Monarch Butterflies and Common Milkweed

Monarch butterflies are thought of as one of the most colorful New England Butterflies. A visit to Weston’s fields or meadows in the summer would often guarantee you an opportunity to see this stunning orange, black, and white delicate creature flutter by.   But over the last several years, fewer monarchs have been seen throughout the US.  Fortunately, this year shows a glimmer of hope for this remarkable species.Click here to learn more about these beautiful insects and how you can help them continue their upward trend.

New Interactive Trail Map

The Conservation Commission and the GIS department have developed a simplified version of the MapsOnline program that can be used on your smartphone to help you navigate through Weston’s conservation land! It’s easy to get started:

• Bookmark www.mapsonline.net/westonma/trails.html on your phone
• Open the link the next time you’re on conservation land
• Press "zoom" and "follow" near the bottom of the screen to determine your precise location, as indicated by a blue circle

If you discover a problem on the trail (tree down, erosion, etc.), you can take a screen shot of your location and email that image to the Conservation Commission. Please include enough info on the screen before you save it so staff will be able to figure out where it is – such as a nearby street and/or a trail intersection number. Please also include a description of the problem in your email (i.e. 8” diameter tree down across trail on March 8th).

Ticks!

August update: It’s all about the larvae. Ticks so small, they crawl right through your socks! Dog ticks have limited activity during first half of August. Let the Tick Encounter Resource Center know if you find a tick on you or your pet!  Use their tick identification chart to identify ticks and then visit the Current Tick Activity page to complete the two question form. For more information, please visit the Tick Encounter Resource Center.

State Declares Drought

Effective July 1st: Following four continuous months of unusually dry weather, Secretary Matthew Beaton of the Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has declared a Drought Watch for Central and Northeast Massachusetts and a Drought Advisory for Southeast and the Connecticut River Valley. The declaration was the result of a recommendation from the Drought Management Task Force and will remain in effect until water levels return to normal in the affected regions. For more information about this, please visit the state Department of Conservation and Recreation's Drought Management page.