NORTHAMPTON — Another round of state grant funding has been dedicated to the ongoing effort to rehabilitate the former Pine Grove Golf Course into a recreational and wildlife space, which has already shown promising results with the return of a furry creature.
“Just this past year beavers started to return,” said Northampton Director of Planning and Sustainability Carolyn Misch. “The initial phases of restoration were done over the last several years. A lot has been done to plant new trees and plant new vegetation that would invite beavers and beavers have already returned.”
The Division of Ecological Restoration (DER), part of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, awarded the city approximately $154,000 to enhance the Nashawannuck Stream, create new wetland habitat, plant vegetation and restore floodplain connection on the property. The grant was part of $1.4 million awarded to eight projects across the state.
Misch says the funding will continue the project’s long-term mission of increasing recreational opportunities and wildlife activity on the site.
“This work is really to take out and dismantle the structures that were installed to creat the golf course and help facilitate by introducing things that would normally show up in a stream like log jams with trees,” Misch said.
The city acquired the 100-acre golf course on Old Wilson Road in 2020 from owner Gil Verrillo for $650,000 and received funding from the DER before for restoration of the site.
In 2022, Northampton was awarded $250,000 for similar work restoring the stream and has received previous funding from the state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program and from the Community Preservation Act.
Separate from the restoration work, Misch said the city plans to remove a collapsed culvert that runs under Old Wilson Road next to the property. The culvert collapsed unexpectedly in May potentially due to heavy rainfall, leaving the road closed since then Misch said.
“Initially the idea was, ‘Lets do the restoration on the golf course then come pull the culvert out,'” Misch explained. “But the culvert had its own schedule and collapsed so we flipped the script.”
Misch said the culvert is planned to be removed next spring, but the DER grant will not fund the removal. The grant funds for the restoration work will then begin, with the grant funds expiring at the end of June.
Misch said the plan is to replace the culvert crossing with a pedestrian walking bridge, meaning cars will not be able to travel over the section of road anymore. Additionally, new parking space will be made for residents to better access the trail system on the property, Misch said. The funding also will support more trail creation and connection, replacing the cart path from the golf course.
Misch explained that golf courses by design are made to direct all water away from the greens, but this requires unnatural structures to be installed along the stream bank negatively effecting water flow, which will be removed.
“The overall plan is for undertaking restoration of the entire former golf course to restore it back closer to its original state before it was manipulated into a golf course,” Misch said.
The city is performing the restoration project together with Mass Audubon, which holds the conservation restriction for the site and has provided the city with feedback regarding restoration activities and additional plans.
Mass Audubon Senior Conservation Ecologist for the Central and Western parts of the state, Tom Lautzenheiser, said the grant is an important step in the overall restoration project.
“It’s huge, I’m very excited for this and it may not be totally obvious immediately but I view this project as directly benefitting Mass Audubon, the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary.” Lautzenheiser said.
Lautzenheiser said the golf course is in the same area as both the Rocky Hill Greenway and the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, meaning the restoration work is part of a much larger open space system. The Nashawannuck Stream is a tributary of the Manhan River that runs through the area.
He said restoration projects often seem like they take a long time to complete, but that is for good reason. He said the goal is to create a system that allows nature to grow into the space, which will last into the future indefinitely for years and years to come.
“The plan is to set the stage and let nature take its course,” Lautzenheiser said. “It will change over time and that’s one of the exciting things about the project.”