News and Updates

This spring, The Nature Conservancy announced $1.2 million in awards for the first round of the Connectivity, Climate and Communities Fund (CCCF), a program established to provide funding opportunities for conservation efforts in the Appalachians. 

The program, which is part of the Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant program, will fund 27 projects totaling more than 10,000 acres across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. In Massachusetts, four partner organizations were awarded $196,000, which will help protect 900 acres in the state. The organizations include the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Franklin Land Trust, Kestrel Land Trust and Mass Audubon.

In addition to connecting a network of lands and waters in the Appalachians, in support of the people, plants and animals that inhabit those regions, the program will help to ensure healthy forests that can store significant amounts of carbon.

The Appalachians touch down in Massachusetts for an expanse of over 90 miles from Mouth Greylock in the northwest to Mount Everett in the southwest region of the state. 

We are celebrating the passage and signing of a new energy and climate bill in Massachusetts! The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050—toward which TNC in Massachusetts is also working—will require continued shifts away from business as usual, like transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Last year, Governor Healey established the Massachusetts Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting and charged it with developing recommendations to make the siting and permitting process more efficient and equitable for renewable energy infrastructure. The Governor appointed representatives of diverse sectors along with our own Steve Long, director of policy and partnerships. We made sure that the recommendations provided better outcomes for people and nature by requiring science-based site suitability assessment and robust community engagement to incorporate people’s lived experiences into determinations about the location, design, and operation of energy infrastructure. TNC ensured that site suitability includes forest carbon, biodiversity, resilience and environmental justice – and a sequential analysis and hierarchy to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts.

The Commission, administration and the legislature collaborated on drafting legislation which successfully passed through the House and Senate and was recently signed by Governor Healey. Together, we are taking significant steps toward a cleaner, more equitable energy future. 

Read more in the press release.

On Thursday, September 5, The Nature Conservancy joined partners at the recently renovated Amherst Town Common to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Thanks to Congressman Jim McGovern, the Town of Amherst, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Connecticut River Watershed Partnership, and all of our other wonderful partners for coming out to celebrate with us!

Since its establishment in 1964, LWCF has been responsible for preserving some of Massachusetts’ most iconic natural and historic places, like Cape Cod National Seashore, Minute Man National Historical Park and Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge; as well as countless state and local parks, trails and playgrounds. Massachusetts has received over $250 million from LWCF over the years, leaving a legacy of public lands for future generations. This funding is critical for uplifting the Commonwealth’s $16 billion outdoor recreation economy and ensuring that everyone has access to these resources. 

TNC has been a lead advocate in support of this program for years, helping to ultimately secure its permanent reauthorization in 2019 and full funding at $900 million per year in 2020. We have also worked with partners to bring LWCF funds to the Conte Refuge and to increase the number of applicants to the Stateside LWCF program, particularly from environmental justice communities.

Here’s to many more years of preserving and enhancing our natural treasures.

As you drive west on Route 2 across the iconic French King Gorge Bridge in Gill, Massachusetts, a small mountain is visible on the left side of the gorge. This is TNC’s 155-acre Stacy Mountain Preserve, which rises from the Connecticut River to 550 feet at the top of Stacy Mountain. TNC has owned most of the land around the mountain since the late 90s—a special place overlooking the Connecticut River, with diverse terrain that includes ledges, rich mesic forests and vernal pools. It’s also home to many rare species.

Recently, TNC was able to protect one of the last two inholdings within the preserve, a two-acre tract at the top of the mountain. It had been owned by the Plante family, who sold us their surrounding property back in 1996 for protection. The tract includes a small cabin that the family built in the 1960s and had wanted to hold onto. Over the years the cabin fell into disrepair and became subject to vandalism. In September, with the help of a local company, Renaissance Builders, TNC was able to remove the cabin and rewild the mountain summit. 

In 1974, the National Park Service declared Hawley Bog—one of TNC in Massachusetts’ preserves and a beautiful example of a southern New England level bog—a National Natural Landmark. In June, TNC and the Five Colleges Consortium, who co-own the land, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the designation with a gathering and walk through the bog. Community members, staff and supporters from both organizations, plus staff of a local lawmaker attended to celebrate this unique ecosystem that supports rare plants and animals, as well as serves as an easily accessible green space and outdoor classroom for exploration and research.

Plan your visit to Hawley Bog preserve today to see it for yourself!

In November, several scientists from TNC in Massachusetts attended a global gathering of science staff from across the organization and beyond in Mexico City. 508 people participated in total, with 464 in-person in and 44 virtually, including over 230 speakers! Participants came from 32 countries and included nearly three dozen different environmental, academic and research institutions.

Director of Conservation and Science Strategy Alison Bowden, Climate Adaptation Scientist Emma Gildesgame, Coastal Program Director Steve Kirk and Ocean Program Director Chris McGuire represented Massachusetts, moderating, presenting, and actively participating in panel discussions and working sessions. Chris co-hosted a working session with TNC’s Conservation Metrics Lead, Giselle Hall, to discuss frameworks for thinking about the role of scale in ecosystem function, titled “Small but Mighty.”

We’re excited to see a growing emphasis on Human Dimensions in science—an area where we collaborate with Northeastern University’s Coastal Sustainability Institute. Northeastern PhD Candidate Katie Sperry joined the team in Mexico to present the results of her social-ecological systems modeling research on restoration experts’ perceptions of leverage points for salt marsh restoration success in New England.

It was an exciting, busy and informative week, filled with numerous conversations with colleagues as well as learning a bit about Mexican culture and food!