Lenox one of four New England communities to receive EPA sustainability planning
Lenox — Two Massachusetts communities as well as a community in Connecticut and one in Rhode Island will receive technical assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency to pursue development strategies that advance clean air, clean water, economic development and other local goals. The EPA chose the communities of Wareham and Lenox in Massachusetts; Central Falls, Rhode Island; and Hartford, Connecticut, from among 76 applicants nationwide to the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program.
In 2017, EPA staff and national experts will conduct two-day workshops in these communities to help them address development-related challenges. Lenox will receive a workshop on encouraging equitable development, which helps communities develop in ways that do not disproportionately affect certain populations or residents.
“This EPA program will be a great opportunity to explore how we look at and guide development in the community to truly benefit all stakeholders,” said Gwen Miller, land use director and town planner. For instance, the workshop can explore “how we can retain and provide housing for community support staff and hospitality industry staff – and how we can retain and provide high quality job opportunities and high quality economic opportunities for incoming and legacy residents in ways that are sensitive to our context and environment, while also providing excellent services and maintaining or replacing infrastructure to meet current and future needs.”
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Baker-Polito administration awards wildlife habitat management grants
Boston — The Baker-Polito administration Tuesday announced $317,243 in grants for wildlife habitat improvement projects totaling 534 acres in 13 Massachusetts communities. These municipal and private conservation efforts will work to improve habitats for native wildlife and increase opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation.
In its second year, the MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program provides financial assistance to private and municipal landowners of conserved lands to improve and manage habitat for wildlife deemed in greatest conservation need and for game species. The projects will also expand opportunities for hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor recreation, and complement the ongoing habitat management efforts on state lands.
The following Berkshire landowners will receive MassWildlife Habitat Management grants:
- Berkshire Natural Resources Council (Dalton and Hinsdale), $18,000: BNRC will work to control invasive plants and improve floodplain forest along the Old Mill Trail.
- Town of Lenox (Lenox), $33,500: The Town of Lenox will work to combat the hardy kiwi invasive plant infestation.
- Mass Audubon (Otis), $29,213: Mass Audubon will create new, and expand existing, shrubland habitat on the Cold Brook Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Nature Conservancy (Sheffield), $23,640: The Nature Conservancy will improve wetland and grassland habitats through the removal of woody plants on the Schenob Brook Preserve.
- The Trustees of Reservations (Sheffield), $35,701: The Trustees will restore grassland habitat through woody species removal and invasive species control on the West Grumpelt Parcel of Bartholemew’s Cobble Preserve.
