SOUTHWICK – The town of Southwick’s Open Space Planning Committee met last night to discuss the possibility of preserving 140 acres of land on Lake Congamond’s North Pond.
“It was a scoping meeting. We have a potential opportunity to preserve some land on North Pond,” said Dennis Clark of the committee. “We’re trying to put it out there, talk to the other committees and towns to get them on board with this to see if they’re also in favor of preserving the land out there – the shoreline and the property surrounding it.”
The committee is partnering with the Commonwealth’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, who own 250 acres next to the 140 acres in question, the location of one of the wildlife management areas. The DFW is interested in preserving some of the acreage for bird habitat for endangered species like Sand Pipers and Sparrows. Their goal is to form a landtrust with the town of Southwick to keep the lake frontage safe from development.
“Right now, North Pond is the most pristine pond in the lake, and a lot of people use it for recreation,” Clark said. “If it got built up, it would change everything.”
Clark said that the land was the proposed site of a resort venue during better economic times, but that the owner has had a change of heart.
“We talked with the owner back many years ago about putting some sort of resort back there,” he said. “The person who owns the land would like to see something good happen with it other than a subdivision, so the person who owns the land is working with us at this point to preserve it.”
The committee is in the process of approaching the town’s Community Preservation Committee for funding for the preserve.
“Chris Pratt, chair of the Conservation Commission, is contacting the Trust for Public Land, and I’m going to contact some of the other boards and commissions and get in touch with the Parks and Rec Department,” said Clark. “We’re going to make sure that they’re interested in this and sponsoring it, along with the Lake Management Committee and the Board of Health. It’s a big project and we’re going to need everybody in town on board to go forward with it.”
