of increasing overall efficacy. 7. Increase funding for greenways and trails. Efforts here are aimed at: creating legislative opportunities that would increase existing funding and provide new, creative funding possibilities; maximizing the effective use of existing federal transportation funds currently allocated for greenway development; using existing state funded programs such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Urban Self-Help programs as greenways development catalysts by ranking greenway initiatives as a high priority. Regional recommendations The Commonwealth Commons plan divides the state into five regions, Berkshires, Connecticut River Valley, Central Massachusetts, Southeast Massachusetts, Metropolitan Boston, and Northeast Massachusetts. The Berkshires region includes the Berkshire mountains, from the eastern limit of those mountains to the western boundary of the state. Suggested recommendations and projects for this section include securing protection for the area's major long distance trails (the Appalachian Trail, the Taconic Trails, and the Mahican-Mohawk Trail); creating greenway links between the Taconic Trails and Appalachian Trail; creating new greenway corridors that would link open space parcels within the Berkshires; promoting, protecting, and creating a Housatonic River greenway; creating a bikeway that would run from Connecticut to Vermont and include the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail; and creating and protecting a greenway along the federally designated wild and scenic Westfield River. The Connecticut River Valley region includes an area from the eastern front of the Berkshires east to western Worcester County. Initiatives in this area would include the protection of the sub-ranges of the Metacomet Ridge; the linking of the trails on the Metacomet Ridge to the Connecticut River; protection of the Connecticut River and its tributaries including the Deerfield, Westfield, and Millers rivers; creating east-west rail trail greenways through the region using the Norwottuck Rail Trail, Northampton Bike Path, Manhan Rail Trail, and the Amherst Bikeway, as well as new trails; developing greenways that would link together areas notable for their biodiversity, natural features, and recreational opportunities; securing and protecting existing long distance trail corridors through the region, including the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, Robert Frost Trail, Pocumtuck Ridge Trail, and Mahican-Mohawk Trail; and creating a loop trail through the outlying areas of the Quabbin Reservoir watershed. Central Massachusetts includes most of Worcester County east to the outlying suburbs of Boston between I-495 and Massachusetts Route 128. Recommendations for this region would include securing and protecting the Midstate Trail; the development and support of rail and canal trails such as the Mass Central Rail