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Keyword search: CONSERVATION

By CHRISTINE HATCH

Swamps are great story villains. They are notoriously difficult to navigate due to their sinking sticky mud, spiked vines and dense vegetation; they are neither fully land nor water, negating boats and footwear as helpful vessels for traversing them;...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

TURNERS FALLS — The state Department of Conservation and Recreation’s new Indigenous Peoples Partnership Coordinator Leah Hopkins, tasked with fostering relationships and improving the understanding and collaboration between DCR and Indigenous tribes,...

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

A new hiking trail through Ashfield and Goshen is opening to the public this weekend.Hilltown Land Trust and Ashfield Trails will host an inaugural hike through the Hilltown Boulders Trail on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 1 p.m. Attendees will stroll along a...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Conservation Commission members will draft a letter in support of removing the Wiley-Russell Dam after Mayor Ginny Desorgher signed a memorandum of understanding with the Connecticut River Conservancy earlier this month calling for the...

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

A new conservation agent has been hired to serve the towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Hawley, Whately and Williamsburg.Greenfield resident Kelly Kowal was chosen out of 27 applicants. A hiring committee consisting of representatives from each town...

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

LEYDEN — It can take a whole lot of fire to grow some blueberries.The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), alongside the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), set fire to 23 acres of blueberry heathland in the Leyden...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

ERVING — The Conservation Commission heard an initial development proposal Tuesday night for a 9-acre, 100-megawatt battery energy storage system on Rose Lane.While plans are in the very early stages, Granite Source Power’s Director of Development...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

A total of $141,600 in grant funding is coming to two Franklin County organizations as part of more than $1 million awarded statewide by the Healey-Driscoll administration to protect soil health.The Franklin Conservation District received $75,000 and...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

MONTAGUE — Falls Farm must end all activities within the wetlands resource area and buffer zone on its property, following a cease and desist order issued by the Montague Conservation Commission on Tuesday.Additionally, following in the footsteps of...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

SUNDERLAND — The state Department of Environmental Protection will begin overseeing the erosion and wetlands issues at Falls Farm following a unanimous vote of the Sunderland Conservation Commission on Thursday. Diane McClellan, representing Falls...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

MONTAGUE — The Conservation Commission has scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, July 23, at 6:30 p.m. in which it could potentially place an enforcement order on Falls Farm in the wake of wetlands violations and erosion that stemmed from tree...

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — With the execution of two separate conservation restrictions by Historic Deerfield and the Antonellis family, more than 200 acres of land in Deerfield will remain permanently accessible for agriculture.In early May, Historic Deerfield...

By CHRIS LARABEE

CHARLEMONT — Following $1.5 million in investments to the Mohawk Trail State Forest Campground, the Department of Conservation and Recreation kicked off the 2024 camping season on Friday and welcomed folks back to the campground that had been closed...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — The city might receive three parcels of conservation land between the Mohawk Trail and Shelburne Road spanning a combined 32 acres in the months ahead, as two residents intend to donate private land to the Conservation Commission.The...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Following up on its requests under the former administration, the Conservation Commission asked Mayor Ginny Desorgher on Tuesday to bring the proposed transfer of the 13-acre Stone Ridge Lane property for use as permanently protected...

By DOMENIC POLI

It seems people from all over are anxious for spring to arrive as bookings at the three state camping locations in Franklin and Hampshire counties are filling up fast.The state Department of Conservation and Recreation reports that at least 756 total...

By BELLA LEVAVI

SHELBURNE — Roughly 47 acres on the east side of Reynolds and Patten roads are being protected under a conservation restriction held by the Franklin Land Trust.The land, formerly part of the “old Dean Farm” acquired by Catherine “Kiki” Smith and...

By BELLA LEVAVI

ASHFIELD — Six towns are pooling their resources to hire a paid conservation agent to serve their communities as the number of permit filings exceeds the capacity of their all-volunteer conservation commissions.“Ashfield’s workload was sustainable...

By BELLA LEVAVI

SHELBURNE — Susan and Larry Flaccus, owners of Kenburn Orchards, have placed a conservation restriction on their land, ensuring no development will occur on the 152-acre property.“It really is the first significant farm on the Mohawk Trail coming up...

A recent donation of 132 acres to Hilltown Land Trust will link Williamsburg’s Briar Hill Conservation Area to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) State Forest in Goshen, extending hiking trails and wildlife corridors, conservation...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Ask almost any conservationist about an Endangered Species Act (ESA) success story and they will tell you about the bald eagle.“Growing up, I would have never seen a bald eagle in western Massachusetts,” said Jeff Collins, senior director of...