What’s New at Wildlands
Year in Review: What We Protected in 2025
Plus: What You Read in 2025 — Top Stories from Wildlands E-News
Wildlands’ 2025 land protection projects. Click the map to view a full PDF.
New Year’s Reflections from the Land Protection Office
By Scott MacFaden, Director of Land Protection
Helping CPA Towns Turn Investment into Impact
We completed five new Community Preservation Act (CPA) Conservation Restrictions (CRs) in 2025: the Hanson Farm CR in Bridgewater, the Cotton Brook Preserve CR in Plymouth, the Thrush Hollow CR in Middleborough, the Pink CR in Duxbury, and the Sprague Road CR in Rehoboth. Although these CRs are in different communities and protect different types of habitats, the connecting thread between them is that they all represent locally driven land conservation projects enabled in large part by CPA funds. A quarter-century after it became law, the CPA remains an invaluable asset to community-driven land preservation.
Hanson Farm in Bridgewater.
Saving Farmland
The Hanson Farm CPA CR in Bridgewater was the highlight of the year for farmland protection projects. We now co-hold a CR with the Town of Bridgewater on the 72-acre Hanson Farm, the last working farm of scale in Bridgewater and regionally beloved for its ice cream stand and farm store. The CR will forever ensure the protection of this last bastion of Bridgewater’s agricultural heritage.
Conserving Land in New Towns
We continued to expand our geographic footprint by adding two new communities to our portfolio through the acceptance of two CPA CRs previously held by the Maxwell Conservation Trust in Scituate and Cohasset. Collectively protecting 96 acres in the West End neighborhood, primarily in Scituate but including a small portion in Cohasset, these CRs encompass a variety of landscapes and habitat features, including scenic woodlands and vernal pools.
Founded in 1997, the all-volunteer and locally based Maxwell Conservation Trust prioritized protecting land in the West End neighborhood and worked closely with the Town of Scituate to successfully complete multiple projects in that area, including the two properties protected by these CRs. Similar to several all-volunteer land trusts Wildlands has worked with, the Maxwell Conservation Trust eventually determined it could no longer continue as an active organization and sought a qualified successor to accept an assignment of its CRs before shutting down its operations. Learn more here.
Looking Ahead to 2026
We’re excited about several new farmland projects that are either underway or in the early stages of preparation. In the former category, we’re working with the Friends of Holly Hill Farm and the Town of Cohasset toward completing a CR on a currently unprotected portion of that farm. If all goes as anticipated, the CR will be completed by early summer. In the latter category, a project that would achieve a permanent preservation outcome for Hornstra Farms in Whitman is in the planning stages.
Best of E-News: What Inspired You in 2025
When people are informed, connected, and inspired to protect the nature around them, the entire region benefits. That is what Wildlands E-News is all about. Below are five of the most-read E-News articles from 2025.
Curious about a particular aspect of our work or our region’s natural resources? Tell us in the comments below, and we might explore your question in a future newsletter!
Taunton River at Wyman North Fork Conservation Area in Bridgewater.
1. Human History of Wildlands: The Taunton River Watershed
Key Volunteer Skip Stuck continued his popular series in 2025, spotlighting the human history hidden beneath the foliage of Wildlands’ most beloved preserves. In this most-viewed article of 2025, Skip broadens his focus to an entire region—the Taunton River watershed, where Wildlands has prioritized land protection for decades due to its unique ecological and cultural heritage.
2. Land Protection Update: Duxbury, Scituate, Cohasset
Scott MacFaden recounted Wildlands’ recent land protection victories, including a Conservation Restriction (CR) next to O’Neil Farm in Duxbury and two CRs in Scituate and Cohasset, Wildlands’ first-ever acquisitions in those towns.
Wildlands members receive exclusive updates from our land protection office through their complimentary subscription to our biannual print newsletter, Wildlands News. Become a member today at wildlandstrust.org/membership.
3. White Pine: A Common Tree’s Uncommon History
In his Wildlands E-News debut, local farmer, naturalist, and volunteer hike leader Justin Cifello shines a light on a somehow overlooked giant of our forests—the white pine. From their symbolism in Indigenous and colonial cultures to the surprising reason behind their occasional deformity, Justin traces a history that places the white pine at the center of our region’s social and ecological identity.
4. Welcoming New Staff
We said hello to four new staff members in 2025. Rebecca Cushing joined us in January as one of two new Land Stewards. Callahan Coughlin joined us in February as the second. Already, Rebecca and Callahan have earned new titles to reflect their increasing responsibility: Rebecca is now our Stewardship & Volunteer Coordinator, while Callahan is our Stewardship & Training Coordinator.
In May, we welcomed Rob Kluin as our new Donor Relations Manager. Rob succeeds Sue Chamberlain, who retired after 12 years at Wildlands. In August, Jason Risberg came aboard as our first-ever GIS Manager, giving a major boost to our mapping and analysis capabilities.
Town of Avon Select Board Member Shannon Coffey cuts the ceremonial ribbon to open Fieldstone Preserve.
5. Fieldstone Preserve Gives Avon & Brockton Residents New Place to Enjoy Nature
In November, Fieldstone Preserve opened to the public, providing Avon, Brockton, and surrounding communities with new access to nature in the region’s densest urban landscape. The 30-acre woodland features 0.7 miles of trails that connect to D.W. Field Park. The Town of Avon acquired the property in 2024 with funds from a state grant and a private foundation, secured by Wildlands Trust. The grand opening ceremony brought together public officials and nonprofit leaders working collaboratively to improve the area via the D.W. Field Park Initiative.
Spring 2023 Land Acquisitions Update
By Scott MacFaden, Director of Land Protection
The Lake Street CR includes frontage on Jones River Brook, a tributary of the Jones River (pictured). Photo by Jimmy Powell of Jones River Landing.
Thus far in 2023, we’ve completed several projects that protect a diverse array of habitats and conservation values, and in one case further strengthen a long-standing collaboration with one of our municipal partners.
Lake Street CR, Plympton
In January, we completed a 31-acre Conservation Restriction in northeast Plympton near the Kingston line. The CR area is part of a larger privately owned property that will include a solar energy installation. Because the proposed project site is within mapped habitat for the Eastern Box Turtle, a species of “Special Concern” as identified by the Commonwealth’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP), the project proponents were required to grant the CR.
The CR protects land identified by NHESP as containing significant wildlife habitat, including “Priority Habitat of Rare Species” and “Estimated Habitats of Rare Wildlife.” The CR land includes frontage on Jones River Brook, a tributary of the Jones River.
As solar projects continue to proliferate across Southeastern Massachusetts, those that are proposed within areas subject to NHESP’s regulatory purview typically require the granting of a CR. We are actively evaluating several other solar project-associated CR’s across the region, and expect we will be offered more projects of this type in the future.
McCarthy Farm Conservation Area CR, Rockland
In March, we secured a Conservation Restriction (CR) on 36 acres in southwest Rockland. The Town of Rockland acquired the parcel in late 2021 using Community Preservation Act and other state funds. To learn more about the history and natural profile of the property, click here.
Sleeper Conservation Area CR, Hanson
The Bay Circuit Trail, a 200-mile hiking path that lies near the Sleeper Conservation Area in Hanson. By John Phelan, CC BY 3.0
In April, we completed a 12-acre Community Preservation Act (CPA) CR on the Town of Hanson’s Sleeper Conservation Area. Acquired by the Town in 2022 with a combination of CPA funds and a Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Sleeper Conservation Area primarily comprises forested upland, punctuated by several isolated pockets of wooded deciduous wetland.
The Sleeper Conservation Area’s position within the broader landscape bolsters its conservation impact. It directly abuts the Town of Hanson’s Camp Kiwanee, a long-cherished community asset on Maquan Pond, as well as the Town’s Alton J. Smith Preserve and the neighboring Town of Pembroke’s Town Forest. The preservation of the Sleeper Conservation Area thus strengthens the landscape connectivity between these two municipally owned open space assemblages.
A section of the Bay Circuit Trail, the premier long-distance hiking trail in Eastern Massachusetts, runs just to the west of the conservation area. Preserving this parcel helps protect the scenic integrity of the trail’s corridor and maintain the recreational value of this regionally and historically significant footpath, a chronological contemporary of the Appalachian Trail.
In addition to its favorable landscape context, significance for wildlife corridor connectivity, and proximity to the Bay Circuit Trail, the Sleeper Conservation Area also contributes to water resources protection. The parcel lies within multiple areas identified by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection as significant for drinking water and aquifer protection, and sits near Great Sandy Bottom Pond, which provides drinking water for the neighboring towns of Rockland and Abington.
The LAND grant award was critical to obtaining the support of Hanson Town Meeting voters for the project. The award provided almost two-thirds of the project’s funding, with CPA funds providing the balance. As part of our ongoing partnership with the Town of Hanson, Wildlands staff helped prepare the LAND grant application and provided additional assistance as needed. Many thanks to Hanson Conservation Commission Chair Phil Clemons, whose indefatigable efforts ensured the project’s success. Phil has served as our primary contact person in Hanson for decades, and is a true champion of all things conservation.
Upcoming Projects
We’re working to close more acquisitions over the next several months, including projects in Middleboro, Bridgewater, and Rehoboth. Stay tuned!
Get Involved
Hoping to protect your property’s natural and cultural heritage for generations to come? Learn about Conservation Restrictions, Deed Restrictions, land donations, and more on our Conserve Your Land page.