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Date: 12/12/2022
NORTHAMPTON – Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra recently announced that the city received a $250,000 grant from the state to continue ecological restoration work at the former Pine Grove Golf Course.
The grant, which was awarded through the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) through its Priority Projects Program, will further efforts to restore Nashawannuck Brook, as well as the surrounding wetlands, floodplain and wildlife habitat.
The city purchased more than 100 acres of the Pine Grove property for permanent conservation in the spring of 2020, according to a press release sent to Reminder Publishing.
“Fifty years of it being used as a golf course took its toll on the property,” said Sarah LaValley, the city’s assistant director of Planning & Sustainability.
According to LaValley, the city was able to utilize state Municipal Vulnerability program grant funds and local Community Preservation Act funds to complete an initial round of restoration immediately after purchasing the property. “We pulled out tile drains and catch basins, and tried to encourage natural vegetation growth,” said LaValley, of initial stages. “We also did some tree plantings.”
The $250,000 will now allow the state to investigate next steps in the restoration process. The city plans to work with the DER and MassAudubon to reestablish Nashwannuck Brook’s natural stream channel and surrounding wetlands. According to LaValley, in addition to providing habitat, the re-establishment of this channel will eventually reduce erosion, downstream flooding and create natural stormwater storage to make the area more climate resilient.
The grant will also allow the city to engage community members in conceptual design for new passive recreation routes at Pine Grove.
“The site is sort of beginning to be discovered by the community as a resource for passive recreation,” said LaValley. “They’re beginning to enjoy the property…and they’re finding out what they like about it.”
Because of this broad interest, LaValley told Reminder Publishing that the city is currently working on developing a trail network. “We’re particularly interested, due to the topography of the site, in creating a fully accessible trail, which will be able to be accessed by people with varying abilities,” said LaValley. “We’ll be engaging the community on what they’d like that to look like moving forward.”
In a statement about this project, Sciarra said, “I am pleased that we can continue the vital work to restore this wetland resource that will ultimately enhance wetland habitat and function, remove barriers to aquatic connections, improve water quality and enhance climate resilience for our city…this new funding will help advance the design and permitting of the work envisioned at Rocky Hill Greenway.”
LaValley will coordinate this project as it evolves.