Raju the crying elephant finally free!

Raju the crying elephant is finally officially free.   His previous "owner" had sued Wildlife SOS for his return, but a judge blocked it.

"Wildlife SOS argued in court that an elephant cannot be owned by someone under Indian law as they are all owned by the government, and that only a licence from the Chief Wildlife Warden is proof of ownership. According to Wildlife SOS, Raju's previous owners could not produce such a certificate."

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/raju-the-crying-elephant-decreed-free-by-a-court-in-india-9897224.html

Thank you, Wildlife SOS.  
http://www.wildlifesos.org/
https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/raju

MATC caretakers bring down thousands of pounds of trash

 I met Ian last year while camping at the Horns Pond shelter area.  He single-handedly triggered an avalanche of volunteer work which cleaned up an old Fire Warden's cabin site (of which I played one small part).   Over the years the place had been completely trashed out.

http://www.matc.org/assets/Resolved-Refuse-Removal-ATJourneys-MarApr2014.pdf

The MATC caretakers at Horns Pond in Maine also perform another critical duty - they compost human waste.   At altitude the temperature is too low and the soil is too thin for normal microbial activity to do it, so they backpack (literally) tons of bark chips up the mountain, mix it into giant tubs of waste, and compost it.   Anything non-biodegradable (soda cans, tampons, etc) they pick out and then pack down to town.

Town of Foster Conservation Commission!

I recently joined the town of Foster Conservation Commission.  I'm looking forward to working with the Land Trust, Planning Board and Northern RI Conservation District. 

Later this year we'll be running a program for town members to build and install bat houses on their properties.  Bats face a number of challenges including loss of habitat, "white nose syndrome" and light pollution.   By installing bat houses in suitable areas you can help give them as many chances as possible.

Another initiative we're taking on is the conversion of the Town truck fleet and heating oil usage to "BioHeat", or a blend of biodiesel and traditional fuel.   This offers increased efficiencies, reduced pollution, reduced carbon footprint, and provides an opportunity to use fuel produced right here in RI.  Many municipalities around the country run their heavy vehicle fleet on biodiesel blends, and I have run it in my car.

Some links:
http://www.townoffoster.com/conservation.htm
http://nricd.org/
https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/
http://www.newportbiodiesel.com/