Press Release

Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $31.5 Million in Climate Resiliency Funding to Communities

The announcement was held on the original homeland of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, who will reclaim land using grant funds
For immediate release:
8/30/2023
  • Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll
  • Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Media Contact   for Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $31.5 Million in Climate Resiliency Funding to Communities

Karissa Hand, Press Secretary

Stockbridge — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced $31.5 million in grants for climate resilience implementation and planning throughout Massachusetts. For the first time in the history of the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program, two Tribes are receiving funding since eligibility was expanded by the Legislature in 2022.  

Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper made the announcement in Stockbridge, the original homeland of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans. In the 1800s, the Tribe was pressured to leave their home, forcing them to eventually relocate to Wisconsin. The Tribe was awarded $2.26 million MVP Action Grant to reclaim 351 acres of their indigenous homelands and establish tribally driven conservation and forest management strategies. 

“As we work to address the climate crisis, we have an opportunity to right historical wrongs,” said Governor Maura Healey. “This investment to the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans demonstrates our administration’s commitment to building strong relationships with Indigenous communities and supporting their efforts in mitigating the impacts of climate change. We are proud to be a part of this significant first step of welcoming the Tribe back to their homeland.” 

“The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans’ stewardship of lands is profoundly interwoven into their culture and reclaiming it will not only restore their relationship with the natural environment but also ensure ancestral-significant areas are preserved,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “The MVP program is one of our critical tools to partner with communities and build resiliency. We’re grateful to this year’s recipients for their hard work to mitigate the impacts of climate change.” 

"Our mission is to continue to foster and create relationships centered around integrated capital solutions and capacity building with our Tribal Nation, alongside partners, changemakers, community developers and partners like the state of Massachusetts," said Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans President Shannon Holsey. "We are creating a paradigm shift in how society invests in tribal nations by grounding an investment strategy in Indigenous systems thinking, recognizing the interconnectedness of all things and our responsibilities to our homelands and each other. Our approach ensures a resilient and regenerative framework from start to finish, built around the origins of our homeland." 

“Equity and environmental justice are fundamental in our approach to tackling climate change. This project is just one example of how our administration is taking historic action in undoing the systems that excluded the Indigenous, Black, and brown communities and ensuring they are centered in our work,” said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “We look forward to continuing our partnerships with Tribes to develop proactive strategies protecting and restoring Massachusetts’ natural resources.” 

The MVP grant program provides communities with funding and technical assistance to support the climate resilience planning process and implement priority actions to adapt to climate change. In April, Governor Healey launched MVP Planning 2.0, which serves as the next phase of our flagship program. It supports communities in updating their climate change resiliency plans in a way that centers environmental justice and other priority populations most impacted by climate change and putting these plans into action. The awards announced today include $3 million in funding for MVP 2.0 to 28 individual municipalities, one regional group, and one Tribe. The following communities will receive funding to complete MVP 2.0 in 2023-2025: 

Grantee 

Total Award 

Abington 

$95,000 

Acton 

$95,000 

Arlington 

$95,000 

Ashland 

$95,000 

Belchertown 

$95,000 

Charlton 

$95,000 

Chelmsford 

$95,000 

Chelsea 

$95,000 

Chesterfield 

$95,000 

Chicopee 

$95,000 

Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission on behalf of the Towns of Uxbridge, Sutton, Douglas, and Northbridge 

$290,000 

Cohasset 

$95,000 

Deerfield 

$95,000 

Easton 

$95,000 

Fairhaven 

$95,000 

Goshen 

$95,000 

Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band 

$95,000 

Leicester 

$95,000 

Lincoln 

$95,000 

Maynard 

$95,000 

Milford 

$95,000 

Montague 

$95,000 

Northampton 

$95,000 

Peabody 

$95,000 

Reading 

$95,000 

Somerville  

$95,000 

South Hadley 

$95,000 

Sudbury 

$95,000 

Westport 

$95,000 

Windsor 

$95,000 

Total (30) 

Total: $3,045,000 

  

Today’s awards also include $28.5 million in MVP Action Grant funding for 79 local implementation projects. These 79 projects are led by 56 different individual municipalities, 16 regional groups, two water districts, and one Tribe. MVP Action Grant projects are focused on proactive strategies to address climate change impacts and may include actions to invest in and protect environmental justice communities and improve public health, nature-based solutions to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat and flooding, and climate resilience-focused regulatory updates.  

Grantee 

Project Title 

Total Award 

Amherst 

Fort River Watershed Improvements for Flood & Water Quality Resiliency 

 $               169,250  

Andover 

Climate Ready Shawsheen - Preparing for Flood Resilience 

 $                 81,900  

Attleboro 

Green Stormwater Infrastructure Feasibility Study 

 $               101,250  

Avon 

Urban Park for People: Resilient D.W. Field Park 

 $            1,455,350  

Barnstable 

Hyannis Harbor Master Plan 

 $               199,000  

Bolton 

Future Resilient Field at Derby 

 $                 22,300  

Boston (& Revere) 

Regional Climate Resilience and Recreation in Boston, Revere, and Belle Isle Marsh 

 $               330,500  

Briggsville Water District (& Town of Clarksburg)  

Briggsville Water District Land Acquisition and Tank Engineering for Flood and Drought Resilience 

 $                 48,150  

Brookline 

Brookline Town-Wide Drainage Model, System Evaluation & Vulnerability Assessment 

 $               145,226  

Buckland 

Design of Clesson Brook Watershed Resiliency Projects 

 $               160,000  

Burlington (& Upper Mystic Communities) 

Retrofits to Facilities that Host or Serve Priority Populations 

 $                 90,600  

Carlisle 

Climate Resilience Land Use Best Practices in Carlisle 

 $                 93,740  

Chelsea 

Heat Mitigation at Chelsea's Elementary Schools  

 $               315,690  

Chelsea 

Advancing the Vision for a Resilient & Community Focused Eastern Avenue 

 $               339,000  

Chesterfield 

Chesterfield MVP Planning 

 $                 76,000  

Clarksburg 

Four Corners Floodplain Restoration and Flood Resiliency Project 

 $               215,143  

Conway 

Conway Center Flood Mitigation Project 

 $               279,000  

Dartmouth 

Nature-Based Solutions Retrofit of Critical Infrastructure within Coastal Flood-Prone Areas 

 $                 84,375  

Dedham 

Short and Long-Term Flood Resilience Strategies for Dedham's Manor Neighborhood 

 $                 93,750  

Dedham (& Boston, Canton, Foxborough, Milton, Norwood, Sharon, Stoughton, Westwood) 

Neponset River Watershed Regional Climate Resilience Collaborative and Flood Model Phase 2 

 $               608,134  

Deerfield 

Deerfield Green Infrastructure 

 $               237,823  

Devens (& Ayer) 

Taking Root:  Expanding the Ayer-Devens Pocket Forest Project 

 $               109,004  

Easthampton 

Emerald Place Resiliency Improvements 

 $               304,800  

Egremont (& Great Barrington) 

Bringing Climate Action Home to Egremont 

 $                 81,500  

Everett 

The Resilient and Accessible Habitat at Rivergreen on the Malden River Project    

 $                 97,795  

Everett (& Melrose, Chelsea) 

Creating Oases in our Hottest Neighborhoods: Increasing Urban Forest Health through Green-Grey Solutions in the Mystic Watershed 

 $               390,725  

Fall River (& Swansea, Somerset, Dighton, Freetown, Westport, Dartmouth) 

Regional Water Supply Firm Yield Analysis and Systems Assessment Under Climate Change 

 $               111,170  

Fitchburg 

Blue/Green Downtown Fitchburg - Climate Adaptation Action Plan 

 $               365,000  

Fitchburg  

Generating & Measuring Resiliency in Downtown Fitchburg with Nature-Based Solutions 

 $               293,800  

Fitchburg (& Leominster, Groton, Pepperell, Ashburnham) 

Nashua River Watershed Natural Solutions Action Project 

 $               403,985  

Framingham 

Walnut Street Neighborhood Flood Mitigation - Construction 

 $            1,987,968  

Framingham (& Ashland, Sherborn) 

Protection of a Climate Resilient Tri-City Open Space Cluster in MetroWest 

 $               215,000  

Gloucester 

City of Gloucester Low-Lying Roads Project 

 $                 58,506  

Great Barrington 

Lake Mansfield Improvements Phase 2 

 $               709,720  

Groveland 

Town of Groveland Continuation of Johnson Creek Watershed Flood Resiliency Project 

 $               143,666  

Hadley 

Town of Hadley Watershed-Wide Flood Resilience Improvements 

 $               157,641  

Hampden 

Town of Hampden Main Street Bridge Replacement and Green Solutions Project  

 $               247,740  

Harvard 

Harvard Littleton County Road Land Protection  

 $               401,250  

Harvard 

Harvard Climate Implementation Plan - Phase One: Protective Bylaws and Community Outreach 

 $                 47,390  

Harwich (& Brewster) 

Harwich Route 124 Culvert Restoration 

 $                 89,913  

Holyoke 

Green Infrastructure Design and Land Protection in the Day Brook Watershed 

 $               192,900  

Holyoke  

Recipes for a Resilient Holyoke: A Community Cookbook 

 $               141,680  

Hull 

Hampton Circle Area Adaptation Roadmap Phase 2 

 $               200,000  

Ipswich 

Ipswich Town Wharf Pump Station Relocation and Coastal Resiliency Improvement Project 

 $               235,000  

Ipswich (& Essex) 

Upper Castle Neck Salt Marsh Restoration 

 $               104,848  

Leyden (& Bernardston) 

The Identification, Assessment, and Mitigation of Multi-Town Wildfire Hazards 

 $               179,200 

Longmeadow 

Cooley Brook Watershed Improvements Phase 2: Conceptual & Permitting Design 

 $               424,375  

Ludlow 

Resilient Stormwater and Urban Heat Island Assessment 

 $               135,000  

Lynn 

G.E.A.A. Field - Flooding Now, Floodable in the Future 

 $               190,000  

Malden  

Malden River Works for Waterfront Equity and Resilience 

 $            2,998,049  

Martha's Vineyard Commission (& Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Nantucket, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury) 

Fostering Ecosystem Resilience through Mapping, Prioritization, and Community Engagement 

 $               163,540  

Mashpee 

Town of Mashpee, Increasing Resilience to Harmful Algal Blooms in Santuit Pond - Town Landing Stormwater Design and Permitting 

 $               228,000  

Medford 

Medford Urban Forest Vulnerability Assessment  

 $               106,500  

Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) (& Metro Mayors Coalition Communities) 

Metro Mayors Cool Roof Project 

 $                 88,500  

Monson 

Bunyan Road Relocation and Floodplain Restoration 

 $               291,500  

Natick 

Climate Resilient Park Network Along the Charles River in South Natick 

 $               290,000  

New Bedford 

Kempton Street Green Infrastructure 

 $               350,750  

Newburyport 

Climate Resilient Newburyport: Community Collaboration & Capacity Building Project  

 $               191,377  

Northbridge 

Flood Resilience and Water Quality Protection Through Better Causeway and Green Infrastructure Design 

 $               402,627  

Norwood 

Hennessey Field Stormwater Detention Basin Concept Design  

 $               432,000  

Oak Bluffs 

Oak Bluffs Design of the Coastal Resilience Improvements for the Dukes County Ave Pump Station  

 $               146,658  

Pittsfield 

Francis Avenue Parklet, Stormwater Designs, and Routing Study to West Street  

 $               322,435  

Plymouth 

Bartlett Road Dam Removal, Culvert Resiliency, and Stormwater Improvements 

 $            1,975,959  

Revere 

Diamond Creek Catchment Climate Resilience Improvements - Design and Permitting 

 $               386,911  

Revere (& Saugus, Lynn, Malden, Everett) 

SPRARR-Regional Prioritization and Design Project 

 $               154,717  

Rockport 

Rockport Coastal Resilience Planning Project 

 $               242,067  

Sharon 

Climate Resiliency Watershed Plan: Lake Massapoag 2025-2050 

 $                 75,000  

Southwick 

Kline Road/Shurtleff Brook Culvert Replacement Project 

 $               526,800  

Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans  

Fenn Farm- Monument Mountain Acquisition Project 

 $            2,257,990  

Water Supply District of Acton (& Town of Acton) 

549 Main Street Water Supply & Open Space Preservation Acquisition 

 $            1,501,610  

West Boylston 

Resilient Streams of the Wachusett Reservoir 

 $               105,000  

West Newbury 

Evaluating Vulnerabilities and Options to Promote Resiliency: River Road and Environs  

 $               150,000  

West Springfield 

Establishment of a Tree Nursery and Development of Tree Planting Program 

 $                 59,000  

Westborough 

Aquifer Recharge for Water Resiliency 

 $               271,950  

Wilbraham 

Wilbraham Culvert Assessment 

 $                 60,000  

Williamsburg 

Williamsburg Mill River Watershed Planning 

 $               682,085  

Winthrop (& Revere, Boston) 

Belle Isle Marsh as a Nature Based Solution to Coastal Flooding: Regional Collaboration and Morton Street Neighborhood Design and Permitting 

 $               291,076  

Woburn 

Hurld Park - Heat Resilient Park CDs 

 $               180,500  

Worcester 

Resilient Community Place-Making and Miyawaki Forests 

 $               409,461  

Total (79) 

 $          28,507,819  

###

Media Contact   for Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $31.5 Million in Climate Resiliency Funding to Communities

  • Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll 

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