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Date: 10/19/2022
HARDWICK – Recently, the East Quabbin Land Trust received a Conservation Partnership Grant to conserve a piece of property in Ware, a 50-acre woodland directly adjacent to an existing 125-acre conservation area that has been protected over the past decade.
“It’s wonderful to know that we’re getting grant funding, which covers half of the cost to do the acquisition,” said Executive Director Cynthia Henshaw. “Now we can tell the landowner that we have confirmation of state funding and we’ll be doing the other fundraising for the other half of the total project cost.”
Founded in 1994, the East Quabbin Land Trust a nonprofit charitable organization with a mission to promote and conserve land including farmlands, woodlands and waters in their region of Massachusetts. It was originally established as the Hardwick Area Conservation Trust.
Ten years later, they changed the name to the East Quabbin Land Trust, being more explicit about their interest in conservation in to Barre, Petersham, New Braintree and other nearby towns.
The Conservation Partnership Grant is a state grant program through which land trusts can apply for funding to either purchase land or to purchase a conservation restriction for properties that are going to remain undeveloped and open for public recreation for folks of all ages. Henshaw told Reminder Publishing most landowners aren’t able to donate their land, even though they want to see their lands conserved into the future. State grants are the bedrock of funding for conservation acquisitions, and the Conservation Partnership grant program is directed towards land trusts as the applicant.
“We’re grateful to have the opportunity to receive these direct conservation related grant funds, which make our communities a better place to live,” Henshaw added.
The East Quabbin Land Trust has until June 30, 2023 to complete the whole piece. For their project, they’re going to be buying the property. The town of Ware is partnering with them and will hold the conservation restrictions on the property they are going to purchase. The land that they’re purchasing will forever remain as an undeveloped parcel.
“This piece of property in Ware is very important for a number of reasons,” Henshaw said. “It’s adjacent to another 125-acres that the East Quabbin Land Trust already owns, so we’re building a block of conservation land within a larger area that’s largely undeveloped, but it’s not protected.”
The Land Trust is trying to protect a 2,000 acre area between Hardwick and Ware that is along the Dougal Range. There’s a series of hill tops that form large block that is mostly wooded. There are a few farms and one road that crosses through, but Henshaw said it’s a fairly rural area. They’re trying to build a block of conservation land there and this parcel is on Muddy Brook which has priority wildlife habitat and it’s known to be used by rare species.
Further down the stream of Muddy Brook is a drinking water well for the town of Ware, so the more conservation that can happen along Muddy Brook and within the Dougal Range area it protects all of these other resources.