Stone Mountain just landed a serious assist from Beacon Hill, with a new state grant set to preserve roughly 800 acres in Colrain and neighboring Heath. The Franklin County share of $730,815 comes through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Landscape Partnership Grant Program, part of a multi-project awards package that will protect more than 1,600 acres statewide. The money targets unfragmented forest, working woodlands and riparian buffers along the West Branch of the North River, aiming to keep the landscape intact rather than carved up lot by lot.
State grant and partners
According to Hilltown Land Trust, the Healey-Driscoll administration awarded more than $2.2 million through EEA’s Landscape Partnership program to three projects that together will conserve over 1,631 acres. The Stone Mountain Conservation Project, led by Franklin Land Trust in partnership with MassWildlife, The Trustees, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mass Audubon and Kestrel Land Trust, received $730,815 to secure large blocks of contiguous forest and key stream corridors. EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper framed the awards as part of a broader "Forests as Climate Solutions" push focused on cleaner water, stronger wildlife habitat and better climate resilience.
Local allocation and what is protected
Local coverage reports that Franklin County’s $730,815 allocation will help conserve about 800 acres on and around Stone Mountain, safeguarding steep ledges, vernal pools and cold-water tributaries that feed the West Branch of the North River. Franklin County Now notes that the award is part of a larger, multi-partner effort to expand protected lands in western Massachusetts while still supporting working forest economies. Conservation officials say the newly protected blocks are expected to boost recreational access and make long-term stewardship more manageable, rather than a patchwork headache.
Where this fits in long-running work
Mass Audubon reports that it closed the final piece of a 470-acre Stone Mountain purchase last November and, combined with related acquisitions, has helped protect nearly 800 acres in Colrain and Heath this year. In an update on its conservation work, Mass Audubon emphasized that these purchases secure vernal pools, trout-supporting streams and steep mesic forest. According to the state announcement reprinted by Hilltown Land Trust, the Landscape Partnership award will be paired with more than $1.5 million in private funds, helping stitch Stone Mountain into a conservation corridor of more than 6,000 acres across Franklin County.
Next steps and stewardship
Franklin Land Trust and its partner organizations will now coordinate the land acquisitions and long-term stewardship, with details on individual parcels and future public access rolling out as the deals close. Franklin Land Trust already runs stewardship programs and monitors conserved properties across the region, while MassWildlife’s Stone Mountain Wildlife Management Area page offers maps and access notes for people who want a closer look at the landscape taking shape. Residents can expect partner groups to share timelines, maps and management plans over the coming months as this conservation puzzle clicks into place.
