Housing Planning
Investment in new and existing housing is a critical need in rural towns, where a mismatch exists between current housing stock and current needs. A lack of housing production, old…
Climate Resilient Rivers & Watersheds
Untreated, unmanaged stormwater, along with shifts in river pathways due to natural or human causes, are all part of a complex set of stressors impacting our rivers and their watersheds.…
Hazard Mitigation & Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Planning
A changing climate is increasing the frequency and severity of damaging storms. Hazard Mitigation Plans (HMPs) and Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Plans inform a community’s long-term strategy to reduce damages…
Clean Energy
In 2019, FRCOG was awarded funding by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) through the Affordable Access to Regional Coordination (AARC) Program to increase local-level knowledge of clean and efficient…
Green Infrastructure and Low-Impact Development
Green Infrastructure, or, Low-Impact Development (LID), treats stormwater as a resource, not a waste product. LID techniques preserve and recreate natural landscape features at a development site, using rain gardens,…
A Framework for Resilience
A Framework for Resilience is the first watershed-based climate change resiliency plan in the Commonwealth. The Deerfield River Watershed includes all or a portion of fourteen Franklin County towns: Ashfield,…
River Restoration & Sediment Management for the South River in Conway, MA
With funding from the MassDEP’s s.319 grant program that leverages $100,000 provided by the Town of Conway’s Community Preservation Act Fund, FRCOG helped the town build a priority restoration project…
FERC Relicensing of the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage and Turners Falls Dam Hydroelectric Projects
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licenses for five hydroelectric projects on the Connecticut River expired in 2018. Two projects are located in Franklin County – the Northfield Mountain Pumped…
Sustainable Stormwater Management Plan for Franklin County
Managing stormwater runoff is increasingly difficult with climate change and the more frequent and intense storm events we are experiencing. Sustainable and climate resilient stormwater practices capture, clean, and store…
Food Systems
The Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan, co-authored by the FRCOG and released in December 2015, presents goals and actions to strengthen the state’s food system. The Massachusetts Local Food Action…
Local Tree Inventories
In 2017, the FRCOG conducted an inventory of public street trees in South Deerfield and Old Deerfield, funded by a DCR Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Grant. The inventory included…
Sustainable Franklin County: A Regional Plan for Sustainable Development
The FRCOG and its project partners were selected in 2010 as one of 45 regional areas nationwide to receive a HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant. The plan is used…
