Press Release: 10/21/2025
Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates 1,300 Acres Conserved in Winchendon and Ashburnham
Partners celebrate protection of this large, connected landscape for wildlife, climate resilience, and outdoor recreation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
10/21/2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Julia E. Hopkins, Communications Director
Phone
Call Julia E. Hopkins, Communications Director at 857-408-0362
Online
Email Julia E. Hopkins, Communications Director at julia.e.hopkins@mass.gov
WINCHENDON — The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and Mass Audubon have conserved 1,325 acres of forests, fields, and wetlands in Winchendon and Ashburnham. Through partnership with Mass Audubon, Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, and local leaders, the community came together to protect this land for future generations. This provides crucial habitat for wildlife, enhances climate resilience, and creates new opportunities for outdoor recreation.
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is proud to support projects like this that invest in nature as a solution to climate change, preserve clean water, boost biodiversity, and get more people connected to the outdoors and each other,” said DFG Commissioner O’Shea.“Projects like this don’t happen overnight—they take tremendous partnership and collaboration. We are grateful to Mass Audubon, Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, and the local community for their forward-looking vision and commitment to conserve this special place for future generations.”
“This project connects more than 5,000 acres of protected land that will keep our water clean, support wildlife, and open up more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors,” said DCR Commissioner Nicole LaChapelle. “It shows the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s commitment to protecting open spaces that make our communities healthier and more resilient, and it shows what’s possible when state, local, and nonprofit partners work together.”
The land connects to MassWildlife’s 1,500-acre Winchendon Springs Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and DCR’s nearly 3,000-acre Ashburnham State Forest. This creates a continuous forest corridor that stretches north to Lake Monomonac and other protected lands in New Hampshire. The property also features the headwaters of the Millers River, an important tributary to the Connecticut River, and extensive forests and wetlands that preserve water quality in the river and nearby Sunset Lake.
Two-thirds of the property are considered to be critical for biodiversity, supporting both rare and common plants and animals, including five species that are listed by the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA). Historically, the property was used for sustainable forestry, and today features a healthy, diverse forest that supports American woodcock and grouse. Preserving this large, connected landscape will support species with large ranges, like black bear and moose, as well as species like dragonflies that rely on a diversity of habitats throughout their lifecycle. This connected corridor will also help wildlife adapt and migrate in response to climate shifts.
In 2023, Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, along with community leaders, gathered local support to conserve these lands for future generations. Mass Audubon contributed $6 million to purchase the property through their 30x30 Catalyst Fund, a $75 million initiative to accelerate land conservation that is the largest of its kind in the region. In 2025, DFG and DCR invested $5 million to conserve the land permanently. Now, the property will be open to the public as the newest additions to MassWildlife’s Winchendon Springs WMA and DCR’s Ashburnham State Forest.
“Mass Audubon is honored to have partnered with the Mount Grace and play a part in making sure this crucial forest is preserved forever and in the superb hands of DCR and MassWildlife, who steward so many of our state’s most special outdoor places,” said David O’Neill, President & CEO of Mass Audubon. “The creation of our 30x30 Catalyst Fund allows us to move quickly to finance conservation projects that need the resources fast to protect critical land like these important streams and forests.”
“It is truly inspiring to have seen how much this land means to the people of Winchendon and Ashburnham,” said Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust Executive Director Emma Ellsworth. "We heard so much moving testimony in support of protecting this land. It really showed the deep relationships people have to this place, and we are honored to help protect not just the land, but people’s connections to it, by making sure it will always be open for hiking, hunting, and fishing.”
This project demonstrates the state’s progress toward its goals of protecting 30% of our lands and waters by 2030 and 40% by 2050. As part of the Biodiversity Goals for the Commonwealth, the state has committed to doubling the pace of land conservation to meet these ambitious targets. Efforts will be strategically focused on 1.5 million acres identified through BioMap that are most important for biodiversity. Through the Mass Ready Act, the Healey-Driscoll Administration has proposed historic investments to accelerate progress towards these goals, including $304.5 million to support state land protection programs and $20 million dedicated to advancing the Biodiversity Conservation Goals.
"I'm thrilled to see that over 1,300 acres have been preserved in the district for future generations to enjoy. The partnership between the state, Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, and the towns of Ashburnham and Winchendon, has ensured that this area will be protected and enjoyed for years to come," said State Representative Jonathan D. Zlotnik (D—2nd Worcester).
“This was clearly an issue that brought the people of Winchendon and Ashburnham together to advocate to protect our towns’ natural environment,” said Winchendon resident Jane LaPointe. “This land is important for so many different reasons and is reflected in our town’s Master Plan, Open Space Plan, and Community Heart & Soul Action Plan. Protecting this land is a powerful statement about who we are and a legacy that we have all helped to make possible.”