HATFIELD — Another chunk of land in the Pioneer Valley is preserved for the public, and this 128 acres is especially vital, according to the Kestrel Land Trust.
The land, known as Horse Mountain, includes 94 acres in Hatfield and 34 acres in Williamsburg. The land was purchased by the towns.
Here’s why the property is so important: in a relatively small area, the tract is incredibly diverse, according to Kat Deely, who coordinated the project for the Kestrel Land Trust.
There are steep forested uplands and lower wetlands, and an estimated 1,200-foot elevation shift. The land is also undeveloped.
Because of the elevation shift, Deely said, species of plants may find their niche on higher ground as temperatures warm because of climate change. Amphibians may migrate north as vernal pools dry up in low-lying areas.
“They can find their own niche in those changing elevations,” Deely said.
The 128 acres is also important for larger wildlife species such as black bears, moose, deer, bobcats and wild turkeys, which depend on large, undisrupted strips of land as refuge.
The land trust, in a news release, said there is potential in the future to protect other parcels which would connect the 128-acre tract with the 600-acre Terry Blunt Conservation area.
Although the property is already owned by the two towns, Kestrel also recently secured conservation restrictions on the Hatfield tract for another layer of protection.
The land will also be used as a refuge for humans.
Deely said planning for a network of trails is in the early stages. She said volunteers in Williamsburg and Hatfield would provide much of the labor needed to build the trails in a sustainable fashion.
She expects trails to be marked by the end of next summer. She said constructing handicap-accessible trails was not feasible.
Right now, the land is open to the public, but there are no marked trails, she said. There are two parking areas off Old Stage Road.
The land contains two peaks along the ridgeline, and Deely said she would hope any future trails would lead to an outlook. She estimated the elevation of the mountain to be about 1,500 feet.
Deely said the land was purchased at a “bargain” rate with negotiations starting last spring with the Cole family, who has since moved to Hawaii.
Williamsburg and Hatfield provided $163,000 combined for the project, for which the Massachusetts LAND Grant program is reimbursing the towns. In addition, Hatfield contributed $40,000 from Community Preservation Act funds to the project.
Deely said Kestrel also raised $45,000 from the Amelia Peabody Foundation and $40,300 the Open Space Institute’s Resilient Landscapes Initiative.
“The successful conservation project at Horse Mountain will ensure that these precious acres remain available to human, plant and animal communities, even as the climate changes,” Peter Howell, the Open Space Institute’s executive vice president in charge of conservation capital program, said in a news release.
Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com.