The South Hadley Conservation Commission, in partnership with the South Hadley Bike Walk Committee and the South Hadley High School, is sponsoring a cleanup event at the Black Stevens Conservation Area off Newton Street on Wednesday, June 13 from 8:00am to 12:00pm. The focus of the cleanup will be trash that has collected in the conservation area along the fence line next to the high school on Newton Street. Volunteers are welcome and should arrive at the high school parking lot off Newton Street at 8 a.m. Ninth grade high school students will help with the cleanup in 45-minute block rotations after completion of the Biology MCAS test.
The Black Stevens Conservation Area is 74.8 acres of town-owned conservation land located between Newton Street and Granby Road. Access is available through a trailhead on Newton Street, south of the South Hadley High School, and on Granby Road south of the Plains Elementary School. The property consists of four parcels of land acquired between 1947 and 1981, and has an extensive network of trails used for passive recreation (walking, running, x-country skiing, snowshoeing, etc.). Motorized vehicles and hunting are prohibited.
The Conservation Commission and the Bike Walk Committee are seeking to coordinate a corps of volunteers interested in maintaining trails on town-owned lands throughout South Hadley. If you would like to learn more about becoming a South Hadley Trail Steward, please contact the Conservation Administrator Anne Capra at acapra@southhadleyma.gov.
In December 2017, the Conservation Commission completed an assessment of the current condition of the property and management recommendations. The draft Black Stevens Conservation Area Baseline Documentation Report can be viewed on the Conservation Commission’s page of the town website at www.southhadley.org/299/Conservation-Commission.
Newton Smith Brook flows through the property to Black Stevens Pond next to Newton Street. The pond has been degraded over time due to sediment inflows from stormwater runoff in the Newton Smith Brook watershed, the headwaters of which are along Granby Road and Routes 33 and 202. In addition to this runoff, trash has become an issue, particularly along the property boundaries. The June 13 cleanup will be the implementation of one of the management recommendations in the assessment report.
For more information, contact Conservation Administrator/Planner Anne Capra at (413) 538-5017 x208 or acapra@southhadleyma.gov.