Category: News

A vision coming true: Study finds 104-mile rail trail connecting Northampton-Boston would generate millions, increase health Maddie Fabian | Daily Hampshire Gazette | July 9, 2023 https://www.articles.gazettenet.com/Study-highlights-potential-benefits-of-completed-MRTC-trail-system-51541452 By the end of this decade, if not sooner, bicyclists will be able to hop on the rail trail at the J. Elwell Conservation Area in Northampton, cross the Connecticut River, and travel across the state 104 miles on the same path all the way to Boston. As they traverse the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail (MCRT), users might stop at a local restaurant for a meal, shop for souvenirs from small businesses, and stay the night at a bed and breakfast or campground. “In a perfect word, my high altitude, high in the blue sky estimate is that it could be done in five years,” said Craig Della Penna, a longtime rail trail proponent and president of the Norwottuck Network, a nonprofit that supports the construction and operation of the MCRT. Once the entire stretch is complete — to...

DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo tours Nashua River Rail Trail The Lowell Sun | August 1, 2023 https://www.lowellsun.com/2023/08/01/dcr-commissioner-brian-arrigo-tours-nashua-river-rail-trail/ PEPPERELL — Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo joined with the Friends of the Nashua River Rail Trail, members of the legislative delegation and municipal officials from Groton and Pepperell to walk a segment of the 12-mile Nashua River Rail Trail July 21. The scenic rail trail was acquired by the DCR in 1987 and it first opened in October 2002. It begins at the Ayer Central Business District near the commuter rail station and passes through the towns of Ayer, Groton, Pepperell and Dunstable to the New Hampshire border and beyond. The popular trail is used by bicyclists, runners, walkers, roller skaters and cross-country skiers. Over the past 20 years, portions of the rail trail have come to be in need of maintenance and repair. Potholes, protruding rocks, cracks, washouts and gaps can be seen along many parts of the rail trail. In 2019,...

Access to Salisbury Beach on North Shore fully restored ahead of July Fourth Russ Reed | WCVB | June 25, 2023 https://www.wcvb.com/article/salisbury-beach-full-access-restored-before-july-4-massachusetts/44336233 SALISBURY, Mass. — The last of three Salisbury Beach access points that were closed earlier this year due to winter storm damage has been reopened, meaning that full access to one of the more popular beaches on the North Shore of Massachusetts has been restored in time for the Fourth of July. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) announced Sunday that Access Point 8 at Salisbury Beach was back open. The two other damaged access points, Access Points 9 and 10, reopened ahead of Memorial Day weekend. "DCR worked in close partnership with the town, the legislative delegation, the community, and our partner agencies to safely and efficiently restore full access to the Beach — a beautiful destination spot and economic driver for the region — as quickly as possible," DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo said in a statement. "I am proud of...

Press Release: DCR Invites Park Visitors to Take a Selfie to Celebrate CCC Press Release | Department of Conservation and Recreation | June 27, 2023 https://www.mass.gov/news/dcr-invites-park-visitors-to-take-a-selfie-to-celebrate-the-civilian-conservation-corps BOSTON — In honor of the 90th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) today announced a new initiative to boost visitor engagement in our state park system by encouraging visitors to take a selfie in front of 10 historic structures in DCR parks that were built by the CCC in the 1930s and 1940s. The CCC was established in 1933 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the New Deal to provide work opportunities to young men and improve the country’s forests and recreational resources during the Great Depression.   Nine decades later, the work of the CCC still forms the cornerstone of the Massachusetts park system. Roads, stonewalls, trails, ponds, forest plantations and recreational facilities built by the CCC can be found in every region of the state.   “The Civilian Conservation Corps...

Marlborough Panther Trail Will Get Water Crossings After DCR Grant Neal McNamara | Patch | June 22, 2023 https://patch.com/massachusetts/marlborough/marlborough-panther-trail-will-get-water-crossings-after-dcr-grant MARLBOROUGH, MA — Hiking all of Marlborough's new 26.2-mile Panther Trail isn't easy, but a new state grant for the trail will make it a little less difficult. The state Department of Conservation and Recreation last week gave out $11 million worth of state trails grants to facilities across the state, including $13,000 for the Panther Trail. The grant will be sent to the Marlborough Conservation Commission to construct stream crossings, including one major crossing over Millham Brook. Years in planning, the Panther Trail fully opened in October, looping around Marlborough and connecting notable green places like the Assabet River Rail Trail, Callahan State Park and Williams Lake. The trail is also part of the planned 33-mile Boroughs Loop trail, which connects Marlborough, Southborough, Westborough and Northborough. To read the full story, click here....

Olmsted Parks in the Era of Climate Change Jared Green | The Dirt | May 24, 2023 https://dirt.asla.org/2023/05/24/olmsted-climate-change-would-be-his-crucible/ Frederick Law Olmsted, the founder of the profession of landscape architecture, was designing nature-based solutions 150 years before the term came into favor. He designed with nature, conserved landscapes and ecosystems, and incorporated native plants — all of which are now contemporary approaches to increasing resilience to climate change. But now, many of Olmsted’s parks, and those of his sons, are being tested like never before. “Olmsted parks are on the front lines of climate change,” said Dede Petri, CEO of the Olmsted Network, during an online discussion as part of Olmsted 200. And his parks are also increasingly test-beds for new solutions, too. In a discussion moderated by Dinah Voyles Pulver, national climate reporter at USA Today, Erin Chute Gallentine, public works commissioner with Brookline, Massachusetts, said her city’s Olmsted parks are dealing with climate impacts such as flash flooding and drought. Parks’ trees are now “increasingly vulnerable to pests and...

H2wOw! Connecting Climate Water and Community https://allevents.in/plymouth/h2wow-connecting-climate-water-and-community/80005918897054 Don't miss this exciting conservation conversation! Saturday June 24: Spire Center for the Performing Arts25 Court Street Plymouth MA 02360Doors open at 9:30 AM for coffee and treatsPresentations begin at 10 AM Featuring: David Abel Filmmaker and Climate Reporter for the Boston Globe will present 'A Journalist's Perspective on Climate Change.'​​ Abel will conduct a live interview with Massachusetts' first-ever Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer. The results of a two-year study of Plymouth's hydrogeology and the town's vulnerability to saltwater intrusion will be presented by UMass Professor Dr. David Boutt PhD.  Stay after for an opportunity to meet our guests and socialize with your neighbors and Town staff. Then take a hike! Join one of four hikes designed to explore Plymouth's unique hydrogeology. Hike leaders include:  Melissa (Harding) Ferretti Chairwoman/President and Jill Lauzon Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe —Herring Pond Wampanoag Culture History and Place-Based Knowledge; Town of Plymouth Department of Marine and Environmental Affairs Director David Gould —Urban Adaptation and Resiliency Hike; Hike the Eel River Headwaters with Plymouth's Trails Guru Malcolm MacGregor; Join a Coastal Plain Pond exploration with Frank...

Central Mass could get a big money boost from a proposed rail trail. Will it happen? Henry Schwan | Telegram & Gazette | May 30, 2023 https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/30/proposed-rail-trail-in-central-mass-could-provide-economic-boost/70254618007 An old railroad line could bring public health benefits and an economic boost to the tune of the millions of dollars to parts of Central Massachusetts, if it's ever finished. It's all detailed in a new report that delves into converting the former Central Massachusetts Railroad that shut down in the early 1900s into a 104-mile bicycle and pedestrian path that runs from Boston to Northampton. The work will be a challenge, according to studies done by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. However, the state is taking a hard look at the project. How much will it cost? One of the so-called elephants in the room is how much it will all cost and who will pay for it. State transportation officials aren’t ready to give a price tag after conducting feasibility studies. “Please note the feasibility study did not address...

New Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioner eyes long tenure with new administration after turnover at the top Chris Van Buskirk | Boston Herald | May 12, 2023 https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/05/12/new-massachusetts-department-of-conservation-and-recreation-commissioner-eyes-long-tenure-with-new-administration-after-turnover-at-the-top/ New Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo said he wants to be the “longest serving” person in the role after a report released Friday pointed out turnover at the top of the department within the last decade. To read the full story, click here...

Three Years After a Fateful Day in Central Park, Birding Continues to Change My Life Christian Cooper | The New York Times | May 26, 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/26/opinion/birds-freedom.html Early in the morning of May 25, 2020, I biked from my apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to Central Park to go birding in the Ramble. Despite the uncertainties of the time — New Yorkers were living in a hot spot of the raging Covid pandemic, with no vaccine in sight — I strove to start this warm, sunlit Memorial Day on a happy note by wandering my favorite urban woodlands in search of migrating songbirds. I was focused on the end-of-season hunt for a mourning warbler, a small yellow and gray skulking bird that’s difficult to spot and relatively rare. I hadn’t yet seen one that year. Visiting the park in the morning to look for birds has long been a springtime routine for me. I wake before sunrise and grab my Swarovski binoculars — a...

Parks Group Welcomes New Northeast Director to Lead, Expand Work Across Region Press Release | National Parks Conservation Association | May 22, 2023 https://www.npca.org/articles/3518-parks-group-welcomes-new-northeast-director-to-lead-expand-work-across Holyoke, MA – The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) today announces new leadership for the Northeast with the appointment of Kristen Sykes as Northeast regional director. For decades, NPCA has prioritized park protection work in the Northeast, successfully leading campaigns to create the first national park site dedicated to LGBTQ history with Stonewall National Monument in New York City and preserving one of the last large landscapes in the Northeast with the addition of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine. With a robust presence in New York City, NPCA has been instrumental in securing significant funding for our urban national parks and improving access to better connect younger, more diverse communities to green space nearby at places like Gateway and along the Appalachian Trail. In her new role, Kristen will lead the strategic direction for NPCA’s work throughout the Northeast focusing our efforts in...

The Importance And Status Of Unpaved Accessible Trails Shelby Lee | The Shoestring | April 25, 2023 https://theshoestring.org/2023/04/25/the-importance-and-status-of-unpaved-accessible-trails/ NORTHAMPTON – When local artist and accessibility advocate Meg Bandarra gets out into nature, the resulting landscapes she paints offer stunning renderings of the region’s beauty. And cutting through some of those landscapes are the thing that makes her work as a painter possible: unpaved universally accessible trails. “I advocate for trails because I know the difference they make in my life,” Bandarra told The Shoestring. “Getting back into nature after being removed from it because of physical barriers was a really powerful, immersive experience. I felt compelled to capture that feeling of reunification, and to this day the need to capture those beautiful fleeting moments I get to experience while out on a trail is why I paint the landscape.”  A year and four months have passed since City Council members in Northampton voted to appropriate $100,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to the “Rocky Hill...