Squannacook River Rail Trail Aug 2018 Status Update
Squannacook Greenways has been busy in 2018 working on fundraising and the permitting process to allow the construction of the Squannacook River Rail Trail.  An important milestone was reached on Aug 10, 2018, when the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs issued a certificate on our Environmental Notification Form. This is a big step in the permitting process!

On reason that Squannacook Greenways has been working so hard on permitting is that our trail can only be constructed between the dates of Nov. 7 and Mar. 15th.  This time-of-year restriction is to protect Blanding's Turtles, through whose habitat our rail trail will run.  This means if we miss the Nov. 2018 window, we will need to wait until Nov. 2019.

Much important permitting work still remains to be done, in particular with the Groton and Townsend Conservation Commissions.  A first public meeting has already been held with the Groton Conservation Commission, and one with the Townsend Conservation Commission should be held in the near future.  We look forward to working with these boards to make sure our rail trail both serves the people in our communities, and is a good neighbor to the wonderful natural resources our trail will traverse.
Blandings Turtle

Capital campaign: over 130K!
Thanks to the generosity of many local business, the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts, the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation, and many private supporters who bought bricks and made other donations, the Squannacook River Rail Trail Capital Campaign recently passed the $130,000 mark.  Look for the granite pillar, granite benches, and kiosks with the engraved bricks to be installed right after trail construction is complete.





Squannacook Greenways | [email protected] | www.sqgw.org
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