Unlike many other realtors, I don't get goosebumps when I hear that a local planning board has approved another subdivision.

Instead, my heart sinks a little at the thought that more open space is being forever lost. Growth is inevitable, and it is certainly true that more builders are making more of an effort than ever before to preserve the natural environment. It is equally true that some are working hard to tweak minimum acreage zoning and frontage regulations in an attempt to squeeze more homes onto smaller parcels.

What they forget, sometimes, is that the beautiful vistas, green meadows, fenced fields, and meandering tree-lined rural roads that characterize many of the miles of Central Massachusetts are the essence of why people will pay so much to live here. When these spaces are gone, they will be gone forever and it is hard to believe that we will derive the same solace from gazing at the palladian-windowed four-bedroom colonials with attached two-car garages and cathedral-ceilinged family rooms that now occupy the places where bluebirds and butterflies once flew.

With this in mind, I am a passionate proponent of the movement to preserve open space. To demonstrate my commitment, I contribute to one or more of the land trusts in the towns in which I have closings each year.

If you wish to get involved, too, please refer to the section on Country Towns. Whenever possible, I have included contact information there for local Land Trusts.

For those who may wish to mobilize interest in the creation of a land trust in their own community, the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition is an excellent clearinghouse. It can advise landowners about the respective benefits of making a Conservation Gift to a private Trust or of putting a Conservation Restriction on a piece of scenic property, as a way of permanently preventing future development or subdivision.

More information about designing conservation restrictions can be found at Preserving Family Lands and Essential Tax and Planning Strategies for the Landowner, with information from Stephen J. Small, a Boston-based tax attorney who wrote the federal income tax regulations on conservation easements.

Massachusetts Land Trust Initiatives

The Sudbury Valley Trustees is a voluntary association of individuals, families, and businesses committed to protecting wildlife habitat and the ecological integrity of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers for the benefit of present and future generations. Their short treatise, The Role Land Trusts Play in Conservation of Open Space, offers specific examples of how private organizations have been successful in saving several long-cherished family farms in the region.

A regional New England group, The Trust for Public Land, was a partner in protecting Walden Woods in Concord from development, as well as the nearby Mattison Field, a 44-acre scenic landscape.

The Massachusetts Chapter of The Nature Conservancy has identified nearly one million acres in need of conservation activity, and taken a leadership role in the protection of some of state's most critical landscapes. These areas include the Berkshire Taconic Landscape, Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Islands, the Plymouth Pinelands, and the Westfield River Watershed.

The Massachusetts Chapter of The Sierra Club sponsors statewide efforts to preserve public lands and open space, protect marine and coastal habitats, and fight sprawl by working to ensure balanced transportation choices for all.

The Nashoba Conservation Trust in Pepperell has over 300 acres of land in the Nashua River Watershed under its stewardship. 

Under the auspices of The Trustees of Reservations, an additional 300 acres of land in Concord and Carlisle's Estabrook Woods was put under conservation restriction.

In Lincoln, The Walden Woods Project protects nearly 100 acres of land of  ecological and historic significance surrounding Walden Pond, the famed retreat of author/philosopher Henry David Thoreau.

Using Land for Agriculture, Recreation, or Forestry

Prospective buyers of country homes should be aware of Mass. General Law Chapter 61A, which enables landowners to set aside an area of at least five acres for agricultural or horticultural use; if certain conditions are met, the property will be eligible for taxation at a lower rate.

The benefits of this legislation can be seen in the growth of organic farming within the state. The Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association offers an "Organic Food Guide Map", listing organic farms and sellers of local organic food throughout the Commonwealth.

Massachusetts also allows tax breaks to property owners who allocate at least 10 acres for forestry (MGL Chap. 61 ), and to those who designate a minimum of five acres as "recreational land" (MGL Chap. 61B), if it is retained in substantially a natural, wild, or open condition. . .and is available to the general public. . .

Horse owners who are moving into the state will be pleased to learn about the advocacy of the Bay State Trail Riders Association, which works to develop and maintain a statewide system of all-purpose trails, and to create new and interconnecting trails.

Massachusetts Majesty

For those who don't own large tracts of land, but may be interested in learning more about how they can preserve and enhance the natural habitat in their own backyards, or in just exploring the bountiful nature of Massachusetts, the region is richly endowed with resources, including:

Massachusetts Audubon Society
The largest conservation organization in New England, Mass. Audubon protects more than 28,000 acres of conservation land and maintains 37 wildlife sanctuaries within the state.

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Great Meadows is composed of valuable freshwater wetlands flanking 12 miles of the Concord and Sudbury rivers.

Beaver Brook Valley Preserve
An 82-acre area in Boxborough with a mile-long trail that enables visitors to walk along the wetland right of way and esker, a high, narrow and sinuous ridge of gravel deposited 15,000 years ago through glacial action.

MassWildlife Management Areas
A list of almost 100,000 state-managed acres which are open to the public for passive recreation activities, divided into regions, for ready reference.

New England Wild Flower Society
The oldest plant conservation organization in the U.S., it operates a paradise tucked away in Framingham, with more than 1600 plant varieties, including many rare and endangered specimens, in their natural settings.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden
High on a hill with a panoramic view of the Wachusett region, Tower Hill is situated on 132 private, glorious acres in Boylston.

Maureen Harmonay, CRS, GRI, ABR
Licensed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Your Country Property Specialist

RE/MAX Traditions

1084 Main Street
Bolton, MA 01740
MHarmonay@YourCountry-Home.com
Direct: 978-502-5800
Toll-free: 866-666-8880
Fax: 978-389-0073

Visit my companion sites:

Harvard Country Homes and Massachusetts Country Homes



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