Major Step toward Land Protection - Wilson lot update

On May 6th a major step toward the protection and ultimate acquisition of the Wilson lot was taken when Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust (MGLCT) purchased the lot from the Wilsons (detailed description of land protection effort). As part of the purchase MGLCT signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (P & S) with Harvard Forest to sell the property, subject to a conservation easement, to Harvard Forest by December 31, 2006.

This time frame allows MGLCT somewhat more than two years to work to secure funding from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program to purchase conservation easements on the Wilson property and 3 additional neighboring parcels in Petersham and Phillipston, totalling nearly 1,000 acres. The establishment of conservation easements on these neighboring properties will help protect a buffer of land around Harvard Forest's Prospect Hill tract and enhance an important corridor of protected habitat on the northeast side of the Quabbin reservoir.

This schedule will also provide Harvard Forest additional time to reach its fundraising goal of $200,000 (we are currently nearing the halfway mark) to purchase the restricted Wilson lot.