A version of this press release first appeared in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on August 1, 2026 as “Worthington, Huntington land conservation adds more than 700 acres.”

MONTPELIER, VERMONT—Northeast Wilderness Trust, a regional land trust focused on wilderness conservation, announced today that 230 acres of forestland and 6,100 feet of Westfield River frontage in Huntington have been permanently protected as “forever-wild.” The project, called River’s Edge Wilderness Preserve, advances Massachusetts’ ambitious climate and biodiversity goals. The Wilderness Trust received more than $400,000 in grant funding from the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Acquisition for Forest Reserves Grant Program to support acquisition of the property, which will be passively managed to maximize its benefits to wildlife and to put down the roots of a future old-growth forest.

“River’s Edge Wilderness Preserve demonstrates the power of conservation to connect habitats and reduce fragmentation of critical landscapes,” said Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “Northeast Wilderness Trust’s work aligns with our mission of protecting Massachusetts’ rich biodiversity found within aquatic and land habitats, and we’re proud to support the connection of 230 acres to over 1,500 acres of state and federally protected lands.”

Under the Healey-Driscoll Administration, Massachusetts has distinguished itself as a national leader in forward-looking land conservation policy—serving the needs of both people and Nature. The state’s “Biodiversity Goals for Massachusetts,” as well as its recent decision to join the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are encouraging steps toward a wilder, more sustainable future for the Commonwealth. So too are the $425,000 award to River’s Edge from the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, as well as a $310,000 grant from Mass Audubon’s Catalyst Fund.

“Helping Northeast Wilderness Trust permanently protect this biodiverse and carbon-rich land is exactly why we started our 30×30 Catalyst Fund, which provides critical financial and technical support to our conservation partners,” said David O’Neill, President and CEO of Mass Audubon. “This is how Mass Audubon has tripled the pace of land conservation and is a perfect example of how much we can achieve when the conservation community comes together to meet the state’s land conservation targets.”

The award demonstrates that both public agencies and nonprofit groups recognize the crucial role private conservation has to play in meeting the state’s lofty goals. About 65 percent of Massachusetts’ forestland lies in private hands. Of these landowners, land trusts, with their community connections and technical know-how, are well positioned to help cement Massachusetts’ biodiversity and climate leadership.

Especially powerful is when land trusts join forces, as exemplified by River’s Edge: Northeast Wilderness Trust partnered with Kestrel Land Trust, a fixture of land conservation in the Connecticut River Valley and beyond, to execute this project. Northeast Wilderness Trust now owns the 230 acres of River’s Edge outright, and Kestrel Land Trust will hold a conservation restriction on the property, securing a durable, forever-wild outcome for the Preserve.

River’s Edge Wilderness Preserve is significant not just for the acreage protected, but for how that acreage will be managed—or not. The Preserve, like all of Northeast Wilderness Trust’s properties, is now a “wildland,” a place where logging will forever be prohibited, human management will be minimal, and the forest will evolve and grow freely. This passive management strategy—often referred to as “rewilding”—is similar to the approach used on lands designated by Massachusetts as “forest reserves.” The establishment of River’s Edge, then, represents tangible progress toward the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s “Forests as Climate Solutions” targets. This visionary initiative calls for the tripling of the amount of Massachusetts’ forests, inclusive of both publicly and privately owned ones, protected as “forest reserves.”

Wildlands such as these harbor greater species diversity and sequester more carbon than managed forests, and yet just 2.3 percent of Massachusetts is protected as such. River’s Edge pushes the state closer toward its goal of 10 percent of forestland safeguarded as forest reserves.

“Wildlands are a crucial but underrepresented part of Massachusetts’ storied conservation landscape,” said Jon Leibowitz, President and CEO of Northeast Wilderness Trust. “Along with their outsized contributions to climate stabilization and human wellbeing, these special places act as bastions of biodiversity, where wildlife can find respite from human pressures like habitat fragmentation. With forever-wild protection, River’s Edge Wilderness Preserve will naturally evolve into an old-growth forest and provide a permanent home for the plants and animals with which we share this landscape. It’s a win for the Bay State’s natural heritage and a boost to its ambitious biodiversity and climate goals.”

About Northeast Wilderness Trust: Northeast Wilderness Trust, a Montpelier, Vermont-based regional land trust, conserves forever-wild landscapes for Nature and people. It accomplishes this work by acquiring and stewarding land as forever-wild, and by holding forever-wild conservation easements on properties owned by other organizations or individuals. Across New England and New York, the Wilderness Trust secures wild places where Nature can thrive, wildlife can wander, and people can find beauty and quiet. Since its founding in 2002, Northeast Wilderness Trust has protected more than 116,000 acres, of which more than 550 are in Massachusetts. Learn more at www.newildernesstrust.org.