In three towns that border Amherst, 2,000 or so acres of forestland is close to being permanently protected from development. The land is in the Massachusetts towns of Leverett, Pelham, and Shutesbury. The deal should be done within six months. Kestrel Land Trust is involved in the deal. Land trusts get much of their money from the government. The government invests a tiny amount of money in land protection compared to its investments in war, prison for non-violent people, and tax cuts for billionaires.

The 2,000 acres will be open to the public for hiking. The USA is losing 6,000 acres of open space every day.

The below map shows the open space that has been protected in the Connecticut River watershed in Massachusetts, southeast Vermont and southwest New Hampshire. The map was current as of 2015. Click on the map to enlarge it, then scroll down and click "see full size image." Then click on the map again to enlarge it more. You can move the image using the arrows on your keyboard. Pisgah (New Hampshire) state park can be seen on the map. Is is the biggest protected area that is both east of Brattleboro and southwest of Keene. It is about 13,300 acres.

In other news from the Valley, people marched 50 miles over four days, ending at a rally in Springfield on August 26. The goal is stronger gun control laws. The march started in Worcester, Massachusetts. One of the groups that organized the march has a web site at www.StopHandgunViolence.org. About 200 people were at the rally.

In other news from the Valley, there will be a rally to protest logging on publicly-owned land on September 1 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. outside 11 East Main Street in Erving, Massachusetts. Erving borders Gill, which borders Greenfield.

The state of Massachusetts is planning to log the Wendell State Forest in November. Part of the plan is to log an 80 acre, 110-year-old oak forest. For more information contact Janet Sinclair via:

www.facebook.com/savebrookrdforest