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Housatonic Valley Association outlines 'Follow the Forest' connectivity mapping and promotes March 25 culvert training
Summary
Housatonic Valley Association staff presented 'Follow the Forest' to the Pittsfield Conservation Commission, explaining core forest mapping, wildlife linkages and offering local-scale tools; they also promoted Stream Smart culvert training March 25, 2026.
Representatives from the Housatonic Valley Association presented the "Follow the Forest" program to the Pittsfield Conservation Commission on Feb. 12, describing a regional effort to map large core-forest blocks and the wildlife linkages that connect them.
Erik Reardon, Berkshire Watershed Director, and Isabel Bronson, Conservation Projects Coordinator, told commissioners that the program defines "core forests" as contiguous interior forest habitat blocks of 250 acres or more, excludes edge forest within 300 feet of fragmenting features, and models connectivity linkages that act as steppingstones between cores. They emphasized that integrating connectivity into conservation planning is critical for wildlife access to resources, genetic diversity and range shifts under climate change.
Reardon and Bronson said the mapping effort is collaborative, built with more than 50 partners, and that the regional map is intended to be a strategic tool for municipalities and land trusts to identify durable, passable linkages and prioritize protection at multiple scales. They recommended that, for an urban core like Pittsfield, the program can be applied at smaller scales — for example, identifying 100-acre patches to increase public engagement and preserve smaller forested parcels within the city.
The presenters also highlighted Stream Smart, a culvert-design and road-stream crossing training scheduled for March 25, 2026 at Berkshire Community College. They said the training focuses on designing crossings to maintain fish and wildlife passage, protect roads and public safety, and prepare for larger, more frequent storm events; the presenters noted that their research found many culverts are too narrow to accommodate current flows and wildlife movement.
The association encouraged commissioners and local stakeholders to visit www.followtheforest.org for interactive maps and to register for the Stream Smart training.
Ending: The Commission received the presentation for information; no formal action was taken on Follow the Forest at this meeting, and Stream Smart registration details were provided to the public.
