Mill River Greenway Initiative

A community-based steward for the Mill River

JW Sinton

Mass DER Newsletter

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The Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, one of our close partners, has just published it’s latest newsletter here.  The newsletter, Ebb&Flow, always has some pretty neat stuff in it, but we’d like to draw your particular attention to the grants section, which briefly describes recreational trails grants for which we might well want to apply at some point.

Happy reading!

Williamsburg Village Centers Visioning Session

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Meekins Park: new fence on restored wall. Photo: Nick Dines

On Tuesday JUNE 14 at 7:00 pm at the Town Offices (Haydenville) please come share your thoughts on the Williamsburg village centers at a public visioning session, it’s a great chance to let the town know how much the river means to you and your community. The meeting is hosted by the Williamsburg Village Centers Visioning Committee which was formed in response to a goal of the recently updated Williamsburg Open Space & Recreation Plan – to help create & maintain vibrant village centers to help protect open spaces elsewhere in town. You can read the Open Space plan here.

Discussion will include river access, pedestrian needs, generally how development should look in and near the centers, and whatever related issues you bring to the meeting. Community input will be used for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to assess zoning regulations with the end result to be recommended strategies to strengthen our village centers.

The committee is also seeking public input through this survey. Please take a moment to let the Town know how much you’d like to see the Mill River featured in the future plans for Burgy and Haydenville village centers. (If you need something to get you thinking, here’s a good place to start: the village centers wouldn’t be where they are if not for the Mill River.)

Tell Us Your Mill River Story

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End of River 9 Photo: Janine Norton www.janinenorton.com

We’ve seen our share of heavy rains this spring, the water’s up. I like when the water’s up because when it’s rushing through the narrows of Burgy center like that I can hear the river at my house on Village Hill. What’s your favorite thing about the Mill River in spring? The Thursday Burgy Market has been a highlight for me. What are you looking forward to this summer? Let us know in the comments.

Dredging Willow Pond at Look Park

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We’d like to bring to your attention a plan for dredging Willow Pond at Look Park in Florence.  The Daily Hampshire Gazette’s article on May 5th has a good summary of the issues.

Gary Metras of the Pioneer Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited has a smart take on the issue.  TU has no problem with dredging the pond, but would oppose dumping the bass, pickerel, and other warm-water fish into the Mill, which supports cold-water species, particularly native brook trout.  Instead, the Willow Pond fish could be transported to Fitzgerald Lake or another local warm-water location.

The Mill River Greenway should weigh in on this issue, so we would like to hear from you.  Send us an email with your response.