A Walden Woods Walk to Stop Private Jet Expansion

The Coalition to Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom (SPJE), The Walden Woods Project, and Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter hosted a nature walk near Walden Pond on October 26 to protest the proposed expansion of Massport-owned Hanscom Field airport.

The expansion project threatens historic sites, including Walden Pond and Minute Man National Historical Park - areas designated among America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in May. Hanscom is already New England's second busiest airport after Logan.

An independent study found the development would add over 6,000 new private jet flights annually. The project would clear-cut about 20 acres of mature woods and add approximately 150,000 tons of carbon emissions yearly. If implemented, private jet emissions from Hanscom alone would negate nearly 70% of all solar PV installations in Massachusetts.

"We're bringing people together at Walden Pond - the birthplace of American environmental consciousness - to witness firsthand what's at stake," said Lilly Worthley, Digital Organizing Director at SPJE. "This sacred landscape, where Thoreau's vision of environmental stewardship was born, now faces an unprecedented threat from luxury private jet expansion."

This expansion would primarily benefit a privileged few while undermining the state's climate targets and threatening historic preservation.