Prior to January of last year, Squannacook Greenways was working with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to sign the lease, and then have DCR sublease the rail bed to us. In late 2013, this plan ran into legal problems outside of DCR's control. At that point, the MBTA stepped forward with a proposal to put the right to sign the MBTA lease out for public auction.

Previously, only governmental organizations such as towns or DCR had signed rail trail leases with the MBTA. Putting the rail trail lease out for public bid was a new approach for the MBTA. We at Squannacook Greenways would like to thank the MBTA for taking an untried approach to allow this rail trail to move forward.

We would also like to thank some of our strongest, long-term advocates whose support encouraged the MBTA to take this step. First, we would like to acknowledge the ceaseless help we received from our state senators and state representative, Senator Flanagan, Senator Donoghue, and Representative Harrington. We would also like to thank the board of selectmen from Townsend and Groton for their letters of support.

Without the help of our two mentor non-profits, the Nashua River Watershed Association and Wachusett Greenways, we would never have been in a position to make this trail possible. The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts was also key, in that their $18,000 grant last year helped to convince the MBTA of our fiscal soundness. And finally we would like to thank DCR for all their help over the years, with special thanks to Tom LaRosa, DCR's general counsel, who always went way beyond the call of duty in trying to help us move forward with this rail trail.

Now that the lease is signed, things will really swing into motion. Squannacook Greenways will kick off a membership drive and a capital campaign. The $18,000 grant we received last year from the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts gave us a great start toward the $150,000 needed to build this rail trail.

With the $18,000 grant we received from the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts, our fundraising is off to a great start!

  

 

We will also start running and walking tours of the future trail. We will begin volunteer work days to clear parts of the trail that are do not need to go through the wetlands permitting process.  We will also continue to submit grant applications for additional funding for trail construction. We are also planning to reach out to all abutters of the future rail trail. Finally we will start the permitting process in both Groton and Townsend.

 

In order to keep everyone in touch with all that will be going on, we'll send out our electronic newsletters and post the latest on Facebook and our website. Remember, this trail will not be built by a town committee or a state agency. It will be built by us - the people of Townsend and Groton.

Squannacook Greenways, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that plans to build and maintain the Squannacook River Rail Trail. The trail will be built and maintained by our non-profit, and not by any town or state governmental body.

 

Current members of our Board of Directors are:

• Townsend - Mark Cram, Ray Jackson, Don Klein, Steve Meehan, Bill Rideout, and Joan Wotkowicz
• Groton - Peter Carson, Peter Cunningham, and Bruce Easom
• Ashby - Cedwyn Morgan

We are also thankful for support from the Nashua River Watershed Association and especially from Al Futterman, Land Programs and Outreach Director. 

 

The planned Squannacook River Rail Trail will be a 3.7 mile stone dust rail trail on the existing MBTA rail bed, with a western end in Townsend center. It will travel east just south of Route 119, passing behind the Harbor Village Shopping Center, where it will parallel Townsend Road in Groton until it reaches the Bertozzi Wildlife area.