Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program Awardees

Williamsburg — Today, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and Undersecretary of Decarbonization and Resilience Katherine Antos joined the Town of Williamsburg and the Trustees of Reservations to celebrate nearly $30 million in Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grants at the Beaver Brook property. This past September, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) awarded 54 grants to communities, Tribal governments and regional planning agencies to prepare for extreme weather, including heat waves, flooding, wildfires and storms. The administration gathered at the site of the Williamsburg Flood Resilience Project. Williamsburg was devastated after the 2023 floods, and this project will include rewilding a former golf course to help mitigate future flooding.  

“In 2023, I saw firsthand the devastating impact of flooding from the Mill River on communities in Western Mass, including Williamsburg,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We promised that we would invest in recovery and disaster prevention for our homes and businesses. Now we’re fulfilling that promise through the MVP Program. By empowering municipalities to better prepare for future storms, we are building a stronger, more resilient Massachusetts.” 

“Investing in natural areas and the repair and construction of durable stormwater infrastructure is a down payment on protecting our communities from extreme weather and flooding,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Our partnership with the Town of Williamsburg and its partners to rewild the Beaver Brook Golf Course demonstrates that nature-based solutions are our best path forward to building more resilient municipalities.” 

“We’re investing in the kinds of infrastructure that protect communities like Williamsburg from extreme weather when it arrives,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “The MVP Program has funded over 500 projects across Massachusetts. In this project, with the support of The Trustees and Hilltown Land Trust, we will implement strategies that conserve nature, allowing residents to enjoy these beautiful spaces while leveraging natural systems to protect our communities from future flooding. This effort will also contribute to increasing affordable housing.” 

“The MVP program is focused on building resiliency to climate change, but at its core it is about building the communities of tomorrow -- places that support people, the environment, and local economies,” said The Trustees President and CEO, Katie Theoharides. “We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll administration for their commitment to climate resiliency through MVP and proud to partner with the Town of Williamsburg and the Hilltown Land Trust to rewild the former golf course at Beaver Brook to become a publicly accessible community park that will hold and absorb flood water, support critical habitat connectivity for plants and wildlife, and provide outdoor access for everyone, forever to this special landscape in Western Massachusetts.” 

The Williamsburg Flood Resilience Project is a continuation of the two-year Mill River Watershed Analysis Project funded by MVP. After extreme flooding from the Mill River caused extensive damage to homes in Williamsburg, Governor Maura Healey visited the town in 2023 to assess the impacts and speak with residents affected by the flash flood. In partnership with Williamsburg and Hilltown Land Trust, The Trustees is rewilding the 250-acre Beaver Brook former golf course site to create a protected natural area that will reduce flood risk to the community.  The Town will hold a permanent conservation restriction that will ensure the permanent protection of the land. This project will engage the community and use nature-based strategies such as restored wetlands, bioretention and vegetated swales to reduce flooding downtown. The project also includes site assessment and preliminary designs for new, climate-resilient affordable housing adjacent to the protected area. 

“With the support of the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs and the commitment of volunteers, Williamsburg has made significant investments in public infrastructure, planning, and resiliency initiatives,” said Williamsburg Town Administrator Nick J. Caccamo. “These measures have improved the community’s quality of life while addressing the ongoing challenges presented by climate change.” 

“Hilltown Land Trust is immensely grateful for the support of the MVP program, which will allow Williamsburg to develop a shared understanding of our collective climate risk and build consensus around needed actions to improve the climate resilience of Williamsburg and downstream communities,” said Hilltown Land Trust Executive Director & Williamsburg Open Space Committee Chair Sally Loomis. “This work builds on the momentum of a previous MVP-funded project in which the Town and community partners engaged in a watershed-wide study of flood risks and possibly ways to address those vulnerabilities with community action. The conservation and restoration of the Beaver Brook land is central to this effort.” 

"The MVP grant to Williamsburg, along with others across the region, underscores the value of sustained investment in local resilience,” said Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Kimberly Robinson. “These resources are essential for long term sustainability -- reducing flood risks, cooling urban areas, and strengthening connections between people and the natural environment. The rewilding of the Beaver Brook site stands as a powerful model for Western Massachusetts, showing how restoring natural systems can protect our communities while enriching them." 

“The MVP program has been a remarkable success, helping communities build the climate resilient infrastructure they need to withstand the more frequent and severe extreme weather wrought by climate change,” said Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton). “I am grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and Senate leadership for understanding what’s needed to ensure small, rural towns can access these grants. From Amherst, to Hatfield, to Montague, to Petersham, the state is stepping up to make our communities stronger.” 

“The 2023 floods were a painful reminder of how quickly climate impacts can devastate rural communities like Williamsburg. I’m grateful to see the Commonwealth following through on its commitment to recovery and resilience with investments like this one, said Senator Paul Mark (D-Becket). “By transforming the former Beaver Brook Golf Course into restored wetlands, we’re not only protecting homes and infrastructure—we’re creating a stronger, more sustainable future for Western Massachusetts.”  

“The Williamsburg Flood Resilience Project exemplifies the kind of visionary, community-centered investment that strengthens both our landscapes and our towns,” said State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa (D-1st Hampshire). “By restoring natural systems and reducing flood risk, this project reflects a deep commitment to resilience, sustainability, and the well-being of future generations.” 

The MVP Program is Massachusetts’ flagship climate resilience program to help cities, towns and Tribes plan and implement locally-driven strategies to deal with the immediate and long-term impacts of climate change. The program goes beyond funding plans – it helps communities turn those plans into action. Since its inception in 2017, MVP has funded over 500 projects ranging from stormwater system upgrades and cooling shelters to updated zoning and green infrastructure.   

The MVP program is also a core piece of Governor Healey’s recently proposed Mass Ready Act, which includes $642 million to prepare for inland and coastal flooding and $388 million to invest in climate readiness. MVP is a priority program of ResilientMass, the statewide climate adaptation plan to reduce risk and strengthen communities in the face of climate change impacts. ResilientMass identified damage to buildings and infrastructure from inland flooding and large rainstorms as one of the most urgent impacts of climate change in Massachusetts.  

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