Author: Charles Kahn
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Echo Bridge Promenade is open
The Friends are pleased to report that the Echo Bridge Promenade has re-opened. The safety “snow barriers” are made of wood slats and actually not unsightly. Congratulations to the MWRA, Friends, journalists, officials, and all concerned citizens who help achieve this. We now look forward to working on the permanent solution to the railing problem.
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Echo Bridge Promenade to Re-Open During the Railing Repair Process
In response to the efforts of the Friends and local officials, the protests of many local residents, and the publicity generated by front page stories in the last two issues of The Newton Tab, the MWRA informed us on Friday, March 17, 2006 that, instead of closing Echo Bridge to pedestrians indefinitely, temporary “snow barriers”…
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Echo Bridge Promenade Closed Pending Temporary Barrier Installation
We have been assured that The Echo Bridge Promenade will remain open during the railing repair process. However, the Promenade was closed on March 17 pending installation of temporary safety barriers. The picture to the right shows how the closure was effected on the Newton side by locked gate. There is a similar barrier on…
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Echo Bridge Promenade Closing March 17, 2006
We were informed at the beginning of March, 2006 by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) that Echo Bridge will be closed temporarily to pedestrians beginning March 17, 2006, fast upon the Ides of March. Et tu, MWRA? It is to remain closed for an indeterminate length of time. The reason is safety—the deterioration of…
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Echo Bridge to Close to Pedestrians March 15, 2006: MWRA
What follows is the text of a memorandum sent to the Hemlock Gorge Reservation Site Supervisor by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) that Echo Bridge will be closed temporarily to pedestrians. MWRA Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 6, 2006 CONTACTS:Ria Convery, 617-788-1105 [email protected] ECHO BRIDGE CLOSED TO PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC Handrails a danger to…
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Stone Building Floor Installed
As announced previously, The Friends of Hemlock Gorge succeeded in our application for a Public-Private Partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The Friends earmarked $2500 for a new floor and other repairs to the Stone Building, and that amount was matched by the DCR. On February 23, we were notified by the…
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Report on the Adelgids and Ladybugs in Hemlock Gorge
Final Report Pseudoscymnus tsugae Release Hemlock Gorge 2001-2005 Background: The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) (formerly the Department of Environmental Management) was approached by the Friends of Hemlock Gorge regarding the possible release of the predatory ladybird beetle (Pseudoscymnus tsugae) for the control of an infestation of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) (Adelges tsugae) at…
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State of Infestation
On November 8, 2005 state forester Charlie Burnham contacted the Friends and made the following report on the adelgid infestation: “I was at the Gorge last week and will write up a summary of what I was and have it to you sometime next week. Overall things look good but I have noticed the start…
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Quinobequin Road News: 2005
Some 12 years age the Friends suggested to the MDC, now the DCR, that something to control off road traffic on the section of Quinobequin road just downriver from Hemlock Gorge would be desirable to prevent vehicles from degrading the riverbank. We initially suggested a wood railing, but later, after hearing from neighbors, we thought…
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The Newton Tab declares the Adelgid Vanquished!
In early April, 2005 the Newton Tab wrote a nice article describing the efforts being made at Hemlock Gorge to thwart the adelgid. Site Supervisor Kevin Hollenbeck was featured. A PDF of the article has been provided.
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The Arnold Arboretum’s Response to the Adelgid
The Arnold Arboretum’s famed Hemlock Hill has been severely impacted by the adelgid, and more than 100 trees have been lost. (They opted against an attempt to introduce ladybugs, as was done at Hemlock Gorge.) The Arboretum staff are undertaking an extensive research program that is described in some detail at their web site: https://arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/hemlock-hill-history-management-and-research/
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Adelgid News: A lot of uncertainty
In January we received the following report from Forester Charlie Burnham. The trees in the Gorge seemed to him to be in better shape, but he could not determine if the cold weather or the ladybugs are responsible. This is his report: “I was down at the Gorge in mid December to install a temperature…
