Berkshire Green Drinks: Stream Restoration on the Konkapot River

10:11AM / Friday, January 09, 2026Print Story | Email Story

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Environmental Action Team welcomes the first Green Drinks speaker of 2026, Zach Adams of Trout Unlimited.

Adams will share about this summer's stream restoration project on the Konkapot River on Jan. 14.

This project both created habitat in the Konkapot River and stabilized the stream bank to prevent Hartsville-Mill River Road from washing out in the next 5 years. This project required 80+ trees with root wads, tons of boulders, and a lot of adaptability. Adams will share photos and stories about this fairly unique project in Massachusetts. Audience members will have an opportunity to ask questions after the presentation.

This free hybrid event will take place online via Zoom and in person at Dewey Hall, 91 Main Street, Sheffield. The in-person social gathering will begin around 5:30 PM; the presentation and Zoom meeting will start at 6:00 PM.

Zach Adams is a writer, photographer, avid outdoorsman, and lifelong conservationist. He holds a Bachelor's of Science from Juniata College and has worked and studied from the Chesapeake Bay to the Adirondacks. Adams has lived along the banks of the Housatonic River for his entire career, and is passionate about conservation in the Berkshires where he lives with his wife Evelyn and his German Shorthaired Pointer, Millie. He now works for Trout Unlimited, managing stream restoration projects in Berkshire County. You can find him chasing brook trout in the hills, walking behind his bird dog, or scratching his head over a rare bird identification.

Adams writes a sporting column for the Berkshire Eagle, has publications in multiple magazines, and is the author of the field guide Birds of New England.

Learn more and RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/Jan-2026-Green-Drinks.

Berkshire Green Drinks is sponsored and organized by the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). For more information regarding Berkshire Green Drinks, contact Andrew Ferrara, andrew@thebeatnews.org,

Tags: BEAT,

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First Eagle Mill Units in Lee to Open in Springtime

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:02AM / Tuesday, February 03, 2026

Eagle Mills developer Jeffrey Cohen updates the Lee Chamber of Commerce as the project's phases, and the amount of heavy lifting to get it to this point.

LEE, Mass. — More than 50 affordable units are expected to come online at the Eagle Mill this spring.

This is the first of several planned development phases at the former paper mill that dates back to the early 1800s, totaling more than 200 units. The Lee Chamber of Commerce hosted an information session on the project during its Business Breakfast last Wednesday.

"We are here because we have a really big project that's happened for a very long time here in Lee, that, for myself, has provided a real sense of hope, and has has really defined this community as one of the few in the Berkshires that's really looking forward, as opposed to just being sort of stuck in the past," Chamber member Erik Williams said.

The estimated $60 million development broke ground in 2021 after nearly a decade of planning and permitting. Hundreds of workers once filed into the 8-acre complex, producing up to 165 tons of paper a week. The last mill on the property closed in 2008.

Hearthway is accepting applications for 56 affordable apartments called "The Lofts at Eagle Mill" with expected occupancy in May. The housing nonprofit was also approved for 45 additional units of new construction on the site.

Jeffrey Cohen of Eagle Mill Redevelopment LLC said the project dates back to 2012, when a purchase contract was signed for the West Center Street property. The developers didn't have to close on the property until renovation plans were approved in 2017, and the mill was sold for $700,000.

It seemed like a great deal for the structure and eight acres on the Housatonic River, Cohen explained, but he wasn't aware of the complex pre-development costs, state, and local approvals it would entail. Seven individually owned homes adjacent to the property were also acquired and demolished for parking and site access.

"If I knew today what I knew then, I'm not sure we'd be sitting here," he said, joining the breakfast remotely over Zoom.

Cohen praised the town's government, explaining that the redesigns and critiques "Could not have been done in a friendlier way, in a more helpful way," and the two Massachusetts governors serving during the project's tenure. The Eagle Mill redevelopment is supported by state and federal grants, as well as low-income housing tax credits.

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