The Western MA Exchange Archive

Brant has been a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club for over 30 years and has been an active participant in cycling outings. After moving to western Massachusetts from the Boston area, he started the cycling committee in our Chapter with his wife, Janine Papesh. As Chairperson since 2019, Brant has skillfully led the Chapter with diplomacy and humor, and his commitment to the Chapter has been exceptional. His computer expertise has been immensely helpful as he supported committee members with technology issues. He oversaw the Chapter's website and guided the Committee through several bylaw changes. He is patient and detailed, and his willingness to work closely with committee members and other volunteers provided much needed leadership and support during the past three years. He will be missed immensely. Congratulations Brant!

AMC OUTDOORS »

As the Commonwealth of Massachusetts addresses climate change through renewable energy development and other strategies, AMC and partners have urged Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to identify areas where solar development should be avoided and encouraged. A solar siting analysis by DOER found that almost 8,000 acres of forest and farmland were developed for ground-mounted solar between 2010-2019. DOER is currently conducting an online solar siting survey to determine the best locations for future solar projects. The survey will inform a broader study on the technical potential of solar. Please help the state determine where solar should be located by taking the survey by November 18, 2022. Take the Survey! DOER is also hosting a virtual public workshop on November 15, 2022, 12PM - 2PM via Zoom. We hope you can participate. For the survey and the workshop, these points from AMC's energy & climate policies may be helpful:

• Grid-scale solar development should be sited in areas of preexisting high disturbance or development, i.e. landfills, brownfields, highway cloverleaf interchanges, etc.
• Solar development should be discouraged where it displaces prime agricultural land, unique farmland, and additional land of statewide importance.
• Grid-scale solar energy development should seek to avoid impacts to scenic, ecological, and/or recreational resources. Conversion of forested, or recently harvested, lands to solar should be discouraged to avoid compromising both ecological habitat and forest carbon sequestration.
• Grid-scale development project installations, including analyses of environmental impacts, should be tracked in a manner readily available to the public by regulating agencies. Agencies should create maps identifying all grid-scale solar developments and make them publicly available.

AMC strongly supports the Commonwealth's goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A large amount of solar will likely be required and your input now will help steer development toward the most suitable locations.

Are you a chapter member who is interested in learning more about AMC and how your all-volunteer AMC chapter is organized and managed? Would you like to have influence on and contribute to future chapter initiatives, programs and policies? Responsibility for chapter operations is vested in the chapter's Executive Committee (ExCom). Four officers – Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary – plus the chairs of all chapter activity committees currently comprise the ExCom. This group of dedicated volunteers meets almost every month to coordinate chapter activities, set policies, and allocate the chapter's financial resources in support of the AMC mission. They are committed to what they do and value the opportunity to successfully advance chapter initiatives and AMC's mission each year. To draw fresh perspectives and build a diverse pool of candidates for future officer and activity chair positions, the ExCom voted on September 12th to amend the chapter's bylaws to create two "Member At Large" positions with full voting rights. Members At Large are required only to attend and participate in monthly ExCom meetings. Additional duties may be assigned by mutual consent. Nominations for Member At Large positions must be sent to the chapter's Nominating Committee for review. Recommendations from the Nominating Committee are then presented to the ExCom for approval. Details of the proposed bylaw revision are below. Although the ExCom has approved this revision, per the bylaws it does not take effect until a quorum of chapter members vote to approve it at the chapter's annual business meeting, scheduled for Friday, November 4th. In the interim, chapter members are invited to send comments to the Chapter Chair, and any nominations, including self-nominations, for future Member At Large roles to the Nominating Committee.

Details on the Bylaw Revision Proposal

To keep things simple, the ExCom is proposing the smallest possible change to the current bylaws needed to achieve the objective of adding two Member At Large positions to the ExCom.

Current Bylaw

ARTICLE IV - Administration, Section 1: The administration of the Chapter shall be vested in a Chapter Executive Committee (known as the Executive Committee) consisting of four officers: Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer, and the Chairpersons of all Standing Committees of the Chapter. (Each Executive Committee member shall have one vote in matters set before that committee for discussion.) The Regional Director shall be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee, without voting rights. Five members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.

Revised Bylaw Proposal

ARTICLE IV - Administration, Section 1: The administration of the Chapter shall be vested in a Chapter Executive Committee (known as the Executive Committee) consisting of four officers: Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer; two Members At Large; and the Chairpersons of all Standing Committees of the Chapter. Each Executive Committee member shall have one vote in matters set before that committee for discussion. The Regional Director shall be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee, without voting rights. Five members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business. New bylaw text is highlighted above in boldface text. Note that the parentheses around "Each Executive Committee member ... discussion" have been removed. Defining who has voting rights is an essential part of this bylaw section and should not be relegated to a parenthetical. Also, the change clarifies that all Executive Committee members including the Members At Large shall have voting rights.

Justification

The bylaws of four other AMC chapters (Boston, Connecticut, Maine, and Potomac) currently include Member At Large positions on their Executive Committees. In each case, the goal is accomplished similarly to what is proposed here, the addition of a few words to the section of the bylaw that defines the composition of the Executive Committee. Chapter bylaws vary by whether they place a numeric cap on the number of Member At Large positions. In all cases, bylaws are silent on the duties of the Members At Large, leaving those details to be worked out by each ExCom following local norms and expectations. The Western MA ExCom has proposed a cap of two (2) Members At Large in the interest of limiting additional volunteer time demands that might be associated with reviewing and approving nominations, as well as onboarding, training and guiding active Members At Large during the year. Please email the WMC Chair with any comments or questions.

Chapter officers and committee chairpersons are elected each November at our Annual Business Meeting, and serve for renewable one-year terms until the next annual meeting. Collectively, the officers and committee chairpersons – all of whom are volunteers – form the Chapter Executive Committee, which oversees all the operations of Western Massachusetts chapter. We are grateful for everything they do to help us carry out our mission! At this time each year, we poll the Executive Committee to find out who wishes to continue in their role for another year and who wishes to let someone else take the reins. Based on this poll we have identified the following open positions to be filled this coming November:

• Chapter Chair POSITION DESCRIPTION »
• Chapter Vice Chair POSITION DESCRIPTION »
• Chapter Secretary POSITION DESCRIPTION »
• 20s/30s Activity Committee Chair POSITION DESCRIPTION »
• Communications Chair POSITION DESCRIPTION »
• Webmaster POSITION DESCRIPTION »

If you or someone you know would like to be considered for one of these roles, or would like to learn more before submitting a nomination, please contact our Nominating Committee.

Please note that some projects require a moderate hike to and from the work site, and others will be off-trail adventures. All participants must sign up at outdoors.org. We generally meet at the trailhead at 9 AM and are headed back to arrive at the trailhead no later than 4 PM. If you only have a partial day available, we'd be happy to accommodate you – just let the project leader know. Register at www.outdoors.org. View the project schedule. Note: Projects for the season will conform to AMC and ATC Covid-19 work requirements. At present (March 2022), face coverings are not required for outdoor activities. This may change, so register for the project to receive the latest info. For more information, contact us.

While AMC supports the development of solar power, Massachusetts laws and regulations have permitted many thousands of acres of forest and farms to be lost to solar facilities. A decades old law is being interpreted to sharply curtail municipalities authority to zone for solar facilities to protect key resources. Bill H.4331 is a bill which would restore a municipality's right to reasonably regulate solar power locations and is supported by AMC. This bill needs your support to gain passage. You can help by doing the following:

• Read AMC's formal letter of support for this bill.
• Contact your local state representative to voice your support for H.4331. Ask them to contact the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee or Rep. Jeffrey Roy (D - 10th Norfolk)and have them ask that H4331 be voted out of committee AND be included in the upcoming House omnibus climate bill.

Your support can help preserve our valuable natural resources in western Massachusetts!