Over 78 miles of the Westfield River headwater tributaries and three major branches are designated as a National Wild & Scenic River.
Volunteers are being sought to help the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System “walk the watershed.”
Over 78 miles of the Westfield River’s headwater tributaries and three major branches are designated as a National Wild & Scenic River, and volunteers are needed to make sure the waters remain pristine.
The sections of the river designated as “Wild & Scenic” run through Becket, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Huntington, Middlefield, Savoy, Washington, Windsor and Worthington. Westfield River Wild & Scenic Volunteer Coordinator Meredyth Babcock said it’s wonderful to have people from all these communities keeping an eye on the river.
“It connects you not only to the Westfield River, but to the concept of water and how we’ve treated it over many, many years,” Babcock said. “People who have a higher awareness will have a larger community which is mindful of their connection with all water.”
Volunteers are sought to “adopt” a section of the river of approximately one mile.
“We send them a DVD to train them,” Babcock said. “We send maps and data sheets, and they take on one section of the river to keep an eye on it and alert us if there are any issues.”
They also gather photos to show the section’s beauty and historic value, and to serve as a gauge for any changes which occur over time.
Some of the river sections are more challenging to adopt than others.
“I try to match the individual who is interested with a section that is appropriate, through conversations I have with the volunteers to assess their athletic ability and interest,” Babcock said. “Some of these sections are fairly remote. It’s scampering over rocks, and you certainly get wet.”
Volunteers are asked to walk the watershed once or twice a year. If they do it twice a year, the ideal time is in the spring and fall. Through a visual assessment, they look for interesting historical features and geology, and make note of how the community is using the area for recreational purposes.
“They’re looking for any problems that might be occurring at stream crossings, bridges and culverts,” Babcock said. “They’re looking to see if there’s any erosion taking place that might be assisted by a replanting, or septic (systems) that have gone awry.”
Observations from volunteers have resulted in several potential problems being addressed. In one instance, a volunteer noticed that an area of stream near Main Street in Becket was receiving excessive runoff from a road that had not been properly buffered. The section of water seeing the oil, salt and sand from the roadway was right where a group put salmon fry into the river.
A second project prompted by a volunteer was the Glendale Falls trail stairs project. That volunteer noticed that flora and fauna near the falls was being trampled because there was not a clear, safe path to follow.
“That came from a volunteer red-flagging, saying, ‘This should be looked at,’” Babcock said. “We were able to really change the way the community will interact with that beautiful waterfall.”
Volunteers are also working on fixing two bridges on the Keystone Arch Bridge trail, and improving drainage on the east branch from the Chesterfield Gorge to Huntington.
The program will also run workshops to teach community members how to assess a stream’s health by looking at its macro-invertibrates.
“If you’ve taken the macro-invertibrates class, you can look at that,” Babcock said. “In a couple of sections along the river, we’re doing a collection once a month. They are an indicator species so they tell us a lot about the river.”
Other training programs to be offered this year will focus on the geology of the area, photo monitoring, and on invasive species and best practices for reducing or eliminating those species.
For more information or to volunteer, contact Babcock at volunteer@westfieldriverwildscenic.org or call (413) 579-3015.