Please help us stop Eversource from proceeding with excessive clear-cutting near our watershed. We hope to ensure that the work is done responsibly with minimal environmental impact. To add your voice please email your thoughts to the address below by Nov. 21.
I’m writing to express my concern about the potential devastation of an irreplaceable natural wonder: the area slated to be clear-cut at the convergence of Amethyst and Buffam Brooks. This falls just outside the boundaries of Amethyst Brook and Buffam Falls Conservation Areas. Trees along N. Valley Road would be removed to the bottom of the gorge and brook. Clear-cutting this sensitive riverfront habitat would result in higher water temperatures, plus sedimentation from runoff that would decrease water oxygen levels — both of which would threaten already beleaguered aquatic species. And this impact would flow downstream through our watershed.
Not only is this an area of remarkable natural beauty, but also historical significance; above it was the popular 19th century resort, Orient Springs Hotel, dedicated in 1861 by Edward Hitchcock, who called Amethyst Brook “The finest locality that I know of in New England.”
In Eversource’s DEIR it appears that their 125-335” already-cleared right-of-way corridor may well be doing its job and not require further clearing. If this isn’t the case, we ask that Eversource use a shelterwood forestry strategy where mature trees are topped or removed gradually. We ask them to employ selective management in the most sensitive parts of the project, such as waterfront or state-designated Priority Habitat for rare species.
Comments on the proposal are due to Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office by Nov. 21, 2025. Email to: Jennifer.Hughes@mass.gov, Subject line: EEA#16570WT-11 Transmission Right-of-Way Reliability Project, include your name, address, and contact info. For more information visit: sites.google.com/view/responsiblegrid.
Nancy Haver
Amherst