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Nashawannuck CPA ApplicationNashawannuck Riparian Restoration 1 COMMUNITY PRESERVATION PROJECT APPLICATION COVER SHEET I: Project Information Project Title: Rocky Hill Greenway: Nashawannuck Riparian Restoration Project Summary: CPA Funding is sought to acquire 105 +/- acres of the former Pine Grove Golf Course. The area includes more than half a mile of Nashawannuck Brook riparian area, is part of a wildlife corridor, abuts existing protected areas in the Rocky Hill Greenway, and presents a myriad of opportunities for climate change adaptation, natural communities restoration, and recreation. The area will certainly become part of private developments if not permanently protected. Estimated start and completion date: 2020 for acquisition, ongoing restoration efforts CPA Program Area (check all that apply):  Open Space Historic Preservation Community Housing  Recreation II: Applicant/Developer Information Contact Person and or/primary applicant: Wayne Feiden Property Owner (if applicable): Gil Verilio Organization (if applicable): Northampton Conservation Commission and Office of Planning and Sustainability Mailing Address: City Hall, 210 Main Street, Second Floor Daytime phone #: 413-587-1265 Fax #: 413-587-1264 E-mail address: wfeiden@northamptonma.gov III: Budget Summary Total budget for project: $839,000 CPA funding request: $400,000 CPA request as percentage of total budget: 47% Applicant’s Signature: Date Submitted: September 6, 2019 _______________________ Nashawannuck Riparian Restoration 2 Parcel Information Burts Pit Road, Route 66/Westhampton Road Acres: 105 Parcel ID’s: 44-114, 44-014 Current Owner: Gil Verillio Narrative In the mid-1960’s, a small dam was constructed on Nashawannuck Brook, and the native trees and shrubs that provided shade, nesting and foraging habitat along its banks were removed. Natural drainage patterns were altered, native grasses were replaced with managed turf, and a golf course was built. Over the past sixty years, this beautiful, though heavily managed property, has been available for recreational use only by golfers, a small and dwindling segment of the population. Now, these 105 acres are at a crossroads. They either are to restored as an extension of priority habitat that exists in the adjacent Rocky Hill Greenway and the MassAubudon Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary just downstream the priority or be developed into an estimated thirteen high-end single family home lots, resulting in a permanent loss of public access, increased habitat and wildlife corridor fragmentation, and a missed opportunity for restoring critical riparian natural communities. The planned conservation and restoration of the Pine Grove Golf Course is exciting confluence of classic biodiversity protection and climate change adaptation by extending and strengthening the current Rocky Hill Greenway, providing the unusual opportunity to reforest a substantial portion of a degraded watershed. Over the past several years, in multiple transactions, the City of Northampton in partnership with Mass Audubon has created the Rocky Hill Greenway, an approximately 115-acre conservation area just west of Route 10 and Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. The Greenway represents a series of conservation victories, as for many years the site was zoned for a business park. The Rocky Hill Greenway is ecologically rich and diverse. The main topographic feature of the Greenway is a drumlin that some 15,000 to 12,000 years ago would have been an island in the early stages of Glacial Lake Hitchcock, and formed part of its western shore at later stages. The varied sediments left behind as a result of this landscape position, combined with land use history, give rise to several distinct forest vegetation zones, including wetlands, mesic forests, and relatively dry forest, which in turn influence the wildlife usage of the area. The Greenway hosts several vernal pools, including a prime example in a saddle near the top of the drumlin. Nashawannuck Brook is a small tributary to the Manhan River with headwaters in and around the Pine Grove Golf Course. The brook is the central water feature of the course, and serves both as a landscape amenity—as where a dam forms a 0.5-acre pond in the course’s central area—and a part of its drainage system. It is clear that the golf course seriously degrades the natural function of Nashawannuck Brook, as Nashawannuck Riparian Restoration 3 immediately downstream of the course, where the brook enters a forest, the channel is deeply scoured, despite the placement of landscape fabric and rip rap. The primary issue is hydrological—the golf course comprises approximately one third of the brook’s 294-acre watershed at the course’s downstream property line. With the course’s engineered fairways with stone-lined swales and drainage tiles, closely-maintained vegetation, and stormwater management system, precipitation enters the channel as an intense pulse even in small storms, increasing erosive force, increasing sediment load and destabilizing the channel. In addition to this water quantity issue, it is highly likely that pollutants such as fertilizers and pesticides used on the course degrade water quality, as the brook’s channel is unprotected by any vegetated buffer through most of its 0.6-mile extent on the course. Of great importance to Mass Audubon, Nashawannuck Brook flows through the western portion of the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. For a small stream, Nashawannuck Brook at Arcadia is remarkably unstable and sinuous. Intense, “flashy” flows during storm events overwhelming the vegetation’s ability to hold the soil, increasing the rate of channel movement, and causing heavy sediment loading. Such dynamics are problematic for both riparian and in-stream habitat functions. Observations of the brook indicate a paucity of macroinvertebrates and other wildlife in the channel, relative to what would be expected on an unimpaired brook of its size. The conservation of the Pine Grove Golf Course opens the door to a valuable restoration opportunity. The reestablishment of a natural stream channel and floodplain, riparian wetland creation, and dam removal, and the reforestation of the majority of course acres, would dramatically improve water quality and hydrological issues in Nashawannuck Brook. This restoration project would be a clear, though modestly-scaled, example of a climate change adaptation project: projected increases in the frequency of severe storm events will only worsen Nashawannuck Brook’s unstable dynamics over the coming decades; restoring the watershed now will be an investment in protecting Arcadia’s ecological integrity. This acquisition is in accordance with long-term open space goals set forth in the City’s Open Space, Recreation, and Multi Use Trail Plan. It also helps fulfils the goals of the Municipal Vulnerability Plan’s Northampton Designs with Nature project, that seeks to use natural systems to retain and treat stormwater, and the goals of the Northampton Climate Resiliency and Regeneration Plan, that identifies and climate adaptation plans for Northampton. This project is part of a larger landscape conservation initiative, and will help further goals and objectives identified in statewide, regional, and local conservation and habitat management reports. The conservation of the Pine Grove Golf Course opens the door to a valuable restoration opportunity. The reestablishment of a natural stream channel and floodplain, riparian wetland creation, and dam removal, and the reforestation of the majority of course acres, would dramatically improve water quality and hydrological issues in Nashawannuck Brook. This restoration project would be a clear, though modestly-scaled, example of a climate change adaptation project: projected increases Nashawannuck Riparian Restoration 4 in the frequency of severe storm events will only worsen Nashawannuck Brook’s unstable dynamics over the coming decades. We plan to work with NHESP and MassAudubon to create a habitat management plan for the area that will restore the unique values and allow nearby species to re-habitate this area. The segment of the property along Old Wilson Road, farthest from the core riparian area and wildlife migration pathways, is ideal for community gardens. The parcel’s past life as a golf course has left us with a trail network that traverses the property, and we look forward to creating new accessible trails. While each open space acquisition is important and meets varying needs, this property is truly exemplary in the opportunity and potential it presents. The project meets several Community Preservation general criteria: Contributes to the preservation of Northampton’s unique character, boosts the vitality of the community, and enhances the quality of life for its residents Part of Northampton’s character is the amount and diverse types of open space and recreation opportunities available throughout the City. This acquisition will create new opportunities for public access in an area that is currently able to be experienced only by golfers. Addresses recommendations contained in the Sustainable Northampton comprehensive plan and/or the Open Space, Recreation, and Mixed Use Trail Plan 2018-2025 or is consistent with other city-wide planning efforts that have received broad-based scrutiny and input and can demonstrate wide community support The project will also address several of ‘the most pressing open space and recreation needs’ identified in the Open Space Plan. These are: • Passive recreation opportunities throughout the city • Linkage and augmentation of open space parcels, to provide for passive recreation and wildlife movement between large natural habitat areas. • Protection of vistas and “viewsheds.” • Acquisition for permanent protection of a range of critical and natural plant and animal habitats, including: • Wetlands • Rare or endangered species habitat • Riparian lands along the Connecticut, Mill, and Manhan Rivers and other rivers and major streams • Preservation of open space parcels that help define Northampton’s character, including parcels at the “entrances” to the city and parcels that limit the expansion of development into previously rural areas. • Protection of farmland, forestland, and the rural character of outlying areas. • Encouraging or requiring that development is sensitive to ecological resources, vistas, and open space. Nashawannuck Riparian Restoration 5 • Protection of key parcels in the last remaining large undeveloped areas of town – Broad Brook and Beaver Brook Watersheds, Marble Brook Watershed, Saw Mill Hills, Mineral Hills, and the Meadows Saves resources that would otherwise be threatened If not permanently protected, the area will certainly be developed into large home lots. The most economically, and least ecologically valuable lots, in the location of the existing clubhouse and course buildings will be retained by the current owner and sold privately, which will help us meet our goals of ensuring that open space protection does not artificially inflate the price of available residential land, and creating marketable lots where appropriate. If the remaining 110 ecologically important acres of stream corridor and restoration potential are not permanently protected, they will also be privately developed and lost for recreation and habitat expansion. The area’s past use as a golf course create development possibilities that would be unlikely to be permitted under other circumstances. Receives endorsement by community groups, municipal boards and/or departments The application is presented by the Conservation Commission and Office of Planning and Sustainability. It is also supported by the Kestrel Land Trust and Massachusetts Audubon Society. Leverages additional public and/or private funds, or demonstrates that other funding sources are not readily available or sufficient We have applied for a $400,000 Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity grant, the maximum allowed, to fund acquisition of the property. We are optimistic about the award due to the project’s unprecedented opportunity for protection, restoration, and recreation. However, the grant’s numerical scoring system provides high value for existing areas of endangered species habitat, climate change resiliency, and biodiversity, and does not reward projects with high potential for increases in these areas, which is in many ways more important. If the LAND grant is received we will need to match the award with $250,000 locally, and would like to supplement that with enough funding to complete the most critical restoration pieces. If the LAND application is not successful, we are requesting the full amount of the purchase price in CPA funds. Can be implemented expeditiously and within budget We will be ready to close as soon as all funding is received. The Project also meets several of the Open Space Evaluation Criteria: Preserve valuable surface water resources, including rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, buffer zones, vernal pools and riparian zones Nashawannuck Brook courses through the property Nashawannuck Riparian Restoration 6 Provide opportunities for passive recreation and environmental education Preserve large strategic tracts of undeveloped land and parcels adjacent to existing permanently protected open space Promote the creative use of former railway, waterways and other corridors, including connecting corridors, to create safe and healthful non-motorized transportation and exercise opportunities Community Need/Protections/Project Feasibility and Success The project will protect sensitive ecological resources, land for passive recreation, and invaluable historic landscapes. All of these resources are identified as priorities in the Open Space and Recreation Plan. A permanent conservation restriction to be held by the Massachusetts Audubon Society will be placed on the property once acquired. The area contains unique and valuable habitat, but has been very degraded due to its 50+ year history as a golf course. Restoration needs and opportunities include dam removal, soil health restoration, removal of rip rap and artificial drainage, pollinator habitat creation, and tree plantings. Nashawannuck Riparian Restoration 7 Project Budget: If LAND Application is Successful Project item Cost CPA Request LAND Grant OPS Match MassAudubon Donation Property Acquisition 650,000 250,000 $400,000 (maximum request) 0 0 Recording fees, survey, title certification and other soft costs 10,000 0 $0 10,000 0 Conservation Restriction and Stewardship 20,000 0 0 5,000 15,000 Preliminary Environmental Assessment (21E) 9,000 0 0 9,000 0 Ecological restoration - first phase: Dam removal and plantings 150,000 150,000 $0 (ineligible) 5,000 0 TOTAL 839,000 400,000 400,000 29,000 15,000 If LAND Application is Not Successful Project item Cost CPA Request OPS Match MassAudubon Donation Property Acquisition 650,000 650,000 0 0 Recording fees, survey, title certification and other soft costs 10,000 0 10,000 0 Conservation Restriction and Stewardship 20,000 0 5,000 15,000 Preliminary Environmental Assessment (21E) 9,000 0 9,000 0 Scaled-down critical Resotration 5,000 5,000 TOTAL 694,000 650,000 29,000 15,000 ATTACHMENTS: Maps Support Letter Additional Support Letters to Follow as Received