Natural Resources Conservation Service

Massachusetts

United States Department of Agriculture

Protecting shellfish with porous pavement

Businesses and homes on Commercial St. in Provincetown have a nice view of Provincetown Harbor. On rainy days, however, the proximity of the street to the water was a problem for shellfish. Stormwater ran down the road, carrying contaminants into the harbor. The solution: porous pavement.

USDA announces new Massachusetts State Conservationist

Daniel Wright has been selected to serve as Massachusetts State Conservationist. Wright will oversee the agency’s programs, operations and staff in the Bay State. He will begin his new position on September 30^th, succeeding Christine Clarke, who retired in May.

Conserving the sweetgrass tradition

To the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, sweetgrass is more than an common-looking grass with a nice aroma. It’s an important ceremonial and medicinal plant. They have been losing access to this native plant, so they teamed up with the NRCS Plant Materials Center to bring sweetgrass back.

Chuckie Green, Natural Resources Director for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

It’s conservation for all seasons at Mill River Farm

Steep land and a short growing season? Not a problem for Jan Johnson, owner of Mill River Farm, a 32 acre certified-organic produce and livestock farm in New Marlborough, Mass., in the heart of the Berkshire hills. She’s tackling those challenges with a little help from NRCS.

A symphony of songbirds at Red Apple Farm

Early one morning, Bill Rose was walking through an area of his family’s farm in Phillipston, Mass. that had been clear cut in a forest conservation project. The land looked very different. But, it wasn’t what he was seeing that got his attention. It was what he was hearing.