Lanesborough
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BioMap2 Guiding Land Conservation for Biodiversity in Massachusetts Lanesborough This report and associated maps provide information about important sites for biodiversity conservation in your area. This information is intended for conservation planning, and is not intended for use in state regulations. Produced by: Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Commonwealth of Massachusetts Produced in 2011 BioMap2: Guiding Land Conservation for Biodiversity in Massachusetts Preferred citation: NHESP. 2011. BioMap2, Guiding Land Conservation for Biodiversity in Massachusetts: Lanesborough. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA. The preferred citation for BioMap2 is: Woolsey, H., A. Finton, J. DeNormandie. 2010. BioMap2: Conserving the Biodiversity of Massachusetts in a Changing World. MA Department of Fish and Game/Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program and The Nature Conservancy/Massachusetts Program. http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/land_protection/biomap/biomap2_summary_report.pdf � Funding for this project was made available by the Massachusetts Sub-Council of the Housatonic River Trustee Council under the auspices of the Massachusetts and Department of the Interior (DOI) Natural Resource Damages Assessment and Restoration Programs and contributions to the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Fund. Natural Heritage Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife & Endangered Species 1 Rabbit Hill, Westborough, MA 01581 Tel: (508) 389-6360 Fax: (508) 389-7891 Program http://www.nhesp.org For more information on rare species and natural communities, please see our fact sheets online at www.nhesp.org BioMap2: Guiding Land Conservation for Biodiversity in Massachusetts Lanesborough Lanesborough is located in north-central Berkshire Despite the degree of development and human settle- County, just north of Pittsfield. Most of the town falls ment in Lanesborough’s valleys, the town supports a va- within the Housatonic River watershed. The tributary riety of uncommon and state-listed species and natural streams of Town and Secum Brooks flow south through communities that are closely tied to its forested areas, the town’s central valley to enter Pontoosuc Lake near the streams, floodplains, and wetlands. Both Town Brook town boundary with Pittsfield; from Pontoosuc Lake, the in central Lanesborough, which flows south to the West West Branch Housatonic River then flows south to join Branch Housatonic River, and the headwater reaches of the East Branch in central Pittsfield. In a smaller valley in eastern Lanesborough, the headwaters of the Hoosic River flow north and collect in the Cheshire Reservoir before moving on downstream. Lanesborough is part of three ecoregions (see Figure 1): the Taconic Mountains to the west, the Green Moun- tains and Berkshire Highlands to the east, and the West- ern New England Marble Valleys in the town’s central valley. Both the Taconic and Green Mountain ranges are areas of higher elevations and steep topography with un- derlying metamorphic bedrock. They have colder climates and more acidic soils than the lowland marble valleys. The Lanesborough at a Glance Taconic Mountains in western Lanesborough, along the • Total area: 18,925 acres or 29.6 square miles town’s border with Hancock, contain some of the high- • Human Population in 2009: 2,851 people est elevations in the region, including Jiminy Peak, which • Open space protected in perpetuity: 4,557 acres, or 24.1% of total rises to 2,392 feet. In the northeast are the lower slopes area* of Mount Greylock, the highest elevations of which lie further north in Adams and Williamstown. BioMap2 Components With its close proximity to Pittsfield, Lanesborough Core Habitat has a higher population density than most towns in Mas- • 8 Aquatic Cores: 175 acres sachusetts’ portion of the Housatonic River watershed. • 4 Forest Cores: 1,845 acres 2 Vernal Pool Cores: 127 acres The town lacks the industrial operations found in Pitts- • • 2 Wetland Cores: 21 acres field, but much of its central valley is still heavily de- • 2 Priority Natural Communities: 37 acres veloped. Land around Pontoosuc Lake and north along Main Street and Route 7 is residential and densely settled, Species of Conservation Concern** and additional housing development is scattered through- • 3 amphibians, 1 bird, 14 plants out the valley. Commercial development is also significant Critical Natural Landscape – stores and businesses are concentrated near the village • 7 Upland Buffers of Aquatic Cores: 836 acres center and the large shopping complex of Berkshire Mall • 3 Upland Buffers of Wetland Cores: 105 acres lies in southeast Lanesborough. Agricultural areas and • 3 Landscape Block: 8,830 acres open fields lie along the perimeters of many of these more *calculated using MassGIS data layer “Protected and Recreational Open Space—November 2010” heavily developed areas, stopping only at the base of the **see next page for complete list of species, natural communities, and other biodiversity elements slopes of the Taconic Mountains and the Berkshires. 1 � BioMap2: Guiding Land Conservation for Biodiversity in Massachusetts Lanesborough Species of Conservation Concern, Priority and Exemplary Natural Communities, and Other Elements of Biodiversity in Lanesborough Amphibians Long-styled Sanicle (Sanicula odorata), Threatened Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum), Special Concern Northern Prickly Rose (Rosa acicularis ssp. sayi), Endangered Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus), SWAP Purple Clematis (Clematis occidentalis), Special Concern Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum), SWAP Schweinitz’s Sedge (Carex schweinitzii), Endangered Straight-leaved Pondweed (Potamogeton strictifolius), Endangered Birds Wapato (Sagittaria cuneata), Threatened Mourning Warbler (Oporornis philadelphia), Special Concern Priority Natural Communities Plants Black Ash – Red Maple – Tamarack Calcareous Seepage Swamp (Imperiled) Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides), Special Concern Rich, Mesic Forest (Vulnerable) Bartram’s Shadbush (Amelanchier bartramiana), Threatened Comb Water-milfoil (Myriophyllum verticillatum), Endangered Other BioMap2 Components Crooked-stem Aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides), Threatened Aquatic Cores, Forest Cores, Wetland Cores Dwarf Scouring-rush (Equisetum scirpoides), Special Concern Landscape Blocks Fen Sedge (Carex tetanica), Special Concern Upland Buffers of Aquatic Cores Intermediate Spike-sedge (Eleocharis intermedia) Threatened Upland Buffers of Wetland Cores Large-leaved Goldenrod (Solidago macrophylla), Threatened Vernal Pool Cores the Hoosic River in the east part of town, are part of the BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION TARGETS IN THE calcareous lowlands of the Western New England Marble TOWN OF LANESBOROUGH: CORE HABITAT, Valleys ecoregion and are noteworthy for their biodiver- CRITICAL NATURAL LANDSCAPE, AND PRIORITY sity value. This is one of the most distinct and biologically CONSERVATION AREAS rich ecoregions, both in Massachusetts and throughout New England, stretching from northwest Connecticut up Overview through sections of the Hudson River and Lake Cham- In this section, we outline areas in Lanesborough plain watersheds. The marble valleys support an impres- that warrant special focus of conservation efforts locally, sively high percentage of Massachusetts’ state-listed spe- regionally, and throughout the state. Components of cies and natural communities, some of which are restrict- the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program’s ed to the ecoregion while others are more widespread. (NHESP’s) statewide BioMap2 project, which incorpo- In Lanesborough, the valleys support uncommon plant rates NHESP data and includes findings of studies funded species, like Barren Strawberry and Crooked-stem Aster, by the Natural Resource Damages Assessment and Resto- which require rich soils to grow. State-listed aquatic plants ration Program (NRD) conducted in 2008 and 2009 as like the Comb Water-milfoil grow in reservoirs along the part of its Core Habitat and Critical Natural Landscape, upper reaches of the Hoosic River, and uncommon natu- were used to delineate and map these areas. The areas ral communities such as the Rich, Mesic Forests found in range in size from fewer than 10 acres to several thousand northern Lanesborough near Town Brook are also char- acres. Areas of Core Habitat, each called a BioMap2 Core acteristic of the marble valleys. In this community, soils (BC), and areas of Critical Natural Landscape (CNL), are both moist and rich in essential nutrients, particularly along with their associated components, are illustrated in calcium, and support a great diversity of fern, sedge, lily, Figure 2 and outlined in detail below. BioMap2 compo- and buttercup species, as well as many worms and snails. nents described in this report are those that occur only in Some state-listed species are found at higher eleva- Lanesborough, although a given area of Core Habitat or tions, along the margins of the marble valleys or within Critical Natural Landscape listed here may extend outside the highlands. Along the slopes of Mount Greylock, the of the town boundaries of Lanesborough and contain ad- perching bird Mourning Warbler nests in open areas of ditional components. forests. Jefferson Salamanders are found in many locations To facilitate land protection and stewardship, NHESP throughout western Lanesborough, usually