HOLYOKE/WEST SPRINGFIELD – The sunny weather, peaceful water, and towering trees at the Bear Hole Reservoir in West Springfield provided a fitting backdrop to the announcement of the Tri-City Public Carbon Sequestration Program to preserve more than 15,000 acres of urban forest. The program is a partnership between three municipalities, West Springfield, Holyoke, and Westfield, which each have large forested areas. It is the first program of its kind in the nation.

The preservation is being achieved through an arrangement wherein a third-party company, Blue Source, verified the volume of carbon the trees take in from the air and ascribe a monetary value to that, known as a carbon credit. Then, when a private company in another city or state clears trees to build on the land, they pay the Tri-City program for carbon credits equal to the volume of trees removed. In other words, companies pay to preserve the forests in West Springfield, Holyoke, and Westfield in exchange for clear-cutting land elsewhere.

Former West Springfield Mayor Ed Sullivan, who began working of the project five years ago, explained that each credit is equivalent to the number of trees it would take to remove one ton of carbon from the atmosphere. The forested land covered under the Tri-City Public Carbon Sequestration Program keeps 42,000 tons of carbon out of the air and keeps forest CO2 stocks above the regional baseline.

The revenue that comes back to the communities in the program will be broken up by how much land resides in each municipality. Current Mayor William Reichelt said that West Springfield will receive about $30,000 per year, while roughly $100,000 will go to Holyoke and Westfield each year. Over 10 years, the revenue from the sale of carbon credits for the combined towns, are estimated to be $2,049,236.

Many of the officials present spoke of the program as essentially free money.

“We’re really doing nothing different but now we’re getting paid for it,” Reichelt said. “We will be preserving our urban forests for future generations, reducing carbon dioxide levels and improving air quality in Western Massachusetts.”

Bear Hole reservoir was the source of West Springfield’s drinking water until 2013 when the city’s needs outgrew the supply. It’s water now comes from Westfield and Southwick. West Springfield hopes to use funds from the project to develop the land into a passive recreational area, as there are already many trails and the area is open to the public.

Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan called the program, “a project with a purpose,” and said, “The money that comes in will be used for more projects like this.” Later, he elaborated that since the city has a reservoir and aquifers, the money may be used to look for an alternative water supply. Sullivan touted the work that Westfield has done to become more sustainable, including embracing electric vehicles.

Holyoke will be preserving 7,500 acres of forest, the most of the three cities. Like Sullivan, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse spoke of the strides that his city has made to reduce their carbon output and said that the city’s energy generation is up to 92 percent renewable.

No municipal funds were used for the program, state Rep. Michael Finn said. Instead, $100,000 was secured from the state government with the help of state Sens. Donald Humason and James Welch, and state Reps. Finn, Aaron Vega, and John Velis. That money was used to pay for Blue Source’s evaluation of the land and involvement in the project.

“The money invested by the state goes toward furthering green economies,” said Finn. Westfield’s state Rep. John Velis praised the collaboration between the cities as well as between state and local governments, while state Rep. Aaron Vega said that state’s investment was, “making sure municipalities at the local level will do what needs to be done,” to preserve the environment.

“This is what government looks like at its best,” said Morse.