Although I don’t remember how I first heard about them, I’ve been a supporter of the Nature Conservancy for many years.  Perhaps for that reason, I was asked if I wanted to join a small group of Conservancy staff and supporters on a field trip to a site in Western Massachusetts, where they have been working to protect the Westfield River and its watershed.  Weather forecasters did not paint a rosy picture, but the organizers decided we’d go anyway, so I said yes, I’m in, and at 10 this morning, I met the rest of the group at the Chesterfield Post Office.  There were a few of us from the area (even though I live in Worcester County, I counted myself as one of them) and the rest joined us from Eastern Massachusetts.

We drove south on South Street for a few miles, then got out to hike around Long Pond, which I believe is fed by the Dead Branch of the Westfield River.  It did rain rather steadily on and off, so we were lucky to have access to a friend’s house near the Pond where we could eat lunch and dry off a bit.  In the afternoon, we drove to a second area, off Bisbee Road I think, near land managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.  My camera got wet and now won’t take photos, but I did get these two, which will give you some idea of what these portions of the watershed look like.


The Nature Conservancy has been working in this area for about ten years now, looking at such issues as: Where are the intact forests? What are the priority parcels? Can we partner with the DCR? Are there private landowners who are interested in protecting their land with a conservation restriction?

The Westfield River was designated a “wild and scenic river” in 2004, and it well deserves that moniker.  There are no dams on the river, and it is prime habitat for a number of species of special concern in Massachusetts, such as cold-water fish, wood turtles, and rare dragonflies.