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Date: 10/12/2022
WILBRAHAM – Wilbraham has been awarded a $251,460 grant from the state to help fund the expansion of the McDonald Nature Preserve.
Located in the center of Wilbraham, the preserve includes miles of trails designated for passive recreation, including hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, nature observation and educational studies.
Planning Director Michelle Buck, who wrote the reimbursement grant application, said the funding will be used to purchase five parcels comprising just over 60 acres of land. In the application, Buck described the land as “unimproved meadow, forest and wetland” under “development threat.” The town will buy the land abutting the Cedar Ridge subdevelopment from Anthony Carnevale, Trustee of Berkshire Funding Realty Trust. The land is otherwise surrounded by the existing preserve, the White Cedar Swamp Conservation area and other town-owned designated open space.
“It’s the missing puzzle [piece] in the area. There’s hundreds of acres around it that are already protected,” Buck said. Minnechaug Land Trust President Steven Lawson said acquiring the “environmentally sensitive” land,”is an opportunity that we’ve been interested in for a long time.”
The $381,000 purchase was approved at the spring 2022 Annual Town Meeting, with the understanding that Community Preservation Act funding would pay for the $140,000, or 34 percent, of the project not covered by the grant.
After Wilbraham closes on the sale, the town, working in conjunction with the Minnechaug Land Trust, will put a conservation restriction in place.
The state funding is a Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) grant through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The money received by the town is part of $12 million in grant funding from the state’s capital budget for parks and open space acquisitions through the Baker-Polito administration. Aside from the LAND program, some of the grants are administered by the Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) and Conservation Partnership Grant programs.
“Investing in these important open space projects will make Massachusetts parks more resilient to climate change, increase the availability of open space and improve access to the outdoors for people in communities across the state,” said Gov. Charlie Baker. “Our administration is proud to assist communities and land trusts acquire new land for parks and open space that will make available natural resources for children, their friends and family, and others to recreate locally.”
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito commented, “The PARC, LAND, and Conservation Partnership programs all play an important role for ensuring Massachusetts families have access to recreational opportunities where they can spend time together outdoors.”
Locally, Agawam, Amherst, Easthampton, Springfield and Warren also received PARC grants, while Monson and Northampton received LAND grants.
Kestral Land & Trust in Amherst and East Quabbin Land Trust in Hardwick were awarded Conservation Partnership grants.