Fairways to wetlands: Restoration at old Northampton golf course is letting nature take back the land

NORTHAMPTON — Under a clear June sky, volunteers of all ages waded into the tall grass at the former Pine Grove Golf Course, driving chopped lengths of wood into a streambed and weaving branches between them. The goal: build dams good enough that beavers will take them over as their own.

The structures, known as beaver dam analogs, are meant to reduce flood risk, store carbon, filter nutrients and keep the land wet even through drought — all core goals of the Nashawannuck Brook restoration project taking place at the old golf course, the first of its kind in Massachusetts.

The city, in partnership with the state Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) and Mass Audubon, aims to turn this landscape into a self-sustaining, climate resilient wetland meant to serve as an example for future restoration projects elsewhere.

“Golf courses all over the commonwealth and beyond are closing. Some of them are going to be developed into other uses like housing and solar. We’re hoping that this can serve as a model for sites that can be restored,” said Sarah LaValley, assistant director of the Northampton Planning and Sustainability Department.

Northampton bought the golf course from owner Gil Verrillo in 2020 for $650,000 and has spent the subsequent years since preparing a restoration plan. Phase 1 of the on-site work ran through May and June of this year at a cost of $2 million, funded by the city, DER and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Undoing decades of drainage

While the site was a golf course, artificial drainage infrastructure was installed that increased the likelihood of floods and degraded stream habitat, explained Kate Bentsen, a restoration ecologist with DER. Additionally, the plants that would have shaded the streams and filtered out harmful pollutants were routinely mowed down.

During the first phase, crews removed that drainage infrastructure, replanted vegetation to restore natural stream flow and filtration, and added a vernal pool, a pedestrian bridge on Old Wilson Road and trailhead parking. 

Central to the work was removing a broken culvert under Old Wilson Road — the same pipe that had been backing up floodwater and blocking wildlife from moving along the stream. The new pedestrian bridge replaced that section of road, creating a larger space for water flow and reconnecting the stream to its floodplain.

“We wanted to make a larger crossing so that floods aren’t backing up on the upstream part of the site. So water can flow freely, so fish and other animals can flow freely without the pipe being too small,” Bentsen said.

Crews also planted white pine and swamp white oak within a fenced area. LaValley said both species were chosen for their resilience to a changing climate, including tolerance for heat and variable rainfall.

Wildlife moving in

In addition to the human-built dams, beavers have already built an 8-foot dam of their own on the site, drawing swallows and green herons. New vernal pools give amphibians and reptiles a place to breed each spring, when the pools flood.

Among the species expected to benefit most is the American woodcock, said Tom Lautzenheiser, a senior conservation ecologist with Mass Audubon. The wetland’s expanded vegetation and open, muddy ground are well suited to how woodcocks forage, probing soft soil with their long beaks for food.

The woodcocks are listed as a species of greatest conservation need under the Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan. Lautzenheiser said that he could see this bird being the poster bird for the project. 

“Their breeding displays are among the most delightful events in nature during the early spring,” he said. 

What’s next

With Phase 1 complete — a naturally flowing stream, expanded habitat and new public access — the project is turning to Phase 2. The city has applied for a $3 million grant from the state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program to fund the next stage, expected to take about two years.

LaValley said Phase 2 will include removing a dam that has been blocking water flow and causing erosion, along with two more culverts, fully restoring the stream’s natural course. The plan also calls for nearly two miles of accessible trail and additional climate-adaptive tree plantings to help cool the area and store carbon.

Once complete, the wetland is designed to sustain itself without further human intervention.

David Eisenhower, a DER spokesperson, said the project supports the commonwealth’s broader biodiversity goals of restoring high-priority habitat, building climate resilience and enhancing wildlife habitat.

“If we didn’t pursue the interventions that we are [taking, such as removing culverts, stopping erosion and removing dams] we’d never be able to meet the restoration goals that we’re looking to achieve,” LaValley said. “That would never ever happen on its own.”