Commonwealth Conversations: The Great Outdoors

Ringing up the 12 Days of Christmas

Commissioner Scott Soares

Commissioner, Department of Agriculture Resources (DAR)

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The holiday season is upon us with just 12 days to go before Christmas Day! It’s the perfect time to  to reflect on the classic Twelve Days of Christmas carol. In the spirit of the season, each year we calculate how much it would cost to make those purchases today in Massachusetts. 

Thanks to DAR staff and our friends at the Department of Fish and Game we had some fun estimating the prices of the agricultural and wildlife products and services mentioned in the song. 

Eight maids a-milking? At $8 to $10 an hour, eight maids (or lads) a’ milking would cost around $50. It takes less than half an hour to milk a cow. But of course that doesn't account for the total cost of producing the milk. 

Seven swans a-swimming could cost you in fines up to $375 to $20 to $50 per bird plus an additional $25 for illegal possession of mute swans. Illegal possession of the birds also carries the possible penalty of 30 days in jail. If you hold a grandfathered permit for mute swans, it will cost you $30 for the lot, no new permits are issued.

Six geese a-laying? Goslings cost about $8 a piece, but, if you sought the instant gratification of laying geese, you'd need a mating pair at $40 to $100 each or $240 to $600 for the lot. 

As to five golden rings, this does not actually refer to jewelry but rather golden-ringed pheasants at a cost of $60 for five. Or, you could hunt the birds at a cost of $325 plus $10 for a hunting license. 

Buyer beware on the four calling birds part (a.k.a. Colly birds or blackbirds). There are 65 species of blackbirds and most, like the red-winged blackbird or the common grackle, are protected by both federal and state laws. Any romantic ideas of procuring these birds will carry stiff fines and possible jail time (up to six months). It is illegal to hunt blackbirds in Massachusetts – taking these birds would cost between $50 and $300 in state fines – at $10 to $50 per bird plus an additional fine up to $100, with up to 30 days in jail and a revoked hunting license for three years. 

Door-to-door delivery of three hens from France could cost as much as $2,800 in airfare and paperwork. The cost rises to $4,000 for the additional cost of quarantining the birds for 30 days (a state requirement for livestock imported to Massachusetts) and incidental veterinary fees. Don't forget to check if your intended recipient lives in a community that allows back-yard poultry!

Two turtle doves cost about $40 a piece from a pet store licensed by DAR. A partridge (a.k.a. a ruffed grouse) is a native game bird which can be hunted in Massachusetts only in October and November.

A Massachusetts resident adult hunting license is $27.50 –other costs include shotgun ammunition, shotgun, and a ($100) Massachusetts gun license.Finally, a 9-foot, fruit-bearing pear tree costs about $100 (not including installation)!

Sound too expensive and complicated? May we suggest a Massachusetts Grown & Fresher and MassWildlife holiday buying season guides with lots of affordable, scrumptious and fun ideas. 

Happy holidays!

Fall Pheasant Stocking

Haley Hillesland

Multimedia Intern, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

View Haley's Bio

 

Despite unseasonably early snowfall and relentless rains, the fall pheasant stocking season continues through the Saturday following Thanksgiving. 

On average, almost 40,000 pheasants are stocked statewide – with 13,000 being allocated to the Central District.  Most locations stock at least once a week, while others stock two to three times a week. Hunters are allowed to hunt from sunrise to sunset, with the proper permits, on any Wildlife Management Area. Revenue from the sale of hunting licenses pay for the stocking of all 40,000 pheasants.

Please note: Access to several hunting locations was interrupted by damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene and the October snow storm – including Birch Hill, Bolton Flats, Barre Falls, Quaboag, Richardson, and Winimusset. With the exception of Quaboag, all locations have been reopened. Only one pheasant delivery from the vendor was delayed, and is planned to be made up later in the season.

This recreational activity has been enjoyed by residents of Massachusetts since 1906, when open fields dominated the state’s landscape. Each year thousands of hunters enjoy this recreational bird hunting throughout the state.

For safety, a high visibility orange cap is required for hunters on Wildlife Management Area land. Hunting hours on other properties vary, as do the regulations. The daily bag limit is two pheasants, and the season bag limit is six.

For more hunting information, visit the MassWildlife website.

Seafood Throwdown: All About Lobster

Mary Griffin
Commissioner, Department of Fish and Game (DFG)
View Commissioner Griffin's Bio 

Scott J. Soares

Commissioner, Department of Agricultural Resources

View Scott's Complete Bio

This October we celebrated locally-caught, fresh seafood that supports Massachusetts fishing communities by participating in the Boston Local Food Festival’s Annual Seafood Throwdown. 

We served as judges, rating the seafood cooking skills of celebrity chefs, Christian Collins and Derrick Prince during a “Seafood Throwdown” and lobster fisherman Captain Steve Holler provided the “mystery fresh catch of the day” for the contest – which was lobster! 

Contest rules were simple: chefs were given $25 and 15 minutes to shop the festival’s farmers markets and stalls for fresh ingredients and prepare the lobster. It certainly wasn’t our worst job assignment to taste test the two delicious dishes prepared by the chefs – a grilled lobster salad and a lobster dish served on top of pureed potatoes with other vegetables. Congratulations to Derrick Prince for coming out on top!

During the event we announced the first commercial lobstermen to become certified under the Commonwealth Quality Program (CQP), an exclusive state label program that identifies Massachusetts agricultural and seafood products that are produced, harvested and processed responsibly. Consumers who purchase products from a CQP-certified lobsterman can be sure that they are getting a high-quality product, fished from Massachusetts waters, using approved practices for harvesting and handling.

Dave Casoni, secretary of the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association and Beth Casoni, the Association’s associate director, helped kick off the launch. Captain Holler, who is captain of the November Gale and a CQP-certified lobsterman, brought his boat and fresh, live lobsters for sale to the event.

The event highlighted the work by the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance and the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association to support small-scale fishermen and fishing communities and the development of local seafood markets. 

Lobster landings continue to be plentiful this time of year, and consumers should know the fall is an excellent time to get a quality lobster at a reasonable price.  Bon appétit!   

Information about lobster fishing.

Celebrating the cranberry harvest

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

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When I think fall in Massachusetts, my mind conjures up images of the vast network of cranberry bogs that stretch across the south shore. 

The harvest itself is reason to celebrate because cranberries are so indigenous, colorful and traditional; they are a constant source of pride. With the unique wet harvesting methods employed, water floods into the bogs creating quite a spectacle. As the harvest wheel knocks the cranberries off the vines they float to the surface where they’re herded into land for picking. It makes for a stunning portrait of the New England countryside.

Nothing illustrates this unique process better than the Cranberry Harvest Festival in Wareham on October 8 - 9. It’s a wonderful year to celebrate this Massachusetts tradition, especially since the cranberry yield here is forecasted at 2.10 million barrels – up 11 percent from 2010. If production live up to estimates, it would be tied for the second largest crop on record. Favorable weather conditions during June and the first half of July aided pollination and led to a robust yield this year.

Some 14,000 acres make up the wetlands of South Eastern Massachusetts, including the cranberry bogs harvested by nearly 400 cranberry growing families. Bogs also serve as a protectorate for wetland plant and animal species. Cranberries flavor our drinks and muffins daily, and are a Thanksgiving favorite. If you have a chance, try to visit one of these bogs during harvest to see where the flavor originates. 

Use the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association website to find bogs that host visitors as well as our Mass Grown and Fresher site.

  

Take your Food Shopping Outside!

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

View Anna's Bio

With the local harvest season well underway, now is the perfect time to take your shopping to the great outdoors and enjoy the bounty of Massachusetts farmers’ hard work.

A recent trip to Gloucester revealed a large and festive farmers’ market in Stage Fort Park overlooking Gloucester Harbor. 

With lots of room and over two dozen vendors or more setting up each week, the market offers a wide variety of farm and food products, including produce, fresh fish (right off the boat), two wineries, baked goods, honey, maple products, and mushrooms. Market vendors also include a wide variety of locally made specialty foods including pasta, soups, tarts, dips, prepared foods and more. Several artists from the Gloucester art community show their wares as well.

With weekly music, children’s activities, and community booths, one could easily spend an hour or more to take it all in. Bring a blanket and take your goodies down to the beach for an impromptu picnic after you shop. The park even has a small beach! The Cape Ann Farmers’ Market is located in Gloucester’s State Fort Park every Thursday, from 3:00 pm – 6:30 pm through October 13^th.

The Cape Ann Farmers’ Market is one of 245 markets up and running across the state this summer and fall.  Find a local market near you!

Local wood for good

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

View Anna's Bio

You don’t have to live in the country to be a farmer - you can grow crops outside in the city too.

Launched in 2007, Build-a-Garden teaches city residents square-foot growing methods so that urban gardeners can maximize space, create ideal growing conditions, and have a simple and structured forum for learning the basics. The Food Project provides participants with everything they need to get started – including multiple raised garden beds, soil, seeds, transplants, a growing guide, on-site workshops, and assistance throughout the planning and implementation stages of the project. Through this volunteer-fueled initiative, the organization hopes to create a thoughtful and productive community of people from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system.

In this instance, two local businesses came together to support each other and the community, and the positive effects promise to be long-lasting. Heyes provided product made from a natural, renewable resource that will be used to help residents of Boston and Lynn grow a variety of wholesome, fresh produce at a fraction of the cost. Likewise, The Food Project’s patronage of Heyes helps sustain local forest-based businesses that maintain healthy, working forests to create products that are important to us in everyday life. The end result is a mutually beneficial collaboration involving local products that will have a positive impact on local business, our community and the environment.

Fred Heyes, owner of Heyes Forest Products in Orange and DAR  Commonwealth Quality Program (CQP) ambassador, recently teamed up with Boston-based The Food Project to demonstrate how local wood products can be used to help build a stronger community.

In what has become an annual tradition, Heyes supplied  CQP-certified Massachusetts white pine lumber for The Food Project’s “Build-a-Garden” program, which provides Boston-area residents the opportunity to grow their own food successfully and safely in urban neighborhoods through raised bed and container gardening. The locally sourced and manufactured lumber will be used to construct garden beds for the community support program.



The Food Project is currently accepting Build-a-Garden volunteer applications for the fall 2011 growing season. To learn more about this and other Food Project volunteer opportunities, please visit: http://thefoodproject.org/volunteer. 

Those interested in applying for Build-a-Garden support can contact the program coordinator, Kathleen Banfield, by calling (617) 442-1322 x12 or by sending an email to buildagarden@thefoodproject.org.

To learn more about DAR’s Commonwealth Quality Program, which promotes high-quality Massachusetts agricultural products that are responsibly produced, harvested and processed, or to locate a CQP business near you, please visit  http://www.mass.gov/cqp. 

Growing native?

Kate Samp

Multimedia intern, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

View Kate's Bio

When I think of spring, images of brightly colored tulips and buttercups instantly come to mind. I love looking out my window every day and watching color return to the landscape. It seems as if spring never comes fast enough to relieve my winter gloom.

Luckily, those of us living on the coast have a distinct advantage—a longer growing season! According to the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Coastal residents have a 40-day head start on the growing season compared to their inland counterparts.

A great way to enhance curb appeal, a garden provides a welcome burst of color, texture, and interest to the home. Gardening is also an activity suitable for everyone in the family..

If you live in a coastal region, such as the Cape, the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) has some tips on growing native—a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to bring color and life to your home. Selecting native plants for your garden has the added advantage of providing erosion control and habitats for native wildlife - not to mention that once these trees, s shrubs, and flowers are established, they require less maintenance and care.

First, look for plants that are well adapted to strong winds, salt spray, and a low diversity of nutrients in the soil. 

CZM's list of compatible flowers, trees, and shrubs

One of my favorites is the lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) which thrives in full sun, and has the added benefit of attracting wildlife and producing delicious fruit for harvest in mid-late summer. Another is the Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana), the plant’s fragrant blossoms are 2-3 inches in diameter and bloom from June through August.

Why not plant some Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens)? The vibrant golden-yellow flowers add a burst of color, while the plant’s fleshy, waxy leaves retain water, making the plant ideal for coastal landscaping. Contrary to popular belief, goldenrod is not the culprit for seasonal allergy sufferers - the real bad guy is ragweed, which is part of the sunflower family.

Lowbush Blueberry
Photo: University of Connecticut Plant Database

Virginia Rose
Photo: University of Connecticut Plant Database

Seaside Golendrod
Photo: NOAA Estuarine Research Reserve Collection, NOAA Photo Library

Living on the Wild Side

Reginald Zimmerman

Assistant Press Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

View Reginald's Bio

Wild food is not only local - it’s also available just for the taking, in many cases right in your own back yard! For those looking to add a little extra spice to their Go Local culinary experience, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ Julia Grimaldi will join wild food enthusiast, Pam Kristan and The Franklin Park Coalition on Saturday, April 30 at 4 pm for a free spring “Weeds as Feed” edible plant walk through the 200-acre Franklin Park. This annual foraging walk attracts youth and adults and teaches them that food comes from the earth, not just the market, and that wild food is not only tasty to eat but safe too! The walk will cover responsible harvesting techniques, as well as foraging areas to avoid. Make sure you bring a bag to collect samples. Pam will bring a tasty treat and will teach us what to do with different spring weeds and woodland plants. Meet at the Williams Street entrance to the park along Forest Hills Street in Jamaica Plain. Please RSVP: 617-442-4141 or rsvp@franklinparkcoalition.org.

Massachusetts offers the nature lover many local foraging sites and experiences. In Stockbridge on Sunday, May 1 from 1 to 4 pm, Berkshire Farm & Table will host Russ Cohen, professional environmentalist, wild foods connoisseur and author of “Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten” (2004) for a foraging walk as part of a month-long celebration of wild spring edibles being presented in partnership with Berkshire Grown’s Farmed & Foraged culinary events.

With 37 years of experience, Russ finds wilderness walks a great way to enrich the time he spends   outdoors. He offers a dynamic schedule of wild plant walks and courses all season long, as well as “Harvest Parties” where groups can prepare dishes utilizing wild ingredients. This spring is a perfect time to begin your discovery and understanding of wild foods while adding to your culinary repertoire with recipes like Sour Cream Japanese Knotweed Crumb Cake and Multi-seasonal Soup. Learn what's tasty, safe to eat, and will spice up your locally grown food preparations. Speaking of which, lots of fresh locally grown food is coming to farmers’ markets near you soon!

Find a market in your area.

Earth Day 2011

Reginald Zimmerman

Assistant Press Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

View Reginald's Bio

Tomorrow commemorates the 41^st anniversary of the first Earth Day and Massachusetts residents can take part in a myriad of activities that celebrate the environment! Join in a community-wide cleanup, party at a zoo, run a 5K race or just get outside and enjoy the outdoors with neighbors, friends and family. Events may differ in size and scope, but a common theme remains: environmental awareness and education.

Earth Day events start tomorrow and run through May. For more information go to http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/earthday.htm

Slope-side cider outing

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

View Anna's Bio

Earlier this month, Agricultural Resources Commissioner Scott Soares skied down a Wachusett Mountain slope to see the recently-refurbished Bullock Lodge Cider House located on the lower mountain and accessible by advanced and intermediate skiers (or you can hike up). It was a perfect spring-like day to visit this beautiful lodge and savor the great tastes of hot and cold apple cider, hot apple dumplings, cider donuts and an assortment of other local specialty items.

Senator Stephen Brewer was on hand to present a State Senate Proclamation to the owners of Red Apple Farm of Phillipston, a multi-generational family farm now run by Al and Nancy Rose. Both Al and Nancy are on the mountain almost every day baking and serving these wonderful local specialties. Another multi-generational family to help with the Bullock Lodge initiative was the Crowley family, owners of Polar Beverages in Worcester. They worked with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to get approvals to house Red Apple in the lodge that had been unused for years.

Representative Ann Gobi, Commissioner Soares, along with DCR State Parks Director Priscilla Geigis and DCR Wachusett Mountain Park Supervisor Denise Morrissey sipped cider and talked about the site that brings agritourism and the great outdoors together.

MassGrown & Fresher agritourism destinations