Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards More Than $2.2 Million for Landscape Conservation Projects Across Massachusetts
Funding supports projects in Wareham, Worthington, and Colrain
CONTACT: Aisha Revolus aisha.revolus@mass.gov
Wildlife Cam Photos from Jackson Brook Conservation Project in Worthington. Photo Credit: Hilltown Land Trust
BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced over $2.2 million to protect forests, drinking water supplies, and critical natural landscapes across Massachusetts. Through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Landscape Partnership Grant Program, three projects in Franklin, Hampshire and Plymouth counties will conserve more than 1,600 acres of land, improve access to outdoor recreation, strengthen climate resilience and protect wildlife habitat.
The program also supports the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s “Forests as Climate Solutions Initiative”, which aims to protect critically important forests. These initiatives are key components of the administration’s Mass Ready Act, demonstrating the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s commitment to promoting a clean environment that benefits residents. Land conservation is one of several strategies the state is advancing to reduce pollution, help cool communities, and prevent the loss of plant and animal species across Massachusetts.
“Conserving our natural lands and forests promotes clean air and healthier communities for generations to come,” said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “These thriving ecosystems are also beautiful places to get outside and enjoy all our state has to offer. This funding will ensure that counties in Western and Southeastern Massachusetts have the resources they need to continue to protect waterways and forests into the future.”
Established in 2011, the Landscape Partnership Grant Program supports large-scale, multi-partner projects that sustain ecological integrity, promote local economies that depend upon natural resources, and expand public outdoor recreational opportunities. This year’s awards will conserve over 1,631 acres and are part of the administration’s efforts to build climate change resilience and protect critical natural landscapes.
“The projects in Worthington, Colrain and Heath are a great investment in the communities and natural resources that make Western Massachusetts such a special place to live,” said State Senator Paul Mark (D-Becket). “By protecting forests, clean water, and public open space today, we’re ensuring future generations can enjoy them while strengthening our environment and local economy.”
“Our open spaces and waterways are an important part of what makes Wareham unique,” said State Senator Kelly A. Dooner (R-Third Bristol and Plymouth). “Investments like this help ensure these places are protected and cared for years to come, and I’m grateful to everyone whose partnership helped make this project possible.”
“Protecting our forests and waterways is an investment in the health, resilience, and future of our communities,” said State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa (D-1st Hampshire). “This funding for the Jackson Brook Conservation Project will help protect wildlife, safeguard clean water, and expand access to the natural spaces that make Worthington and the Hilltowns so special. I’m grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration, Hilltown Land Trust, and all of the partners whose collaboration is helping ensure these landscapes are protected for generations to come.”
Landscape Partnership Grant Program awardees are:
Hilltown Land Trust, Department of Fish and Game (DFG) – Jackson Brook Conservation Project: $314,430 to protect 483 acres within the Jackson Brook watershed in Worthington. This largely intact forest and wetland system provides critical habitat for species including moose, bobcat, and sandhill crane, as well as water filtration and flood storage in extreme rain events. The project will enhance regional habitat connectivity, expand public recreation, and promote climate resilience by supporting healthy forests that sequester and store carbon. The project delivers lasting ecological, community, and economic benefits and facilitates coordinated long-term land stewardship.
Franklin Land Trust, DFG, The Trustees of Reservations, Department of Conservation & Recreation, Massachusetts Audubon Society and Kestrel Land Trust – Stone Mountain Conservation Project: $730,815 to conserve 800 acres of natural and working landscapes integral to Massachusetts’ rural economy, including unfragmented forest on Stone Mountain in Colrain, and along the West Branch of the North River and tributaries in Heath. This project will leverage over $1,500,000 in private funding to achieve a 6,000+ acre conservation corridor in Franklin County.
Buzzards Bay Coalition and the Town of Wareham – Lower Agawam River Landscape Project: $1,250,000 to conserve 350 acres that present the opportunity to retire cranberry bogs and restore wetlands to benefit fish and wildlife habitat in the Lower Agawam River and the adjacent large contiguous pine barrens just above the head of tide in Wareham. This project will protect and improve multiple critical drinking water resources, including the Town of Wareham’s public water supply. Protection of this landscape will create new opportunities for the public to enjoy this landscape for walking and other passive recreation.
Thank you to our funders and collaborators at EEA’s Landscape Partnership Program for making this work possible in the Hilltowns and beyond! We are thrilled to increase the positive impact for connected and conserved landscapes across Massachusetts by working together. -Hilltown Land Trust
