FRCOG Planning Staff are excited to share we received funding from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) to expand our pollinator project to include five additional communities and implement priority actions from the Regional Pollinator Action Plan for Franklin County. The towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Colrain, Deerfield, and Shutesbury will work with FRCOG staff to develop a pollinator corridor map and identify strategies for pollinator habitat implementation. To build on the previous report findings, FRCOG staff will host a regional workshop with representatives from the eight municipalities that participated in the original Regional Plan, and assist Planning Boards revisions to their Zoning Bylaws.
The FRCOG will also develop a model pollinator-friendly roadside mowing manual and policy guide for Highway Superintendents, supported by the work of the Franklin Conservation District (FCD). Through another project, the FCD will be working directly with municipal property managers and other municipal staff to provide training and technical support to not only change their mowing practices, but also to maintain pollinator meadows and other landscapes designed to support pollinator habitat. FRCOG staff will kick off this project in early 2023.
