Town of Amherst and Kestrel Land Trust Begin Improvements at Amethyst Brook Conservation Area
Entrance to Amethyst Brook Conservation Trail. Photo: amherstma.gov
Source: amherstma.gov
The Town of Amherst Conservation Department and Conservation Commission, in partnership with the Kestrel Land Trust, are planning several phases of improvements at the Amethyst Brook Conservation Area located at 132 Pelham Road.
Phase I begins this week with improvements to the parking area and trail entrance. This phase is expected to take several weeks. Vehicular access to the parking lot will be temporarily closed for certain periods during active construction. This work includes installing parking guardrails, painting parking spots, and adding an accessible parking space and a crosswalk. Signage is being improved with a new double kiosk and trail wayfinding signs.
In addition, the Robert Frost Trail is being permanently rerouted to follow the main trail entrance, allowing restoration of the previous route. The original section of the trail along the bank of the Amethyst Brook will be permanently closed to allow for critical ecological restoration. Years of foot traffic have impacted the ecosystem along this area of the Amethyst Brook, causing erosion and compaction. Visitors are asked to follow the signs and stay on designated trails to allow native plant species to reestablish and the riverfront to be restored.
Phase II will begin in the spring. This will include replacing two failing, undersized culverts at the trail entrance, as well as a minor reconfiguration of the existing main trail entrance to shift it out of the low-lying wetland area.
Phase III of the project will include the eventual installation of a small accessible trail which is still in the planning and funding phases.
The Town of Amherst and Kestrel Land Trust have partnered on this project to highlight the Town’s Amethyst Brook Conservation Area as a “gateway” trail entrance for the Kestrel’s Amethyst Brook Nature Retreat. This area hosts the Dorie Goldman Memorial Trail and the 1,084-acre Sarah Cowls Forest at Pelham Hills, which was recently protected as a wild forest through a partnership of The Trustees and Kestrel Land Trust.
