patrick white

donate Patrick White for 3rd Berkshire
Online or by mail: Patrick Thomas White Committee • 81 Hawthorne St. • Lenox, MA 01240

Climate and Environment

Climate resilience and mitigation must be front and center for leaders. As you evaluate your options, look to the record. Here's mine.

Forest initiatives

  • I served for years on the Board of Laurel Hill Association, my town's largest nonprofit land trust by acreage.
  • I worked closely with the Tribe, BNRC, the Stockbridge Land Trust, and state leaders to preserve 351 acres of Fenn Farm, which includes the northern portion of Monument Mountain. We got this done, which culminated in an announcement in Stockbridge Town Hall by the Tribal President and Lieutenant Governor.
  • My first initiative on the Stockbridge Select Board was to prioritize the rescue of old growth ash and hemlocks at Ice Glen. I secured the volunteer support of Bob Leverett and Ken Gooch. Bob is a world-renown old growth guru and Ken was the head of Forestry Health for the Commonwealth. You may have seen Ice Glen and Bob on the cover of Smithsonian Magazine in January 2022.
  • I have been named to the state's Climate Advisory Board, one of just three Berkshire County residents to be chosen for this distinction.
  • I personally championed our certification in the state's climate initiative, the Municipal Vulnerabilities Preparedness program. This allowed us to secure action grants for culvert assessment and the Fenn Farm acquisition. I am working on an action grant to plant thousands of trees in South County.

Our forests are in danger. Our chestnuts, elms, and ash have been devastated. Our hemlocks, beech, and many other species are under siege. The culprits are invasive insects, vines, and other pathogens.

We've lost so much already. We must prioritize the hard work of replacing what we've lost and preserving what we have. Now is the opportunity to act, and I wand to commend the Healey Administration for putting climate front and center in terms of priorities.

Here's what we must do

  • Work to secure funding for suppression grants. In Stockbridge, we applied for and received a $70,000 USDA federal suppression grant to augment town funding to save Ice Glen. Find the money to save our forests.
  • Look for specific opportunities. When the governor recently released Executive Order 618 prioritizing biodiversity, I wrote to administration leaders and pointed out the unique soils found in old growth forests, and the globally-rare species you find in calcareous basin fens. We can't assume others know the specifics of our resources, and what makes them important to preserve. I work hard to connect the dots for others.
  • Increase funding for MVP and other climate programs. The Berkshires have the forests and farmland. When folks talk about carbon sequestration, they are talking about our green spaces. We must turn our open space into a competitive advantage for funding access.
  • Focus on education. That means more preservation and less poison. How about we let our communities opt out of pesticide use. How about we educate folks on the eradication of invasive vines. How about we make it easier to plant trees at scale. Let's make climate initiatives bottom up, not top down.
  • Send a climate champion to the State House. I love the outdoors. I recognize the imperative we have in this moment for climate priorities. I have demonstrated the drive and initiative to get things done. I will preserve and protect our great outdoors and in doing so, ensure the Commonwealth does everything we can to do the same.

PS: Running costs money. I need your help. If you believe, like I do, that we have hope, that we can control our own destiny, that we can move the needle on the seemingly intractable issues we face, please consider donating to my campaign.



Stockbridge Old Town Hall.