BUCKLAND — The town is seeking members for a new Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee, run by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, to update its plan with a focus on climate change.
Anyone is welcome to join, said Kimberly Noake MacPhee, FRCOG’s land use and natural resources planning program manager. So far, four or five people have expressed interest, with some sitting on other town boards.
The committee’s first meeting has yet to be scheduled, but will likely be in September. There will be two or three meetings in total, with the project set to wrap up at the end of the calendar year.
“This is another opportunity the town has to think about climate change and climate resiliency,” Noake MacPhee said. “You need to think about excessive heat, and all this rainfall, and drought, and how all of that is going to effect (the environment).”
The town’s Open Space and Recreation Plan was last updated in 2010, expiring two years ago. For the first time, the plan will include information on the effects of climate change and methods to increase the area’s resiliency, Noake MacPhee said.
The Clessenbrook Watershed and the Buckland Recreation Area are two focus areas for the plan, she said. Both experienced significant damage from Hurricane Irene.
Noake MacPhee said several towns have either recently completed or are in the process of updating their plans. The municipalities of Heath, Gill, Northfield and Greenfield are now updating their plans, while Erving, Ashfield and Leverett have recently finished.
Contact Noake MacPhee at 413-774-3167, ext. 130 or kmacphee@frcog.org, or Buckland Town Administrator Heather Butler at 413-625-6330, ext. 5 or twnadmin@town.buckland.ma.us for more information.
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.