Two Franklin County institutions are among nine across the state to benefit from wildlife habitat management grant money for 10 improvement projects totaling 308 acres in Massachusetts.
Fred Heyes in Orange is set to receive $31,768, while Foxbard Farm in Shelburne is getting $41,335 to create and improve young forest and shrubland habitats. The grants are among a total of $307,631 administered by the state Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, more commonly known as MassWildlife.
The MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program provides financial assistance to private and municipal landowners of conserved lands to improve and manage habitat for wildlife deemed to be in greatest conservation need, as well as for certain game species.
The money designated for Orange supports Heyes Forest Products, which manages forestland in the region, and Heyes Family Forest, a limited liability company that Fred Heyes owns with his son and daughter. Heyes said the family forest holds the majority of the Orange land to be affected by the grant money. He said more than 60 percent of the land is under conservation restrictions the state oversees.
The money will be used to create 8 acres of young forest, Heyes said, “which will encourage the return of wildlife that requires young forest in order to breed and thrive.” The money will go toward hiring a contractor to try to eliminate invasive vegetation, primarily buckthorn, from 80 acres of landscape.
Two patches will also be built adjacent to the river to serve as turtle nesting habitats so turtles will be less inclined to cross busy roadways to lay their eggs.
Heyes explained this is the third MassWildlife grant he has received.
“It’s a really good program,” he said. “We like working with MassWildlife.”
Helen Payne Watt, co-owner of Foxbard Farm, a Black Angus beef operation and small sawmill in Shelburne, said her family has been working with forestry and wildlife consultant Tom Brulé, of Pantermehl Environmental Services, who helped the Paynes prepare and submit their grant application to MassWildlife.
“We were delighted to hear the news,” Payne Watt said of receiving the grant.
She said 15 of roughly 292 acres on Old Greenfield Road will be affected. There will be cutting on the land, with key trees and key tree clusters being maintained. Payne Watt also mentioned one brush pile will be constructed for each of the 15 acres to create habitats for different species, specifically pollinators. Brulé will supervise the work she does with her mother, Margaret Payne, and four siblings.
Marion Larson, chief of information and education at MassWildlife, said land protection alone is not enough to guarantee the persistence of the state’s diverse wildlife.
“The MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program provides assistance to private and municipal owners of protected lands to enhance wildlife habitat, while promoting public access for outdoor recreation,” she said in a statement. “The young forest management projects by Foxbard Farm in Shelburne and Fred Heyes in Orange are models for other landowners to consider, enhancing MassWildlife’s efforts to keep the state’s wildlife diversity and wildlife-based recreation thriving now and into the future.”
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.