New Apartments for Downtown Keene

Climate change caused by humans will create famines and floods that will kill millions of people, unless people start using less gas for cars, oil for heating, and electricity generated from coal. That's according to the world's leading scientists. At Keene city hall on May 27 at 6:30 p.m., the planning board will hold a public hearing about a proposed apartment building.

Options for Empty Big Box Stores

There are now three vacant “big box” stores in the Brattleboro - Keene area. There are none in the Pioneer Valley, an expert said. Examples from around the country offer a model for how this land could be used. In Keene, a Shaw's supermarket and its acres of parking lots are vacant. There is a vacant Home Depot in Brattleboro. In Hinsdale, New Hampshire, which borders Brattleboro, a Wal-Mart sits empty.

All Volunteer Group Saves Forest

A group run entirely by volunteers has protected hundreds of acres of forest land near Brattleboro from being turned into roads, parking lots, houses, or other kinds of so-called “development.” Now the Putney Mountain Association is raising money to save a 144 acre forest in Putney, Vermont. The group recently got $195,000 from the state to help with the project. It must raise $212,000 more to buy the forest and protect it in perpetuity. “We're excited. The land has a wonderful, year-round stream on it,” Jacquie Walker told the Valley Post. She is a member of the Association's board.

Keene City Council Will Decide Forest's Fate

On December 5, the Keene city council will vote on whether to permanently protect open land from being paved with parking lots, houses, or other kinds of so-called “development.” Saving the forest would cost the city $26,500. A local group is urging the city to save the land. The group's web site is www.MonadnockConservancy.org.

The council vote will happen at a public meeting that starts at 7 p.m. More information is at:

www.ci.keene.nh.us/government/city-council

2,500 Acres Saved

Activists have saved about 2,500 acres of open space near the Valley. They announced the news on November 13. The land is in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Part of the land is in Gilsum, New Hampshire, about nine miles from Keene. Another piece of the protected land is in Barre, Massachusetts, about an hour by car northeast of Springfield. Some is in Warwick, Massachusetts, about half an hour northeast of Greenfield by car. The activists have a web site: www.ForestSociety.org.

Environmental Progress

Springfield's first bicycle lane opened October 26. A day earlier in Keene, a $15 million, energy efficient, affordable housing project opened. It was built by www.kha.org. Riding a bicycle rather than driving, reduces global warming, acid rain, and smog. Living in multi-family housing, rather than a one-family house, saves farmland and forestland, and makes using public transit a viable alternative to owning a car.

680 Acres Saved Near Greenfield, Brattleboro

In a victory for forest protection, 680 acres near Brattleboro and Greenfield was saved from development. The forestland is in Readsboro, Vermont, about 15 miles from Brattleboro and 20 miles from Greenfield. It was protected on March 26 by the Trust for Public Land www.tpl.org

445 Acres Near Keene to Be Saved

Next month or in April, a local land trust will almost certainly protect 300 acres of forestland in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, between Keene and Brattleboro, said a spokesperson. "We expect to have the deal done in early spring, Katrina Farmer told the Valley Post on Feb. 3. She works for the Monadnock Conservancy in Keene. The group is also working to protect 145 acres in Swanzey, the next town south of Keene.

Environmental Victories

On December 23, environmental groups announced they had saved 3,486 acres of forestland near Amherst from development. It is the biggest such environmental victory in the Valley in years. Smaller parcels of land were protected near Brattleboro and Keene.

Valley Land Saved

In the Valley, farmland and forest land are being permanently protected from development. Meanwhile in the Valley’s downtowns, parking lots and run down, single family houses are being transformed into attractive apartment buildings.

Construction is scheduled to begin soon on a new building in downtown Keene that will contain 16 energy efficient apartments. The building , at 75 Railroad Street, will be owned by the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation.