Belchertown: Land Conservation and Restoration of the Scarborough Brook Headwaters

FY22 MVP Action Grant led by the Town of Belchertown: Belchertown conducted a multi-pronged project focused on the headwaters of the Scarborough Brook watershed and the Scarborough Brook Conservation Area (SBCA) to increase habitat and water supply resilience under future climate conditions.

Project Details

Project Title

Land Conservation and Restoration of the Scarborough Brook Headwaters for Climate Resilience

Municipality

Belchertown

MVP Region

Greater Connecticut River Valley

Award Year

FY2022

Grant Award

$480,025

Project Length

One Year

Community Overview

• Belchertown is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts and is a part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Area with a population of approximately 14,650.
• The town has a total area of 55.4 square miles, of which 52.7 square miles is land and 2.6 square miles is water. Belchertown lies along the western banks of the western branch of the Quabbin Reservoir, with the lands around that water being part of the Quabbin Reservation.
• The town is hilly north of the town center, the hills forming part of the former Swift River Valley, with most of the rest of the town being relatively slowly sloping plains, spotted with plenty of meadow lands. Along the Swift River, which forms the eastern border of the Town, lies the Herman Covey – Swift River Wildlife Management Area. Several other brooks and ponds dot the Town's landscape, with some marshy lands lying along the Broad Brook.

Project Description and Goals

• Where was the project located?
  • Belchertown’s FY22 project focused around the headwaters of the Scarborough Brook watershed and the existing Scarborough Brook Conservation Area (SBCA). Scarborough Brook is a coldwater fishery resource and provides the primary recharge for the Daigle aquifer and downgradient Lawrence Swamp aquifer, major aquifers that serve as public water sources for Belchertown and Amherst. Scarborough Brook discharges directly within the aquifer recharge area (Zone II) for the Daigle Well, a primary source of drinking water for Belchertown serving approximately 3,300 people.
• What climate change impacts did the project address? 
  • Flood resilience
  • Drought
• What were the specific goals and tasks of the project? 
  • Acquisition of the Dubois and Jackson Parcels for conservation and passive recreation purposes
  • Field data collection to inform potential dam removal and culvert replacements
  • Early coordination with regulators to discuss potential project concepts and options
  • Development of preliminary design plans for the two culvert replacements
  • Development of a design memo and conceptual graphic summarizing recommendations for watershed improvements
• Did your project meet the goals in terms of:
  • Employing nature-based solutions:
    • Yes – land acquisition to promote biodiversity and helps to contribute to long-term habitat connectivity; dam removal to restore the natural path of a watercourse for flood resilience and ecosystem restoration; right-sizing of culverts to eliminate barriers to aquatic passage along the brook and provide increased hydraulic capacity to safely pass floodwaters.
  • Improving equitable outcomes for and fostering strong partnerships with EJ and other Climate Vulnerable Populations:
    • Our partnership with the Belchertown Justice Collaborative allowed us to reach a different audience than we might otherwise have connected with and to explore alternative means of outreach. We genuinely learned a lot through this process about the challenges and benefits of working with existing community groups and joining forces with other movements, and we are excited to present these lessons in a guide as one of our project deliverables.
  • Providing regional benefits:
    • The protection and enhancement of natural resources along Scarborough Brook through this project contribute to regional benefits for water quality/water supply and the provision of regional habitat and migration corridors. Scarborough Brook is a coldwater fishery resource and provides the primary recharge for the Daigle aquifer and downgradient Lawrence Swamp aquifer, major aquifers that serve as public water supply sources for both Belchertown and neighboring Amherst.
  • Implementing the public involvement and community engagement plan set forth in your application:
    • Our public involvement and community engagement plan offered a lot of varied opportunities to connect with residents in different ways. This was a purposeful attempt to test different methods of reaching a decentralized population of climate vulnerable residents. The lessons learned from this variety of engagement has been collected into a guide for sharing with other communities.
  • Finishing the project on time:
    •  An extension was requested and received to finalize the land acquisition component of the project. All other project deliverables were completed on time and on budget.

Results and Deliverables

• Describe, and quantify (where possible) project results (e.g. square footage of habitat restored or created, increase in tree canopy coverage, etc.).
  • Three key metrics of success were identified in the grant application:
    1. Prevention of future development at the Dubois and Jackson parcels and implementation of long-term conservation protections for the acquired land.
       • This metric was met. Through combined funding from MVP and other state grants, the 80 acre Dubois parcel was preserved, and a new trail and kiosk with educational signage were installed. Acquisition and preservation of the 22 acre Jackson parcels, again with combined MVP and other grant funding, is expected to be finalized in early FY23.
    2. Success of the dam removal and culvert replacement components of the project will be based on the following:
       • Application of the RMAT guidelines to guide design process and development of a design that meets project goals and is feasible for implementation in terms of both cost and permitting/regulatory constraints. The first project phase identified feasible options to meet climate resilience goals and all feedback from the regulatory meeting points toward a project that will be able to be successfully permitted. Multiple pathways were identified for project options and phasing that would allow the Town flexibility based on available funding or to build out the full project across multiple implementation phases.
       • Ability to engage with public to obtain feedback and develop a project that the public both understands and supports. Public participation in terms of attendance at related meetings and comments/social media engagement will be tracked. Public participation to date has largely centered around general conversations about the nature of land conservation and how it relates to climate change. Now that a basic concept has been developed from field information, the next phase will focus on engaging the public around specifics of the project goals and design process.
    3. Engagement of BIPOC residents and youth via partnership with the Belchertown Justice Collaborative as a means of generating implementable ideas from the BIPOC community and youth that represent the needs and desires of those communities and will help increase the accessibility of climate benefits generated through the project for members of these communities as well as engaging them in ongoing discussions about climate adaptation and mitigation.
       • Working with Belchertown Justice Collaborative has allowed the project to engage with stakeholders who would likely not otherwise have been engaged. The project was successful in identifying some key lessons to share with respect to working with other community groups and crossmovement collaborations.
• Provide a brief summary of project deliverables with web links, if available.
  •  Project deliverables included:
    • Acquisition of Jackson Parcels and signage, trail, and parking installation at recently acquired Dubois Parcel
    • Wetland delineation report and habitat assessment memorandum summarizing ecological conditions
    • Site survey and base mapping o Preliminary geotechnical evaluations to guide culvert replacement design
    • Hydrologic and hydraulic analysis report to support design of dam removal and culvert replacements
    • Assessment of sediment depth and quality to inform dam removal permitting and design
    • Early coordination meeting with regulatory authorities/permitting agencies
    • Preliminary engineering design plans for replacement of two culverts
    • Design memo summarizing data analysis and recommendations for the dam removal feasibility study and culvert replacements
    • Outreach events including school field trip, an inclusive stakeholder event in partnership with Belchertown Justice Collaborative
    • “Reach Out for Outreach” best practices guide for community collaborations

Lessons Learned

• What lessons were learned as a result of the project?
  • Early coordination with regulators can be a good way to start a conversation and gain an understanding of potential topics of concern that need to be considered in the design process. We gained valuable insights to help develop the design concept and inform plans for the next project phase.
  • We learned a number of lessons with regards to working with a youth-led community non-profit. These have been collected in our best practices guide.
  • The “Reach Out for Outreach” best practices guide was developed specifically to assist other communities in planning for collaborations with community organizations, especially youth-led and other traditionally under-represented groups

Partners and Other Support

• Belchertown Justice Collaborative
• Fuss & O’Neill
• Ms. Louise Levy, Belchertown Public Schools High School Science Teacher
• Mr. Doug Albertson, Town Planner, Belchertown Planning Department