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Riparian Conservation Grant Program:
The Riparian Conservation & Stewardship Grant Program is designed to encourage stewardship of riparian lands and to support transaction costs leading to long-term protection. Funds provided through the program are intended to cover transaction fees, including title reviews, appraisals, legal fees and other closing costs, registry fees, surveys baseline reports, monitoring plans and funds, land protection estate planning and other related fees.
Who is eligible?
Any property which borders the Westfield River Wild & Scenic reaches or tributaries. Projects located within the 10 Wild & Scenic towns (Becket, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Huntington, Middlefield, Savoy, Washington, Windsor or Worthington) will receive priority ranking.
Public or private organizations, such as town boards and land conservation non-profits, can apply.
Private landowners interested in conservation of their riparian lands are encouraged to inquire about project eligibility and/or to work in collaboration with their local town boards and land conservation non-profits to apply.
How will projects be evaluated?
The Westfield River Wild & Scenic Advisory Committee will consider the following priorities when evaluating land conservation projects for grant funding:
- Demonstrated community and landowner support for land conservation
- Threat of development or change in use that would have significant adverse impacts on conservation resources
- Connectivity to or between existing protected lands
- Ecological significance, especially riparian values: important habitats, ecosystems, water resources, uncommon natural communities, critical soils, unique geology and land forms
- Cultural significance: historic, scenic, working land and recreational value
- Presence or significance of other Wild & Scenic resources: wildlife habitat, geological features, recreational access, ridgelines, scenic landscapes, increased riparian buffers or floodplain protection
- Hydrological connection: either immediately adjacent or significant contributing water feature (e.g. tributary, wetland, etc) to the Wild & Scenic river reaches
- Feasibility of implementation: available resources, capacity to secure long-term protection, ability to match or leverage funding
- Ability of funds to enable project to happen
What size grants will be made?
Projects approved for funding will receive up to $5,000 per grant cycle. Funds must be spent by September 1st, 2009.
What is the application process?
Contact Carrie Banks, Westfield River Wild & Scenic Coordinator, at (413) 268-3129, ext 2 to discuss potential land conservation projects.
Once a project is determined to be eligible, then proponent will need to submit 1-2 pages describing the project and how it meets the grant guidelines.
Community Grants Program:
Recognizing the important role towns play in the protection of river resources, the goal of this funding program is to support activities which would directly protect or enhance river resources. Town-affiliated entities from the ten communities along the Wild and Scenic portions of the Westfield River are invited to submit funding requests. These towns are Becket, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Huntington, Middlefield, Savoy, Washington, Windsor and Worthington. In 2008-2009, up to $2,750 is available for each community.
Town entities may include highway departments, conservation commissions, planning boards, water/wastewater departments, libraries, historical commissions, recreation departments, schools and other town-sanctioned committees (Community Preservation Act committee, open space committee, trails committee etc). Although non-town entities may not apply, they may be considered partners in an application with a town entity.
Eligible Projects:
The funds must be used to help support activities that directly protect or enhance the Wild and Scenic Westfield River. Projects which may be eligible include, but are not limited to:
- Riverfront road and bridge repairs, culvert replacement to enhance fish passage, and bank stabilization projects (e.g. to assist in design and/or to enhance outcomes of existing projects);
- Improvements to drainage, vegetated buffers, cleanup of storage materials in river corridor, or replacement of certain facilities outside the river corridor;
- Fish and aquatic habitat improvements (e.g. fish passage, woody habitat, shade cover, etc.)
- Monitoring or assessment of water quality;
- Inventories of resources in riparian corridor (e.g. fish and wildlife habitat assessments, bird surveys, tracking studies, native and invasive plant inventories, etc.);
- Removal and/or control of invasive species within river corridor.
Funding inquiries should be directed to the local town Wild & Scenic Representative or by contacting Carrie Banks, Westfield River Wild & Scenic Coordinator, at (413) 268-3129, ext. 1 to discuss your funding needs and the current availability of funds.