CR to help protect new Town of Marshfield conservation land

The Trustees of Reservations is working with the Town of Marshfield to place a conservation restriction on 14 acres along the North River and abutting Two Mile Farm.  The CR will be the last step in a long battle fought by local residents, the Town and The Trustees of Reservations over many years to conserve this special property. The town relied on Community Preservation Act funds to purchase the property, and The Trustees received a generous private donation to its CR Fund that provides for annual monitoring and CR defense.

Leaving a legacy of conservation in Shirley



Professor Arthur Banks recently passed away at the age of 84, leaving his property in Shirley to The Trustees of Reservations to eventually become a new reservation. Professor Banks had first donated a Conservation Restriction to The Trustees in 1995, followed by a gift of the property in 2000 with a retained life estate. He was a passionate conservationist who leaves behind a lasting legacy that will benefit generations to come. Community Conservation Specialist Dave Outman interviewed Professor Banks for the CR newsletter in 2005 that captures the history of the property and its owner.... 

DRIVING NORTH ALONG CENTRE RD. TOWARDS THE historic town center of Shirley, Massachusetts, you will come upon a small white sign with black script on the west side of the road reading “Farandnear.” This unassuming shingle marks the residence of Arthur Banks, retired professor of political science from Binghamton University, and the third generation of his family to call this piece of land in central Massachusetts home. In 1902 his grandfather, Charles E. Goodspeed, purchased just over three acres where he built a summer cottage as a retreat for his daughter, Miriam, who suffered from asthma. He named this property “Far-and-near” for its geographic proximity to his permanent residence in Wollaston (a suburb of Quincy), roughly 50 miles to the east – the Shirley property being close enough to allow for seasonal residence, yet far enough away to require a two days journey by horse and carriage. In 1939 the original cottage (which Goodspeed had made his permanent residence some years earlier) was destroyed by fire and replaced by a two-family house, the main portion of which was occupied by Miriam (Goodspeed) and Gordon Banks, and their three children Arthur, Barbara, and Shirley.

As a young man Arthur Banks spent many hours tending the property that had grown from 3 acres to roughly 60 (through acquisitions made by C. Goodspeed of four adjacent tracks of land), including his responsibilities as resident greens-keeper of the small golf course constructed by his father in the early 1950’s. Out of these experiences grew an affinity for the property, and though his later life in academia would keep him away from the land for most of the year, he would return for periods of time each summer and autumn to enjoy the tranquility of this rural landscape. In the mid 80’s and early 90’s Arthur purchased two additional parcels of land of historic and scenic significance to the community. The first being a cranberry bog that in years past had been worked as a cooperative by a number of Shirley families until they could no longer compete with the increasingly mechanized cranberry industry.

"Paradise"

The second was nearly 10 acres of pasture and hemlock forest that included a ravine of Spruce Swamp Brook referred to locally as “Paradise” for its scenic qualities. Over the years Mr. Banks has been an active steward of Farandnear, with his time and interest in local conservation only increasing with his retirement in the mid 90’s – acting as associate editor for the for The Shirley Volunteer, and even authoring articles on various conservation matters on occasion. His efforts on the land at Farandnear include the cultivation of an arboretum on what was the golf course, as well as restoration of the cranberry bog, including repairs to the dikes and installation of culverts and bridges where the old sluice gates had been (naturally occurring cranberries can still be picked on site).

In 1995 Mr. Banks ensured that his efforts would not be lost, and that future generations of Shirley, as well as Massachusetts, residents would be able to enjoy the history and natural beauty of this place with the donation of a conservation restriction (CR) on Farandnear to The Trustees of Reservations. In 2000, he donated a remainder interest in the property to The Trustees so that it would become a reservation in the future, conserved for public use and enjoyment. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Banks the Shirley community will always have this land that provides links to their cultural heritage, and a place to connect with the natural environment."

Fly Like an Eagle

This photograph was taken from an airplane, and depicts... other airplanes!  The CR on this 40 acre property in southeastern MA preserves wildlife habitat for rare species, as well as water quality and soil protection on the property, but also contains a reserved right to continue use of the owner's grass airstrip! With close to 350 properties under CR across the state, there are some unusual activities that are allowed under the restrictions. As for explanations?

Every CR that we accept is the result of careful negotiations with the landowner, whether a private individual, another land trust, or a city or town.  And, since CRs are flexible documents, they can be adapted to protect the unique characteristics of each property.  A main goal of The Trustees' CR program is to protect the conservation values of our restricted properties, while staying reasonably flexible to the needs and uses that the owner envisions for their land.

It gets pretty interesting when we have to weigh and negotiate unique, pre-existing uses against the perpetual conservation values the land may hold.  Sometimes we are approached by landowners with a high-value conservation property who wish to set aside a portion of their land for an activity that may seem incompatible with land protection. If the overall conservation value of the property is high enough in terms of rare species, forest and habitat connectivity, water supply protection, or other factors, we just may accept the CR.  See our previous posts for other interesting CRs, including the entirety of Nashawena Island, an urban park, and an historic granite quarry!

New tool added to annual training for CR monitors

We provide annual training for every person monitoring CRs, and this year we've added a new tool to help locate the boundaries of a conservation restriction or its "special use" area (where specific, intensive activities like building a new house may be allowed). Staff Sam Phin, Andrew Bentley, and Chris Detwiller are shown below testing two new DeLorme PN-60 GPS units during the first training of the season held in Westport last week.

Thanks to the help of The Trustees' GIS staff, we can display on the GPS a color aerial photograph with the CR boundaries (green line), special use areas (red dashed line), and current location (blue triangle). While this still isn't as accurate as a survey, compass  and tape measure (which are also part of the trainings and our monitoring "toolkit") it gives us another way to navigate complicated properties and know what is -- or is not -- within the bounds of the conservation restriction.

CR will Protect New Community Park in Fitchburg

Last year, The Trustees and the North County Land Trust acquired a CR on Massachusetts' first Gateway Park, soon to be constructed in the City of Fitchburg.  Gateway cities are twenty-four traditional manufacturing hubs across the state that are home to 35,000 or more residents.  Fitchburg's economy once thrived, anchored by paper mills and a General Electric plant, but lost 75% of its manufacturing jobs between 1960 and 2000 when these facilities closed down.  Today Fitchburg, like other post-industrial communities, has seen income and education levels lag behind other regions that can attract knowledge-based businesses like software developers and financial services. The Commonwealth's Gateway Parks program will provide new opportunities for residents to enjoy the outdoors, where parks are in scarce supply, and help attract other economic investment.

The Fitchburg Gateway Park will add to the many beautiful parks managed by the Fitchburg Parks Department. The CR will ensure that the land remains a city park for the public to use and enjoy, and permits a variety of activities including a community garden, performance pavilion, and walking trails along the banks of the North Nashua River. 

(Nashua River flowing past the park site, May 2008)

(Shady grove on the park site, along Nashua River bank, May 2008)

This project also demonstrates the effectiveness of public-private partnerships where private land trusts, the Nashua River Watershed Association , and the Fitchburg Greenway Committee (TTOR's 2010 Conservationist of the Year!), worked with state and local government to carry out a complex project.  We can't wait to monitor this land and watch the park transform from an abandoned industrial site into a vital community space, benefiting the residents of my historic home town.

Andrew Bentley - CR Stewardship Assistant

Conserving Cape Cod

The rapid growth in the number of summer and year-round homes on Cape Cod has consumed much of the remaining open land, and also created serious problems for drinking water supplies, ponds and estuaries polluted by nitrogen leaching out of septic systems. The Trustees of Reservations and several private landowners have protected more than 320 acres on four conservation restrictions in Barnstable and Yarmouth, keeping long stretches of coastline free of development and preserving habitat for birds like this Osprey (sitting on its nest during today's monitoring visit).

Ipswich Salt Marsh CRs

Understandably, the salt marshes that The Trustees hold CRs on along Argilla Rd in Ipswich weren't much to look at on the cold, gloomy day we did our monitoring a few weeks ago, but I could certainly grasp what a vital ecosystem of plants and animals these wetlands support. 

As a native of western PA, I was curious to know more and have since learned that these CR protected salt marshes are part of what's known as the Great Marsh. At 25,000 acres, it's the largest contiguous salt marsh north of Long Island, NY.   This amazing salt marsh ecosystem supports over 30 species of shorebirds including the threatened Piping Plover and many other plant and animal species listed as "rare" and protected by the MA Endangered Species Act.

Although the 285+ acres of salt marsh protected by these 20+ CRs makes up only a small percentage of the Great Marsh, every bit helps to buffer this incredible coastal habitat from the ongoing threats of adjacent land development.

Sally Naser, CR Monitoring Specialist