SHUTESBURY — Residents who have already taken their concerns to Eversource at community forums are now pressing Gov. Maura Healey to intervene before the utility begins removing trees from 278 acres in 11 communities, most of them in Franklin and Hampshire counties.
A letter to Healey from Western Mass Towns for a Responsible Grid, so far signed by more than 500 people from 46 area cities and towns, is seeking her intervention in the utility’s Transmission Right-of-Way Reliability Program, also known as the WT-11 project.
While Eversource is promoting this long-term vegetation maintenance initiative as a way to improve electric system reliability and resiliency, critics contend there would essentially be clear-cutting of trees from the Northfield substation to the Ludlow substation. In between, the affected communities are Erving, Wendell, Montague, Leverett, Shutesbury, Pelham, Belchertown, Amherst and Granby.
“This WT-11 project will cross through state-designated environmentally important land including 86 acres of Priority Habitat of Rare Species, 47 acres of wetlands and riverfront and 21 vernal pools,” the group writes in its letter to Healey. “Residents of Western Mass would be furious and heartbroken to see your administration permit Eversource’s greed to ruin these places.”
Under the plan, Eversource would clear additional trees along the power line corridor, widening it from its current 125 to 335 feet to between 252 and 576 feet. The plan would also remove all trees and shrubs with a mature height of more than 30 feet.
The hope for the group is that a more selective, evidence-based approach would be used for vegetation management.
“Tell Eversource: No Clearcut for Profit,” the group states in the letter, making two specific requests. One is that Eversource be allowed to do only selective cutting and pruning throughout, or at a minimum in environmentally sensitive areas. A second request is that crews and subcontractors working for Eversource be explicit about the work they are doing in sensitive areas. This should be done in writing so that the public understands what work is being done, the group said.
The group also worries that much larger removal of trees will take place going forward, with close to 2,000 more acres being eyed by the utility along other transmission lines over the next six years. They point to the Draft Environmental Impact Report filed by the utility, which states the Transmission Right-of-Way Reliability Program will be implemented along all of its service territory in western Massachusetts through 2032.
“In the absence of unbiased evidence that this project is necessary and that its approach minimizes destruction, it must be stopped,” said Stacey McCullough, a spokesperson for Western Mass Towns for a Responsible Grid and a member of the Pelham Planning Board.
Among the areas of concern, which include state-designated sensitive habitats, wetlands and riverfront areas, is land near the Buffam Falls Conservation Area in Pelham.
Several members of the group joined state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, in a recent tour of that site.
Eversource issued a statement in response to the concerns, observing that it will continue to engage with residents, municipal officials and others.
“We understand why residents care deeply about the forests and natural resources in their communities, and we take seriously our role to be responsible environmental stewards while providing customers with safe, reliable access to the essential electric service they need,” the company wrote. “The WT-11 project is designed to protect the transmission lines that deliver power to homes, businesses and essential services by reducing the risk of trees contacting or falling into those lines while also balancing the many important benefits trees to provide.”
The company notes that the work proposed is based on an analysis of vegetation risks within an existing transmission right-of-way, using aerial laser technology known as LiDAR to examine current and projected tree heights, terrain and the height of transmission structures and wires to identify trees that pose either a current or future risk.
“The proposed approach allows for narrower clearing where tree-fall risk is low and manages the corridor for grasses, shrubs and other low-growing vegetation that can support wildlife and pollinators,” the company added. “Importantly, our rights-of-way also serve as a beneficial environmental ecosystem for all manner of plant and wildlife, which is enhanced by our strategic, targeted vegetation management work.”
The community group also sent a letter to Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper this summer, but it has received no response. How soon Healey would need to act is unclear.
Michael DeChiara, a member of the Planning Board in Shutesbury, said a Final Environmental Impact Report is expected to be submitted to the state in late fall or early winter. A Draft Environmental Impact Report was filed in August 2025.
Until the final report is filed, DeChiara said the public won’t know if Eversource has changed any of its plans.
Eversource needs approval from both the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and local conservation commissions.
Western Mass Towns for a Responsible Grid supports maintaining a reliable electric grid, noting targeted vegetation management is sometimes necessary, and is already happening at a scale that is effective for reliability.
“Trees that don’t threaten the lines should be left to beautifully provide their irreplaceable benefits to habitats, the climate, our watershed, the air, and the residents of Western Mass,” McCullough said.
To help residents send the message, the group’s petition is at bit.ly/noclearcutpetition, while the campaign is at NoClearcutForProfit.org.
