ADAMS, Mass. — The Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts is looking for new leadership from its member municipalities to fill officer positions, including chair and vice chair.

The board discussed leadership succession at its executive committee meeting last week. Current Chair Henry Art has said he would like to remain involved but step down as the chair.

The partnership's bylaws require the chair to be one of the board's representatives from a member municipality. Art said there has been little interest in the positions.

"If we end up with nobody from a municipality stepping forward, we're going to have to entertain a bylaw change which would then allow to have a non-municipality representative to the board fill the office of board chair and board vice chair," he said. "... If it's an organization that's going to survive, it has to have people stepping up to the plate and being willing to serve."

Clerk Alain Peteroy said she thinks changing the bylaw goes against the intent behind the partnership's founding and may not lead to more candidates. Art agreed.

"I think most of us were there when this was all being created, and the reason behind having those leadership positions being municipal was because we really wanted this to be for the communities," she said. "Not just another land trust or another nonprofit run by a professional."

Board member Kate Conlin of the Massachusetts Forest Alliance, who lives in Buckland, said she would be interested in being chair if the bylaw was changed or if Buckland became a partnership member. She said it is concerning that there is little interest from municipal volunteers.

"Are the towns having the right representation for their communities if we're not having much eagerness from that sector?" she said.

Board member Keith Ross said changing the bylaw could open the partnership up to new volunteers. He also said having an executive director for the organization may make people more interested in the role and could allow the organization to run more effectively.

"I think it's good to adjust the bylaws to allow for greater participation, because volunteers and towns are already overloaded," he said.

In other business, a $540,000 federal grant for implementing climate forestry practices on town forests and private family woodlands has been approved. Lisa Hayden, administrative agent for the partnership, said the funding requires a state match.

"We're waiting to get more detail on that process. Other than the exciting news that it was approved, we haven't gotten the next step yet. And we are going to be trying to meet with staffers to see what's involved. I think there's an application or something we have to fill out next," she said.

The grant was part of a larger $1.1 million funding request the partnership submitted to congress. Board Member Constance Carpenter of the U.S. Forest Service said the federal grant will likely come through the forest service, and will likely require a lot of oversight.

"This is a substantial amount of money. If there's a possibility you could get a term limited position to oversee these activities," she said.

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