Massachusetts
Red-Bellied Cooter To Headline MA Endangered Species Day
WESTBOROUGH, MA — Scores of turtles will converge on Westborough on Wednesday.
Why? To celebrate the 40th year of one of the longest-running conservation efforts in the U.S. to reinvigorate the endangered red-bellied cooter species.
Starting in 1984, the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife embarked on an effort to increase the cooter population from a low of 300. Part of that effort involved a “head start” program where schools, museums and research groups helped raise the turtles in captivity for their eventual release.
Many of those conservation partners will head to the MassWildlife headquarters in Westborough on Wednesday to deliver their red-bellied cooters. The state expects to tag the 5,000th turtle raised in the head start program. The celebration will also mark Endangered Species Day, which will officially be observed Friday.
“Over the past forty years, MassWildlife has ‘headstarted’ over 5,000 turtles. As a result, the estimated population of northern red-bellied cooters in Massachusetts has grown from just 300 in the 1980s to over 2,000 adults today,” the agency said in a news release.
Massachusetts has the only population of red-bellied cooters in New England, with the next closest group in New Jersey. The turtles, which can live up to 50 years, and are still listed as endangered by state and federal governments.
Wednesday’s event will feature remarks by federal and state conservation officials, the Massachusetts state herpetologist Mike Jones and participants in the head start program. The event begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the MassWildlife headquarters, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts housing crisis takes center stage in Revere apartment condemnation
The Massachusetts housing crisis is taking center stage in Revere as roughly 40 families will soon have to move out of a 13-story, oceanside apartment tower that city officials say is “moldy” and “rat-infested.”
Originally Published:
Massachusetts
Obituary for Susan E. Markley at Daniel T. Morrill Funeral Home
Massachusetts
EEE map for Massachusetts shows towns at highest risk level for mosquito-borne virus
BOSTON – Heading into Labor Day weekend, multiple towns in Massachusetts are facing critical or high risk levels of the mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE. A map published by the state’s Department of Public Health shows the EEE threat for every community in the state.
EEE cases in Massachusetts
Massachusetts on Thursday reported its second human case of EEE in a woman in her 30s. She contracted the virus in Plymouth County, before the area was aerial sprayed for mosquitos. A EEE case in a horse was also confirmed there.
Many towns around Plymouth have a EEE risk level of moderate or high, according to the map. And some towns in southern Worcester County are at a critically high risk of EEE because a man in his 80s was infected with EEE there.
Earlier this week, 41-year-old Steven Perry from Hampstead, New Hampshire – not far from the Massachusetts border – died from EEE. His family said he had no underlying health conditions but developed severe central nervous system disease and died days later.
EEE risk level in Massachusetts towns
As of Friday afternoon, these were the Massachusetts communities listed as having a moderate, high or critical EEE risk level.
Critical: Douglas, Oxford, Sutton, Webster
High: Carver, Dudley, Middleboro, Northbridge, Plymouth, Uxbridge
Moderate: Acushnet, Amesbury, Auburn, Berkley, Bridgewater, Charlton, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, Grafton, Groveland, Halifax, Haverhill, Hopedale, Hudson, Kingston, Lakeville, Leicester, Mariion, Marlboro, Mattapoisett, Maynard, Mendon, Merrimac, Millbury, Milford, Millville, New Bedford, Newburyport, North Reading, Plympton, Raynham, Rochester, Salisbury, Southbridge, Sudbury, Taunton, Upton, West Newbury, Wareham, Westport
What are the symptoms of EEE?
EEE is a rare disease, but about 30% of those who get infected die, according to the CDC. Most people don’t show symptoms, but those that do can have fever or brain swelling.
Symptoms can include headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes and drowsiness.
To avoid mosquito bites, experts recommend using insect repellent, wearing long sleeves, staying indoors at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are active, and draining standing water.
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