Worthington, Colrain Awarded Landscape Partnership Grants

Staff Reports 12:07PM / Saturday, July 18, 2026Print Story | Email Story

Wildlife Cam Photos from Jackson Brook Conservation Project in Worthington Photo Credit: Hilltown Land Trust

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced over $2.2 million to protect forests, drinking water supplies, and critical natural landscapes across Massachusetts.

Through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' Landscape Partnership Grant Program, three projects in Franklin, Hampshire and Plymouth counties will conserve more than 1,600 acres of land, improve access to outdoor recreation, strengthen climate resilience and protect wildlife habitat.

Hilltown Land Trust, Department of Fish and Game (DFG) – Jackson Brook Conservation Project was awarded $314,430 to protect 483 acres within the Jackson Brook watershed in Worthington. This largely intact forest and wetland system provides critical habitat for species including moose, bobcat, and sandhill crane, as well as water filtration and flood storage in extreme rain events. The project will enhance regional habitat connectivity, expand public recreation, and promote climate resilience by supporting healthy forests that sequester and store carbon. The project delivers lasting ecological, community, and economic benefits and facilitates coordinated long-term land stewardship.

Franklin Land Trust, DFG, The Trustees of Reservations, Department of Conservation & Recreation, Massachusetts Audubon Society and Kestrel Land Trust – Stone Mountain Conservation Project was awarded $730,815 to conserve 800 acres of natural and working landscapes integral to Massachusetts' rural economy, including unfragmented forest on Stone Mountain in Colrain, and along the West Branch of the North River and tributaries in Heath. This project will leverage over $1,500,000 in private funding to achieve a 6,000+ acre conservation corridor in Franklin County.

"The projects in Worthington, Colrain and Heath are a great investment in the communities and natural resources that make Western Massachusetts such a special place to live," said State Senator Paul Mark. "By protecting forests, clean water, and public open space today, we're ensuring future generations can enjoy them while strengthening our environment and local economy."

The program also supports the Healey-Driscoll Administration's "Forests as Climate Solutions Initiative", which aims to protect critically important forests. These initiatives are key components of the administration's Mass Ready Act, demonstrating the Healey-Driscoll Administration's commitment to promoting a clean environment that benefits residents. Land conservation is one of several strategies the state is advancing to reduce pollution, help cool communities, and prevent the loss of plant and animal species across Massachusetts.

"Conserving our natural lands and forests promotes clean air and healthier communities for generations to come," said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "These thriving ecosystems are also beautiful places to get outside and enjoy all our state has to offer. This funding will ensure that counties in Western and Southeastern Massachusetts have the resources they need to continue to protect waterways and forests into the future."

Established in 2011, the Landscape Partnership Grant Program supports large-scale, multi-partner projects that sustain ecological integrity, promote local economies that depend upon natural resources, and expand public outdoor recreational opportunities. This year's awards will conserve over 1,631 acres and are part of the administration's efforts to build climate change resilience and protect critical natural landscapes.

West Branch of the North River and tributaries in Heath. This project will leverage over $1,500,000 in private funding to achieve a 6,000+ acre conservation corridor in Franklin County.

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North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."

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