There's much to see here. So, take your time, look around, and learn all there is to know about Slate Conservation Area in Chicopee MA.
On this page you can:
Petition for Mayor John Vieau:
To buy back “Slate Conservation Area”and permanently protect it.
If anyone has more newspaper articles or other information regarding the area commonly known as Slate Conservation Area,
Please contact us using the Contact Us form on this website. These items all help in our cause. Thank-You!
Springfield Daily News 04/14/1969 Article
Springfield Daily News 10/04/1969 Ad Re-Election Ad by Mayor Demers
Springfield Daily News 10/04/1969 Larger Ad Re-Election Ad by Mayor Demers
An article in the Holyoke Transcript Telegram dated Thursday, November 20, 1969. It does not say much, but does pinpoint the date of the Aldermanic meeting where the decision about the Buena Vista property was made. It refers to the Aldermanic Meeting Tuesday night. That would be the aldermanic meeting held Tuesday November 18, 1969.
Springfield Daily News 12/06/1969 Article
Springfield Union 08/30/1983 Article
Chicopee residents lobby city to save Slate Conservation Area from industrial development Air Date April 29, 2021
I-Team: Fight to save Chicopee Slate Conservation Area from industrial development intensifies. Air Date June 10, 2021
Springfield Union 05/26/1953 uncredited article Excerpt & Whole page
Springfield Union 04/14/1960 uncredited article
Springfield Daily News article by Gertrude Racine 02/08/1969
Springfield Union 06/03/1970 uncredited article
Mass Live article by Holly Angelo.
Updated Mar 25, 2019; Posted Oct 24, 2008
Mass Live article By Pamela Metaxas Updated Mar 25, 2019; Posted Aug 25, 2009
CHICOPEE CITY LEADERS WANT TO MAKE IT EASY TO GET STARTED
Article By BusinessWest Staff March 15, 2011
Chicopee Is Well-positioned for Economic Growth
Article By BusinessWest Staff April 8, 2014
Article in Reminder Chicopee Edition by
Carolyn Noel, April 28, 2021. Regarding the area commonly known as Slate Conservation Area in Chicopee MA.
Mass Live Article by
Jeanette De Forge, June 20, 2021. Regarding the area commonly known as Slate Conservation Area in Chicopee MA.
Valley Post Article by Eesha Williams, June 24, 2021. Regarding the area commonly known as Slate Conservation Area in Chicopee MA.
I-Team: Fight to save Chicopee Slate Conservation Area from industrial development intensifies. Air Date June 10, 2021
Mayor Vieau holds news conference regarding property on Fuller Road in Chicopee Air Date June 7, 2021
This is Newscast covering Mayor Vieau's news conference
Mayor Vieau holds news conference regarding property on Fuller Road in Chicopee Air Date June 7, 2021
This the press conference in it's entirety
Chicopee residents lobby city to save Slate Conservation Area from industrial development Air Date April 29, 2021
Development of a Chicopee property questioned by some city residents Air Date April 27, 2021
Show your support to "Save Slate Conservation Area" with a lawn sign.
Lawn Signs are now available. If you want a Lawn Sign, click below and type "Lawn sign" in the message.
Here is a site where citizens can post their findings on protected species.
Confirmed sightings of Lady Slippers in the Slate Conservation Area.
Coming soon
This is the Grant proposal that the City of Chicopee submitted to get money to clean up the Brownfields and do other community projects. On Pages 4 and 5, ii. Cumulative Environmental Issues, and iii. Cumulative Public Health Impacts are of particular interest. This report highlights some very important environmental concerns. Click on the above picture to open the report.
Assessing Urban Tree Canopy Cover in the City of Chicopee from a Climate Change Perspective. Prepared for: The City of Chicopee, Massachusetts and was Prepared by: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. This report documents the benefits of maintaining and increasing the healthy tree canopy for the City of Chicopee. Click on the above picture to open the report.
A greenfield development is a real estate construction project on previously undeveloped land. Examples of typical greenfield development sites are:
Click on the above picture for more information.
Springfield Area is #1 for lung issues in the United States. Ten people die every day from asthma. That is 10 too many. Most asthma-related deaths are preventable with proper management, access to adequate medical care, housing improvements and better air quality. Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in our nation. Click on the above picture to read the report.
Springfield Area has dropped from #1 (2019 report) to #12 (2021 report) for lung issues in the United States. The Asthma Capitals™ report ranks 100 cities in the continental U.S. based on these health outcomes: asthma prevalence, emergency department visits for asthma, and deaths due to asthma. We also examine risk factors that contribute to these outcomes. Risk factors include poverty, air pollution, access to specialist medical care, pollen counts, medicine use, tobacco policies, and the rate of uninsured residents. Click on the above picture to read the report.
Final Westover JLUS report from 2004
Prepared by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission 26 Central St. West Springfield, MA 01089
Prepared for U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Economic Adjustment
Click on the above picture to read the report.
Time for procrastinating without action is over. Article in The Daily Hampshire Gazette by Columnist Marty Nathan July 7, 2021
Click on the above picture to read the newspaper article.
More coming soon
This information was taken from the City of Chicopee, MA website.
Click on the picture to be taken directly to the City's website.
Please, be respectful when contacting any member of city government.
Councilors-at-Large
Ward Councilors
But if you’re looking for evidence of the CCC camp at the Chicopee State Park, just walk around the park. The camp buildings are gone, abandoned in June 1937, replaced by a stand of second-growth forest. The trails and the beach and water are there for us to enjoy. As for most of the state and national parks and forests, that is monument enough.
This is an excerpt taken from Jacqueline T. Lynch's article.
This is the link to the open space and recreation report filed by Mayor Richard J. Kos April 30,2015.
The document is 117 pages in length. I have taken excerpts from this document which follow.
It is a very interesting read. Enjoy.
Bike and Pedestrian Accessibility
A need for bike paths ranked as the top priority for city improvements among survey respondents (58.9%). Alternative modes of transportation including bike paths, bike lanes, and multi-purpose trails were important or somewhat important to 73.6% of respondents. An overwhelming 85.4% said they support the development of new greenways and multi-use paths in the city. When asked where should multi-use paths be located, 55.1% said within existing neighborhoods, 51.2% said on the Chicopee River, 43.5% said on the Connecticut River, and 32.5% said on Memorial Drive. At the neighborhood meetings, a strong desire to see paths along the Connecticut and Chicopee Rivers were expressed. Chicopee’s unique location at the confluence of two major rivers was recognized as special and meaningful. Residents expressed frustration about the very limited access to these rivers and were agitated about delays in the design and construction of the Connecticut Riverwalk and Bikeway and the continuance of the Chicopee Canal and Riverwalk beyond Grape Street.
Land Conservation
Conserving forests, farms and wildlife habitat was the second highest priority among survey respondents
(50.4%) after a need for bike paths, with only 3.7% stating no need to conserve any more of these areas. When asked to rank priorities relative to open space preservation, 72.8% noted land should be preserved for conservation purposes, whereas most believed land should be preserved for recreation and outdoor education purposes: active recreation (76.8%), access or outdoor recreation (75.8%), passive recreation (75.4%), and access to rivers, streams and ponds (74.6%). In another question, 79.1% believe open space for conservation to be very important or somewhat important. And, 47.6% stated there is not enough open space (forests, wetlands, agriculture lands, natural areas, undeveloped land) in Chicopee protected from development.
When asked what respondents would be willing to do to preserve land in Chicopee, 57.7% said they would
“encourage my city councilor to vote for city-supported land acquisitions,” and 39.8% said they would
“volunteer on a committee/board.”
Facilities and Improvements
The most heavily visited parks include Szot, Rivers, and Sarah Jane Parks. When asked why respondents have not visited certain parks, 47.6% stated “facilities do not provide equipment/space for activities I’m interested in.” Residents recognized a need for investment in bike routes (off road and roadway shoulders), sidewalks, walking/jogging paths, trees, and safety (crime related). The need for a dog park was articulated in both the survey and neighborhood meetings. Pet waste is a problem throughout city parks and on sidewalks that needs to be addressed.
Open Space
From a biodiversity conservation perspective, NHESP recommends land protection in the BioMap2 cores or protecting land adjacent to existing conservation land, or a combination of both when feasible. All of the areas identified as Core Habitat and Critical Natural Landscape as noted in the environmental inventory in Section 4 are important for biodiversity protection in Chicopee. However, lands around Westover Air Reserve Base with dry habitats on sand support specialized species and habitats that are uncommon in interior Massachusetts, making them focus areas for biodiversity protection. These areas combined with wetland habitat on the northern edges of the airfield make future protection of these lands very important for preserving biodiversity of the region. In addition, the buffers along the Connecticut and Chicopee Rivers and Stoney and Fuller Brooks help maintain these important aquatic habitats, all their aspects of biodiversity, and the water quality humans need, making protection of the remaining buffers along the waterways a high priority.