How the 30x30 Catalyst Fund Is Protecting Places That Matter

"This place is incredibly special. You know it instantly as you drive down the causeway and take in the extensive surrounding forest. There's a stillness here that just makes you slow down and pause and appreciate. It just takes one visit here to know why this place matters."

These are the words shared by Mass Audubon West Regional Director Becky Cushing Gop, while standing in front of partners, supporters, and state officials to celebrate the acquisition of Palmer Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Becket. 

Palmer Brook’s 858 acres, once home to a private fishing club, are now protected forever thanks to funding from the state, individual donors, and Mass Audubon’s 30x30 Catalyst Fund. This fund has now helped complete 50 projects to date, totaling nearly 14,000 acres. 

A Catalyst for Conservation 

The 30x30 Catalyst Fund was launched in 2023 with a bold goal: Help Massachusetts conserve 30 percent of the state by 2030 to protect biodiversity, store and sequester carbon, support local agriculture, protect water supplies, and ensure access to nature for all. 

We know that land conservation in Massachusetts is a race against time. Yet existing resources to protect these lands are not enough to meet the moment. Mass Audubon sees an opportunity to change that equation, and we are taking matters into our own hands. 

What was needed was a conservation finance tool that was nimble, one that could support creative financing for deals and leverage public and private capital. We set out to raise $75 million for a conservation fund that would use philanthropy to catalyze the conservation of the most threatened and biodiverse landscapes at a scale the state has never seen. 

At the same time, MathWorks, the Natick-based developer of mathematical computing software, was looking into supporting land conservation as part of its Sustainability and Social Mission programs. 

MathWorks reached out, we pitched the idea, and they agreed to donate a game-changing $25 million to seed the Catalyst Fund. They challenged us to match those funds from other sources of capital, which set the stage for Mass Audubon and its partners to accelerate the pace and focus of land conservation. And it unlocked new public and private investment in the places that matter most. 

Catalyst Fund at Work 

When it comes to Catalyst Fund projects, Palmer Brook serves as a model. For more than 20 years, local and regional conservation groups had their sights on protecting this land. When the landowners were ready to sell, the Berkshire conservation community sought out our expertise in protecting and stewarding large tracts of land, and the landowners appreciated Mass Audubon’s track record of success and stewardship. 

Mass Audubon then worked with many partners and donors to raise funding and leverage support from the Catalyst Fund to purchase the property, which Mass Audubon will own and steward as our 114th wildlife sanctuary. 

But the beauty of the Catalyst Fund is that it was not created to serve Mass Audubon alone. Its purpose is to help conservation partners seize opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. 

Take the 188-acre Oak and Wall Farm in Mendon. The Metacomet Land Trust and the Town of Mendon hoped to protect this land. But, with the price tag of $1.7 million, it was an ambitious project for the all-volunteer land trust and the small town. Mass Audubon immediately identified the land’s conservation values as a fit with the Catalyst Fund; it had exceptional biodiversity value and strong carbon storage and sequestration. 

Lisa Mosczynski, President of Metacomet Land Trust, in Mendon

Not only did we leverage Catalyst Fund dollars to supplement Community Preservation Act funds from the town and a state grant, but our staff also identified a mitigation grant program intended to protect habitat for threatened and endangered species and was able to secure additional funds to complete the project. The town and Metacomet now co-hold a perpetual conservation easement that protects habitat and provides public access. 

Then a very different opportunity emerged: 294 acres in the Franklin County town of Colrain, long owned by the extended Macleay family. When the family made the decision to sell the land, the conservation community quickly sprang into action. Franklin Land Trust (FLT) had built a relationship with the family, and the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) had a vision for a new Wildlife Management Area (WMA) but did not have funding to acquire the property. Fortunately, Mass Audubon had ready access to capital for high-value biodiversity and carbon-rich projects like this one. 

Each partner brought something essential to the table. FLT introduced the family to Mass Audubon’s land conservation staff while DFW began securing permanent conservation funding. Mass Audubon negotiated an interim purchase agreement, allowing the conservation effort to move ahead before state funding was available. Nine months later, using the state funds, Mass Audubon transferred the property to DFW as the state’s newest WMA. 

Expanding Impact 

Craig Lizotte from Math Works was among those gathered to listen to Cushing Gop talk about the benefits of Palmer Brook and the plans to open it up as a wildlife sanctuary for all to enjoy. Four years earlier, it was Lizotte who initiated the partnership with Mass Audubon and President and CEO David O’Neill to figure out how MathWorks’ Sustainability and Social Mission programs could boost Mass Audubon’s land protection efforts and conserve more land in the Commonwealth. 

The $25 million gift that resulted from those early conversations inspired others to donate another $17.5 million to the Catalyst Fund, alongside $30 million raised from public sources and local fundraising. Together, these investments brought the Fund’s 50 projects to life. 

While this level of funding is incredible, it’s not enough to reach our goals and complete the dozens of projects totaling thousands of acres that we and our partners are pursuing. Mass Audubon knew it. MathWorks knew it. 

And that’s why, on that summer day in the Berkshires, Lizotte was there to not only celebrate MathWorks’ role in protecting Palmer Brook, but to share that the company would invest another $25.5 million into the 30x30 Catalyst Fund—an unbelievable gift that will propel us forward. 

Protecting the nature of Massachusetts at the scale and speed this moment demands will take all of us. The Catalyst Fund gives Mass Audubon and our partners a powerful tool to turn opportunity into action, to leverage investment, and to protect more of the places that make Massachusetts special. 

More About the Catalyst Fund