The Westfield River Wild & Scenic Committee supports and funds...
programs and projects that advance river stewardship and conservation. These efforts change and evolve to meet the needs of the river, the Wild & Scenic towns, residents, visitors and all other river enthusiasts. These have included:
- Restoring historic structures like the Keystone Arch Bridges in Chester and helping the Keystone Arches achieve National Historic Landmark status.
- Maintaining and cleaning up trails for safe and protected access of locations such as Sanderson Brook Falls and Glendale Falls.
- Upgrading road-stream crossings to reduce flooding and increase stream connections.
- Offering grants and technical assistance for culvert replacement to improve fish passage, habitat assessments, control of invasive species, and long term land protection. and reviews (“Section 7 Reviews”) of projects that may impact the river (road and bridge replacements, river restoration, and dam removals, etc.).
- Supporting education and community outreach programs.
- Sponsoring trail workdays, river cleanups and invasive species/plant management workshops.
- Creating informational kiosks and publications that educate about the Wild & Scenic segments, their history, geology and best ways to engage with and protect them.
- Developing a Conservation and Stewardship Master Plan to identify key issues and conservation needs and recommended stewardship actions.
- Work to reduce the use of salt for winter ice control through innovative anti-icing methods.
