The greatest area of combined open space in Montague is the
Montague Plains. This land is owned by the Northeast Utility Company,
which was originally purchased as a site for a nuclear power plant.
Luckily, since this was never implemented the land has remained
undeveloped. These 3,000 acres of land has been listed under the
Natural Resource Inventory Report as an environmentally significant
area. The Plains contain a Pine Barren ecological regime that
does not occur for at least 150 miles in any direction. The scrub
oak and pine population is the same that is common in New Jersey
Pine Barrens or of Cape Cod.
The Plains express a dry-soil fire climax vegetative community, due to frequent burnings. The soil of this area is unique as it is excessively well drained sandy, gravelly soil. The Plains area is significant in the recharge of the Montague Well Fields Aquifer. Additional hunting areas could be made on the plateau of The Plains