bill, which would improve the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act rather than repeal it.

Find out who your legislators are and how to contact them.

Thank you for stepping up to protect endangered species!

Hearing details:
Monday, November 4, 2013
1:00 p.m.
Room A-2
State House
Boston, MA

The Calendar That Has Stood the Test of Time

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Hillary T.

January 2014 Ring Standard for Printing (2)The holiday season is all about traditions. One tradition that we hold very dear at Mass Audubon is the petite Ring-Standard Calendar. Since we began selling it decades ago, people from all over the country (and beyond) eagerly await the day the calendar goes on sale and then proceed to order dozens to distribute to family, friends, and co-workers.

Makings of a Tradition

In 1897, one year after Mass Audubon was founded, artist Louise B. Graves found herself frustrated by the selections of calendars available, all being “too big, too difficult to hang, or too full of inappropriate verse.” She took matters into her own hands and developed a prototype for a friend. Its delicate, turn-of-the-century natural appeal was quickly noticed, and it didn’t take long before Louise had a small business with a dedicated following.

Ready to retire in the early 1940s, Louise chose Mary Sage Shakespeare (known as Polly to friends) to oversee the design and production of future calendars. A decade later, Polly began working for Mass Audubon, first at the Visual Arts Center (now the Museum of American Bird Art) and then as a staff illustrator at Headquarters in Lincoln. Eventually she donated the rights to the calendar, along with all of the original existing artwork, to Mass Audubon to carry on the legacy.

Beauty in Details

Looking through the archives and selecting the design for the next calendar is always the highlight of Audubon Shop Retail Manager Ruth Smith’s year. Every year has a different color scheme and “theme,” and each month within that year features a unique set of intricate ink drawings highlighting plants, animals, or nature symbols as well as the phases of the moon.

Printed on heavy-stock recycled paper, the 3.25 inch by 4.25 inch calendar is bound by two small rings and is self-standing. The 2014 design was originally drawn by Mary Sage Shakespeare for the 1951 edition and features a vibrant botanical motif in a lovely shade of turquoise.

You can order a calendar online or pick it up at the Mass Audubon Shop in Lincoln. But don’t wait too long. The calendar often sells out come the new year.