Lenox Tree Committee Targets State Biodiversity Grants, Postpones Applications to Next Year

LENOX — June 1, 2026 — Lenox Tree Committee defers two state grant applications to next year, eyes tribal partnership. Meeting June 1, the committee agreed not to apply in the current cycle for either the Massachusetts Community Biodiversity Grant Program — which awards between $20,000 and $150,000 — or the MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant, with a July 6 deadline, after a member with grant-writing experience warned that the biodiversity application alone runs roughly 20 pages and requires substantial preparation. Members instead plan to spend the summer developing project ideas, including a possible partnership with the local Indigenous tribal council on land the tribe owns near Stockbridge Mountain, and to coordinate with the Conservation Commission, the Laurel Hill Association, and the Land Trust before the next annual cycle. The committee also reported that the Wednesday farmers market, now in its third season and charging vendors $10 per market day, is on track toward financial self-sufficiency after the town reduced its annual appropriation below the original $10,000 baseline. A longtime member announced she will retire and relocate from Lenox, prompting a call to recruit her replacement before the committee's scheduled return from summer recess on August 31.