FLORENCE — Members of the Broad Brook Coalition on Sunday afternoon celebrated improvements to the 850-acre Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, with sunny, clear skies as a backdrop.

The improvements — a new bridge leading to trails, a raised boardwalk to Fitzgerald Lake, and an extended dock — were the culmination of two and a half years of planning and work, and came with an $87,500 price tag.

Most of the work was completed last fall, but members chose Sunday to dedicate the improvements. The area is accessible off North Farms Road in Florence.

“I would be remiss in not recognizing the many volunteers who spent time on the project, either taking down the old bridge, building the new bridge, resuscitating the boardwalk,” Bob Zimmerman, president of the Broadbrook Coalition, told a crowd of about 40 who gathered at the conservation area Sunday. “Volunteers put in almost 600 hours of work this summer.”

The project was awarded $50,000 from the state Recreational Trails Program and $30,000 from the Northampton Community Preservation Committee. The Broad Brook Coalition chipped in another $7,500 to push the project across the finish line.

“It’s an expensive project but I think it’s one that we feel came out quite well,” Zimmerman said.

Dick O’Brien, a professional trails consultant with the group Conservation Works, and the unofficial general manager for the project, said he was impressed by the community’s resolve.

“We do a lot of work with communities around the state,” he said. “This was one of the best projects that we’ve been involved with, ever.”

The extended dock, jutting farther into the water, allows anglers and boaters better access to the popular Fitzgerald Lake, especially in the summer when cattails used to overwhelm the area where the dock ended.

“Over the years, the dock had become completely surrounded by cattails,” Zimmerman said. “If you came back here in three months, you wouldn’t be able to see anything from where the old dock was. Now we extended it out far enough where it’s going to take a lot of time for the cattails to get out there.”

The elevated walkway to the lake was necessary because when water levels were high, the old walkway was submerged under water, Zimmerman said.

“One time it was 18 inches of water over the boardwalk,” he said, adding the old bridge had also fallen into disrepair.

The Broad Brook Coalition was founded in 1988 and oversees management of the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area. Members still eye parcels for acquisition. The coalition is 220 members strong, which is as many members as the group has ever seen, Zimmerman said.

At the reception, state Rep. Peter Kocot, of Florence, congratulated the coalition on its effort.

“It’s a wonderful project,” he said. “This is just a great resource for everyone and thank you all for your outstanding work.”

Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com.

]]>