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Happy
Valentine's Day!
Dont Forget
VCS Night at Sharky's!
Tuesday, February 15th
will be VCS day at Sharky's Cantina in OB and Edgartown. 15% of all food proceeds will be donated to VCS.
Dine-out for a great cause!
View the menu HERE
Fact of the Week
Click on Map to enlarge
Did you know that a total of 17,815 acres are available for development
Island wide? See how many acres of land are available in your town?
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Aquinnah: 1,494
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Chilmark: 4,406
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Edgartown: 4,965
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Oak Bluffs: 1,131
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Tisbury: 1,340
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West Tisbury: 4,479
There are several ways we as Islanders can help protect open space:
Click HERE to learn about ways land is protected!
Courtesy of the Island Plan
2010 high temps for MA
Click on grid to enlarge
CSA shares at Whipoorwill Farm going fast!
Reserve yours HERE
Calendar
All About Fish
Tuesday, February 15, 5:00-9:00pm
Fishing practices worldwide are depleting fish populations, destroying
habitats and polluting the water. Be an informed consumer and help turn
the tide. Come learn about farming practices and what is sustainable and
what fish is ok to eat that is farmed. Then move on to a discussion on
types of fish, how to prepare, grill, sear, and bake. Learn to make a
stock, sample raw fish. Class ends with a meal of fish and a few easy
side dishes. $55 Click HERE for more information
Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club
Tuesday, February 15, 1:00 pm
at the Wakeman Center in Tisbury. The program includes a presentation on
the Morning Glory Farm Story. Refreshments provided. Free for members;
guests are $5.
Offshore Wind
Thursday, February 17 3:00 - 4:30 pm or 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Energy and Environment Affairs hosts a public meeting on offshore wind
development at the Oak Bluffs Library. This discussion will focus on
commercial fishing issues with the Dukes County Fishermen's Association.
Wrapped Oysters
Ingredients
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12 shucked oysters
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12 slices bacon
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
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1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
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2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
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Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Set a wire rack into a small baking dish.
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Wrap each oyster with a slice of bacon, and secure with a toothpick.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika, and parsley; set onto wire rack.
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Bake in the preheated oven until the bacon is crispy, 10 to 12
minutes. Serve immediately. They aren't as good once they get cold.
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Local News
New species of Lobster named in honor of VCS Board Member Jesse Ausubel
Dinochelus ausubeli
VCS Board member and Oak Bluffs resident Jesse Ausubel can add one more
accomplishment to his impressive resume: a newly-discovered deep sea
lobster has been named for him to honor his contribution as co-founder
of the Census of Marine life, a ten year long project conducted by experts all over the world to inventory global marine life. Dinochelus ausubeli lives in the deep ocean near the Philippines. Congratulations Jesse!
Click HERE for more information the Census.
Celebrating Oysters on Valentine's Day!
Oysters are often associated with Valentine’s Day romantic dinners. They
also hold great promise as a natural filter to clean up the Vineyard’s
nitrogen-stressed ponds, a goal that Rick Karney at the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group (MVSG)
has been working tirelessly for decades to realize. "The shellfish feed
on the natural blooms which therefore helps to keep waters clean; the
more shellfish, the better the water quality," Rick says.
But the picture is less favorable for wild populations, where 85% of oyster reefs have been lost globally. Click HERE for more
VCS Strenthens Team
Samantha (left) with her husband Kristian and son Tasman.
VCS is pleased to welcome Samantha Look and Luanne Johnson who joined the VCS Board on July 1st.
Samantha is a native Islander with deep roots in the community. She is a
graduate of Swarthmore College where she studied Environmental Sciences
and nurtured a strong commitment to conservation and land protection.
She has worked as a field ecologist and shorebird biologist, and
developed educational materials for consumers about the impact of
resource consumption. About serving on the VCS board, she said, “The
conservation and future of the Vineyard are foremost concerns of mine. I
am excited by the prospect of actively working to help ensure the
health of this future.”
Luanne Johnson setting an otter camera
Luanne is a wildlife biologist currently completing her PhD in
Environmental Studies at Antioch University New England. She holds a
bachelor’s degree in Zoology and is best known to many of us for her
study of coastal striped skunks and her current project mapping river
otter activity around the island. She says, “I am interested in the
impacts of urbanization on biodiversity and ecosystem health,
community-based research, and the emerging field of Conservation
Psychology.”
MAPS! Offshore Wind Site Selection Map available
A new map is available as part of Vineyard Power’s site selection
process for wind generating facilities. Created by staffer Tyler Studds,
the map viewer features original content, links to background research,
results from siting criteria and visual impact surveys, and over 50
interactive map layers. The site selection website and map viewer can be
accessed HERE
Other News
Governor of Maryland: "No New Septic Systems"
A ban on septic systems in order to curb suburban sprawl and help
restore the nitrogen-sensitive Chesapeake Bay was called for by the
Governor of Maryland last week. He described an urgent need to prevent
septic nitrogen from seeping into groundwater and surface waters, noting
that septic systems releases about 10 times as much water-fouling
nitrogen as does a home connected to a wastewater treatment plant. Click HERE for more
Maryland’s call echoes our own Martha’s Vineyard Island Plan call for new development to be “nitrogen neutral”. Click HERE for more on the role of nitrogen in Vineyard watersheds.
Conservation = Climate Change Solution
Wind and solar get more attention as energy alternatives, but two
analyses say that the U.S. could cut total energy use by 20 percent
within 10 years. An investment of $500 billion in efficiency would save
$1.2 trillion in energy costs.Click HERE
and HERE for more information.
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