Our Initiatives: Land

 Invasive Species Removal

If all plants are not weeds, and not all weeds are invasive, how do you know which plants don't belong in our local outdoor spaces? How can we tell a "good" weed from a "bad" one?

 Natural & Cultural Resources Along the Appalachian Trail

The 250,000-acre corridor of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and its surrounding landscape are rich in natural and cultural resources. Running primarily along the Appalachian highlands, Trail lands protect headwater streams for major East Coast watersheds. The Western MA A.T. Management Committee runs a robust program to catalog, monitor, and manage natural and cultural resources on A.T. trail lands in Massachusetts.

 Protection Strategies for the NET

The New England National Scenic Trail (NET) was established as part of the National Park Service's (NPS) National Trails System (NTS) in 2009 through an amendment to the National Trails System Act (NTSA) which establishes the nation's National Scenic and Historic Trails (NSHTs). The NET is a 235-mile trail that traverses southern New England from Long Island Sound in Connecticut to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.

 Sustainability in the Tyringham Valley

The A.T. Committee's Tyringham Valley Project will foster the AMC's goal of adapting to climate change while protecting the wide variety of local plant life, including several rare plant species and a key species threatened by an invasive insect, and minimizing our impact on the wildlife that inhabit the area. We will be doing all this while still providing public access to the remaining wild places in our region, including adding handicapped access to a scenic open area and wetland.

 Westfield River Waterfront Cleanup

In recent years, the Western MA Chapter's Conservation Committee has collaborated with the Westfield River Watershed Association (WRWA) in their twice-yearly waterfront cleanup events. Led by AMC's Heather Wyman (a WRWA board member), we coordinate cleanup efforts in the area of the West Springfield levee in West Springfield, MA.