Sheffield Land Trust, Egremont Land Trust, and Greenagers have almost met our goal to purchase, protect, and maintain a new community trail and woodland education area called Bow Wow Woods.

This project, part of the Sheffield-Egremont Corridor Project, is a 54-acre wooded parcel along Route 41 and Bow Wow Road, where Egremont borders Sheffield. Of the project’s total cost ($1 million), we secured about $900,000 through foundation grants, a generous gift from a long-time Sheffield Land Trust member, and membership support.

Greenagers now owns the land and will act as its day-to-day steward. Sheffield Land Trust and Egremont Land Trust hold a conservation restriction on the property and share the monitoring of the land.

We now need to raise the remaining $100,000 for ongoing maintenance. If you can help, please click on the To Join, Renew, or Donate Online or by Mail button on this site, and either enter your information online or send a check. Be sure to mention Bow Wow Woods in the comments (online) or in the check memo. Thank you!!

September 10, 2022, Saturday 11 AM Annual free nature-oriented event. French Park, North Egremont, rain or shine. Our presenter this year is Wingmasters, based in Adams, MA, and operating since 1994. Wingmasters, a partnership of two people (Julie Anne Collier and Jim Parks), is dedicated to increasing public understanding and appreciation of North American birds of prey. They care for injured birds, and if the birds cannot be released back into the wild, Julie and Jim provide a home for them and use them for educational programs. They will bring with them 2 falcons, 1 red-tailed hawk, and 3 owls. Everyone is welcome to this educational event.

September 10, 2022, Saturday noon Annual ELT meeting at French Park, North Egremont. Our brief business meeting will be followed by a lunch provided by ELT. We welcome all interested residents to our annual meeting.

The members of the board of Egremont Land Trust join our local community in mourning the death of Wendy Linscott, on April 19, 2022. Back in the mid 1980s, she played an instrumental role in helping to preserve Jug End Reservation in Egremont from developers, which led to the formation of the Egremont Land Trust, and she joined the ELT board in 2005. Wendy served on the Egremont Planning Board from 1988 to 1994. Her Berkshire County advocacy also included serving on the boards of Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Berkshire Botanical Garden, Community Health Program, Edith Wharton Restoration, Southern Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association, and Berkshire Choral Institute.

Generous with her time and legal expertise, Wendy was a strong and valuable presence on our board. As Peg Muskrat, our board president, said, “I always knew I could go to her for advice and knew I would get a straight answer.”

We will always be grateful for Wendy’s commitment and wisdom. We feel her loss deeply.

Sheffield Land Trust, Egremont Land Trust, and Greenagers are proud to announce a dollar-for-dollar $500,000 challenge to purchase, protect, and maintain a new community trail and woodland education area called Bow Wow Woods

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When: September 18 11am
Where: French Park in North Egremont.

Tom Tyning, field biologist and environmental scientist, will discuss “Why Frogs and Turtles Matter” at 11 am, rain or shine. All are welcome. ELT’s brief business meeting will be at noon. Due to safety precautions, lunch will not be provided. We will be socially distanced and we recommend that everyone wear a mask.

Tom went to work at MA Audubon after graduating from college. He received both his BS (wildlife biology) and MS (organismic and evolutionary biology) from the UMass Amherst, where he focused on the biology and conservation of the timber rattlesnake. Since 1999, he has been a professor of environmental science at Berkshire Community College. Prior to that, he was a field biologist and Master Naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society for 24 years.