Protecting 400 Acres Across Three Towns

October and November were busy months for Mass Audubon’s land protection team in western Massachusetts. Thanks to strong partnerships with landowners, municipalities, and land trusts, we protected over 400 acres.

Building a Bridge in Windsor

Landowners in Windsor approached Mass Audubon a little over a year ago about protecting their 52-acre property. Containing a mature, conifer forest and a sinuous brook traveling into an expansive, beaver pond complex, the property begins to close a gap between the Commonwealth’s Windsor State Forest and Mass Audubon’s West Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary. Creating land bridges between large, protected areas like this forms critical corridors for wildlife to move across vast natural habitats.

The family chose to sell their land to Mass Audubon at half its market value—a significant donation. It’s a testament to their generous spirit and desire to see the land continue to be a home for nature.

Doubling the Size of the Spruce Hill Conservation Area in Westhampton

Mass Audubon leveraged the 30x30 Catalyst Fund to help the Town of Westhampton more than double the size of its Spruce Hill Conservation Area.  We pre-acquired two properties totaling 236 acres, which the Town’s Conservation Commission will in turn purchase from Mass Audubon.

The town’s funding will come from a MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Landscape Partnership Grant. That grant was awarded to a partnership that includes Westhampton, Kestrel Land Trust, Hilltown Land Trust, and The Trustees. In addition to the 236 acres at the town’s Spruce Hill Conservation Area, the grant will be used by the partners to protect another 550 acres in the vicinity. The land Mass Audubon acquired for the Town includes the summit and southern slope of Tob Hill, where views of the Mount Tom Range peek through the treetops. These newly acquired acres will extend a several thousand-acre block of protected forest that stretches west towards the Knightville Dam in Huntington, MA.

Expanding a Wildlife Management Area in Williamsburg

Mass Audubon also pre-acquired a 122-acre property abutting the Williamsburg Wildlife Management Area for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG). The land stretches from the banks of the East Branch of the Mill River, a cold-water fishery, to the ridgeline of Walnut Hill and includes ~2,500 feet of the river’s eastern bank as well as its steep, forested upland.

The landowner wanted to sell the land this year. DFG was interested in purchasing the land but didn’t have the funds secured. Mass Audubon offered to step in and make the purchase while the state pursued funding. DFG has now obtained funding to purchase the property next year from Mass Audubon, with the proceeds of that sale to be returned to the 30x30 Catalyst Fund to invest in another land conservation project.

How to Help Conserve More Land

Mass Audubon created the 30x30 Catalyst Fund to increase the pace of land conservation in the Commonwealth to help meet the 30x30 goal—protecting 30% of Massachusetts’ most carbon rich and biodiverse land by 2030. And it is working! The Catalyst Fund is enabling Mass Audubon to be both proactive and move quickly when conservation opportunities arise as well as partner with local land trusts, cities and towns, or public agencies to leverage our collective resources on behalf of land conservation.

The 30x30 Catalyst Fund is successful thanks to the generosity of Mass Audubon supporters. Join this critical 30x30 initiative to protect land in Massachusetts by making a gift to the Catalyst Fund today!

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