Outreach Highlights
October 2008

Water is a Key to The Last Green Valley

The South Village Dam on the French River in Webster was critical to harnessing river power for early development, and remains a scenic treasure in the Quinebaug watershed.

Historically, small rivers and streams of New England were the lifeblood of its inland cities and towns, powering the mills and small factories that drove the development, sustainability and quality of life that so many communities have long embraced.

And, insists Bob Levite, a specialist with UMass Extension’s Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation program, those water resources remain a critical key to the future of the south-central Massachusetts towns that comprise the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley.

Called “The Last Green Valley in the Boston-to-Washington Corridor,” the Quinebaug and Shetucket region encompasses 1,085 square miles in the Massachusetts towns of Dudley, Oxford, Webster, Charlton, Sturbridge, Southbridge, Brimfield, Holland and East Brookfield – as well as 26 others in Connecticut. In 1994, the federal government established the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor.

“It’s an incredible resource, and one that everyone is eager to preserve,” says Levite, who has been working in the region for approximately six years. For the past two years, he has been especially focused on one particular project that puts UMass Amherst’s field and research capacities at the disposal of a partnership of federal, state and local government agencies and citizens groups, all in the best tradition of university outreach.

Levite has been a central figure in the Heritage Landscape Survey and Preservation Project, funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, in collaboration with both the Blackstone River Heritage Corridor and the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Heritage Corridor and UMass Extension. The aim of the program has been to inventory and plan for the preservation of “historic landscapes” in the Quinebaug and Shetucket corridor and the neighboring Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.

“It is amazing to realize the extent to which water resources are a critical key to understanding the history of this region and its historic and cultural landscapes,” said Levite. “That’s why water, waterways and water resource protection have been central to our work on this project, and remain central to the future of these communities.”

He noted that, in addition to open waterways, the area encompasses an enormous system of aquifers, including Connecticut’s largest. The health of that system is often cited as vital to the health of the Long Island Sound.

Phase I of the project involved meeting with local residents and municipal officials. In each case, a total of 25 to 30 historic landscapes were identified, and residents were given a chance to vote for top choices. In many cases, said Levite, it was the participation of interested citizens not serving in official roles on historic commissions or other official bodies who were the most helpful in identifying sites.

“There were a ton of surprises,” notes Levite. “I got to see things I never would have seen or found or known about.”

Still, he said, much of the focus of the program has remained on the intricate web of waterways in the area. At one time, many of those streams ran with all kinds of vivid colors released by the mills and factories along the river. In recent decades, the water quality has improved dramatically, but concerns remain about the future of the mills, and the future of the water quality.

“There are still many abandoned mills along rivers and streams,” said Levite. “Reuse of the mills in a way that will protect water quality, preserve green space along the banks and reduce pressure to build on virgin green space is critical.”

That “visioning” of the future, along with thorough historical documentation of the past, was the focus of the second phase of the project. That meant documenting the landscapes through research, fieldwork and photographs, and identifying tools that can be used to protect and preserve these landscapes. That led to the development of a preservation plan, including inventorying of existing conditions, and analysis of site integrity.

Training is the focus of the program’s third and final phase, which began last spring with a series of four workshops on the use of various planning tools that towns have available to deal with preserving historic landscapes and the water resources that, in many cases, created them in the first place. Smart Growth planning, creating low-impact development, fostering low-impact recreation, and maintaining green spaces are among the extensive palette of approaches being addressed in further workshops this fall in these communities.

In addition, a separate workshop will allow participants to come together and “ask the experts” who have long been involved with this kind of protection and preservation.

“State resources, our research and local enthusiasm have come together very effectively,” said Levite. “There is a real recognition of the historical, environmental and economic importance of this work.”

Photo: Alan Dabrowski