EASTHAMPTON — Hampshire County communities and MassAubudon received a total of nearly $390,000 in environmentally focused grants, the state announced this week.
The grants will allow municipalities and wildlife organizations to replace failed culverts — tunnel-like structures often made of metal or concrete that allow water to flow under a roadway — and address issues considered priority projects for environmental, safety and economic reasons. The state awarded around $4 million in funding to a total of 26 municipalities and organizations.
Ecological restoration grants are “some of our most loved, most utilized, and frankly, in my experience, most enjoyable” funding awarded to communities, said Kathleen Theoharides, secretary of the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, while visiting Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton on Wednesday. Theoharides gathered with state and local representatives and environmental advocates at an event to recognize projects benefiting from the grants.
The following Hampshire County communities received funding:
■Belchertown: $92,000
■Cummington: $88,282
■Hadley: $67,682
■Middlefield: $70,000
Additionally, MassAubudon received $72,000 toward the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, which is in Easthampton and Northampton.
In Franklin County, grants in similar amounts were awarded to Buckland, Colrain, Heath, Montague, Orange and Whately. Leyden received the largest grant of any municipality, $395,000, to replace a severely undersized culvert on Glenn Brook with a bridge.
These projects have growing relevance as weather-related events stemming from climate change become increasingly common, according to wildlife officials.
Arcadia’s Manhan Meadows Floodplain Forest Restoration project aims to restore about 15 acres of formerly unproductive agricultural land and grassland to a floodplain forest environment. Floodplain forests — one of the rarest environments in Massachusetts — help control flooding, reduce erosion and allow a unique ecosystem to thrive.
“They act essentially as natural sponges,” said Tom Lautzenheisen, a conservation ecologist with MassAubudon. Last year, volunteers working with the organization planted over 2,000 trees and shrubs across 8.5 acres of land in an effort to restore this environment. This fall, they plan to plant around 1,200 more trees and shrubs over 5 acres.
Cities and towns will use funding to replace a variety of culverts. For municipalities, culverts are often “a wishlist item” on every budget, said state Rep. Dan Carey, D-Easthampton, highlighting a corroded culvert on Moody Bridge Road in Hadley as an example.
“We’re about to check this off the wishlist,” Carey said, “not just for Hadley, but for 26 communities.”
Hadley Town Administrator Carolyn Brennan said that the culvert on Moody Bridge Road, a dirt road leading to the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, is “in critical need of an upgrade.”
The culvert has corroded to the point of failure, causing a sinkhole to form on the roadway. As a result, Moody Bridge Road is closed to traffic, limiting access to the nearby wildlife refuge. As the culvert continues to corrode, it also deposits sediment that flows into the Fort River, a tributary of the Connecticut River, which can ultimately end up in Long Island Sound.
Belchertown will use the funding to replace a culvert on Hop Brook; Cummington on the North Branch of the Swift River; and Middlefield on Glendale Brook. The funds cover expenses related to design, analysis, engineering, data collection and permitting.
“All of these projects help communities adapt to climate change and benefit the environment,” said Beth Lambert, director of the Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration.
Additionally, the projects create 11½ jobs per $1 million invested, according to Lambert.
Over the course of the pandemic, officials said that many people have also developed a renewed appreciation for nature, noting skyrocketing rates of visitors at wildlife refuges. This appreciation also highlights the relevance of the funding, according to Theoharides.
“We are so lucky to have places and spaces like this in the commonwealth to allow people to get outside, to allow wildlife to survive,” Theoharides said, adding, “These spaces are so critical to getting people outside and getting kids to enjoy nature.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.