“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.” - Henry David Thoreau

Protecting our forests in this time of climate crisis and biodiversity collapse is recognized as an important way to protect our environment and our future health and well-being. Two bills have been submitted to the Massachusetts Legislature this session. One would permanently protect 412,000 acres under the care and control of the Division of Conservation and Recreation. The other would permanently protect 30% of the land owned by Fish and Wildlife, about 51,000 acres, by 2030. These state agencies already have land in reserves where intact ecosystems are influenced primarily by natural processes. These bills request more reserves than we now have, and give them legal protection that they do not currently have. Together these actions would help Massachusetts to do its part to help mitigate climate change and protect our native natural heritage.

Help to support our efforts! Donate today.

Save Massachusetts Forests is a project of RESTORE: The North Woods.

https://www.restore.org/donate

UPCOMING EVENTS

“Forest Fires in Massachusetts: Myths and Reality.”

Date: Saturday September 12, 2026

Time:
• 11:00 am to 1:00 pm — Presentations and panel discussion in person and on zoom. Please register to attend in person.
• 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm — Walking tour of the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area

Where:
The National Spiritual Alliance
2 Montague Avenue
Lake Pleasant, MA

Please park near the intersection of Old Northfield Road and Lake Pleasant Road if possible.

Light snacks and beverages provided.

Cost: Open to the public. No charge.

RSVP: jasinclair@verizon.net

ZOOM Registration coming soon

Subject and background:

Wildfires in the Western United States and Canada are more and more prominent in the news. There is also growing interest in the role of wildfires and intentional fires (“prescribed” burning) in New England.

In Massachusetts, public agencies are increasingly using prescribed burning in state forests and wildlife management areas, such as the Montague Plains and Muddy Brook wildlife management areas, and Myles Standish State Forest.

Our speakers are experts on these issues and will discuss important questions:

• What is the goal of prescribed burning and where is it happening?

• Does prescribed burning help with wildlife habitat restoration?

• Does prescribed burning help to prevent or mitigate forest fires?

• What is the risk of wildfires in Massachusetts?

Presenters:

David Foster is director emeritus of the Harvard Forest and its Long Term Ecological Research program and currently coordinates Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands and Communities and serves on the editorial board of From the Ground Up. David’s research and conservation focus began with his PhD studies on fire history and ecology of the Labrador wilderness but has increasingly focused on the role of natural and anthropogenic forces, including fire, that have shaped the New England landscape over past millennia. He is an author most recently of “Meeting of Land and Sea: Nature and the Future of Martha’s Vineyard,” and “Wildlands of New England: Past Present and Future.”

Michael Kellett has worked for 40 years to create national parks, save forests, and protect wildlife. He is co-founder and executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods, a New England-based nonprofit organization. He was the lead author of the paper, "Forest-clearing to create early-successional habitats: Questionable benefits, significant costs."

Bill Stubblefield has a lifelong passion for natural history and holds a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. He currently devotes his time to activism on behalf of all lifeforms on Planet Earth.

George Wuerthner is an ecologist and photographer who has visited more than 400 designated wilderness areas and more than 200 National Park System units. For a dozen years, he worked as Ecological Projects Director for Doug Tompkins’s Foundation for Deep Ecology and is now Executive Director of Public Lands Media. He has published 38 books, including “Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy,” “Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness Foundation for Conservation,” and “Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of the Earth.”

SPONSORED BY:

Climate Democracy Project, Climate Action Now-Western MA, Climate Communications Coalition

Community Land and Water Coalition, Concerned Citizens of Franklin County, Elders Climate Action- MA Chapter

Friends of the Notch Forests, Northeast Wilderness Trust, Partnership for Policy Integrity, Protect the Montague Plains

RESTORE: The North Woods, Save Massachusetts Forests, Sierra Club Massachusetts, Standing Trees

Wendell State Forest Alliance

Saturday October 17th 1:00PM to 5:00 PM

"Fire on the Land: A conference on the Wampanoag practice of landscape burning and the uses and symbolism of fire in traditional culture"

Facilitated and led by Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag Elders Linda Coombs and Leslie Jonas

Plimoth Patuxet, Warren Ave

Plymouth, MA

2 pm to 5 pm

Sponsored by: Wampanoag Tribal Members. Community Land & Water Coalition, Save Massachusetts Forests,

RESTORE: The North Woods

Contact CLWC to co-sponsor, e-mail: rachel@communitylandandwater.org

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

Preserve October State Forest

Sign this letter of support to stop the 49 acre “Borrow Pit” forest management plan, and call for all of October Mountain State Forest

to be designated as a reserve.

Protect Myles Standish State Forest and the Southeast Pine Barrens Wildlife Management Area

Sign this letter of support to stop current and future management activities, including ongoing prescribed burns and logging,

and request that the Myles Standish Pine Barrens Complex be designated as a reserve

Protect the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area

Sign this letter of support to suspend all current management activities in the Plains including prescribed burns, mowing and herbicide

use. Say “no” to the proposed plan to severely log 265 acres of what is still intact forest in the Plains, and call for the Montague Plains

Wildlife Management Area to be designated as a reserve.

Support Sierra Club's effort to Protect the Quabbin Reservoir—Forests are essential

Sign this letter to end logging of public land of the Quabbin, Wachusett and Ware watersheds

MUST SEE VIDEO

"Why Do We Undermine Natural Forest Development and Climate Mitigation to Perpetuate the Cultural Legacy of European Colonization" - David Foster, Ph.D is director emeritis of the Harvard Forest and its Long Term Ecological Research Program and coordinates Wildlands, Woddlands, Farmlands and Communities.

October 4, 2025 Presentation in Plymouth MA- "Forest Fires in Massachusetts: Myths and Reality"

11.21.David Foster Presentation - SD 480p.mov

11.21.David Foster Presentation.mp4

LEGISTLATIVE UPDATES

Stay Tuned! We will submit bills to the Massachusetts Legislature in January 2027 to:

• Fight climate change by allowing forests to grow back and keeping them standing

• Protect native biodiversity by preserving about 9% of the state’s land base — an important

step toward the goal of protecting 30% of our nation’s lands and waters by 2030.

• Mitigate climate change impacts for all Massachusetts residents, including environmental

justice communities which are especially vulnerable to climate change impacts,

• Provide direct benefits to people, including clean air and water, scenic beauty, recreational

opportunities, and potential for economic diversification.

• Prevent harmful uses, such as land sales or exchanges; new gas pipelines; commercial solar

or wind facilities; pesticide and herbicide spraying; or promotion of woody biomass energy.

• Safeguard sacred and historic sites by prohibiting destructive resource extraction and

industrial development.

• Take immediate action to fulfill the commitment by the Governor to employ forest ecosystems to

mitigate global warming by increasing reserves on public and private land.

Help to prevent large scale solar, wind, biomass, batteries, transmission lines or other energy infrastructure on state land.

Join our e-mail list by writing to savemassforests@gmail.com

.

Prescribed burning in the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area. Is this okay with you?

In the news - Carbon Forestry Committee Report released-

Report of the Climate Forestry Committee: Recommendations for Climate-Oriented Forest Management Guidelines https://www.mass.gov/doc/forest-as-climate-solutions-climate-forestry-committee-report-final/download

“Unsurprisingly, disturbing the forests of Massachusetts as little as possible and allowing forests to grow and age through passive management is generally the best approach for maximizing carbon, ecological integrity, and soil health.” (page 4)

More information about this report is here: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/forests-as-climate-solutions

Past News

In the news- Massachusetts state land logging moratorium petition delivered to Governor Charlie Baker

https://www.recorder.com/Petition-seeks-to-stop-logging-on-state-owned-land-46824885

Pre-eminent Biologist E.O. Wilson Supported Our Bills

to Protect State- Owned Land

"I strongly support this bill, which would permanently protect 13 percent of the Massachusetts land area, reaching from the Berkshires to the Atlantic Coast. This is the single most important action the people of thestate can take to preserve our natural heritage. As it has many times in the past, Massachusetts can provide leadership on this issue, inspiring other states across the country to take similar bold action."

With best wishes,

Edward O. Wilson

E.O. Wilson Letter of Support for the Forest Protection Bill - February 19, 2019
E.O. Wilson In support of HD.3500 (10).p[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [137.1 KB]

July 6, 2019

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Contact us at savemassforests@gmail.com

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." — Mark Twain