Wildlands Trust Surpasses 50 Communities Served in Southeastern Massachusetts

By Amy Markarian, Senior Copywriter

Read Time: 2 min

PLYMOUTH– Wildlands Trust is celebrating an exciting milestone in land conservation. The self-described “small organization with a big reach” took on projects in two new towns – Norwood and Foxborough – at the close of 2021, bringing the total number of Massachusetts communities served to 51. 

According to Wildlands Trust’s president and executive director, Karen Grey, the organization continuously works to forge new partnerships with the cities and towns as these relationships are the foundation for its land protection work. “We are committed to providing equitable access to nature throughout the entire region because all people deserve the benefits of nature every day, regardless of their zip code,” adds Grey, who grew up in the City of Brockton. Currently, across the 51 cities and towns in which Wildlands Trust is working, 1.7 million people are impacted by their conservation efforts. 

In December, Wildlands Trust expanded its geographic reach to 50 towns, through a partnership with the Norwood Conservation Commission, in which Wildlands Trust holds the conservation restriction on a new Town-owned parcel of land. Norwood sits on the periphery of Wildlands Trust’s coverage area and the new parcel is located within a designated Massachusetts Environmental Justice area in the town. This designation is aimed at increasing the availability of parks and open spaces in urban environments that bear a disproportionate burden of the state’s development and industrial pollution. The permanent preservation of this parcel of open space in Norwood is both an important step toward the creation of a new riverfront park for the community, and a notable achievement in Wildlands Trust’s pursuit of equitable access to nature for all Massachusetts residents.

Also just before the close of 2021, a donation of 65 acres of land in Foxborough further expanded Wildlands Trust’s service area to 51 cities and towns. The organization celebrated several other year-end acquisitions in towns where their presence was already established as well. These include: the 16-acre Hart conservation restriction, which adds to an existing assemblage of protected land along Eagles Nest Creek, in Duxbury; and a 17-acre property within the headwaters area for Leonard Washburn Brook, in Lakeville.

Wildlands Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving land and preserving the natural heritage of Southeastern Massachusetts. The organization works to permanently protect and steward important habitats and landscapes, including woodlands and fields, ponds, coastal areas, agricultural lands, and river systems. Founded in 1973, Wildlands Trust has worked to protect nearly 13,000 acres of open space in 51 Massachusetts towns.

Shifting Lots: More Than Just a Pretty Place

By Amy Markarian, Senior Copywriter

Read Time: 4 min

Karen Grey and Kathy Parsons worked together for seventeen years, as members of the senior management team at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. Karen is now the executive director at Wildlands Trust and Kathy is the director of the Coastal Waterbird Program at the Massachusetts Audubon Society. In the second chapter of each of their careers, the two have reunited in a collaboration that brings together land conservation and bird protection at Wildlands’ Shifting Lots Preserve and the adjacent Ellisville Harbor State Park, in Plymouth. The project is an example of one of the ways that Wildlands manages conserved land for wildlife.

Wildlands Trust’s director of stewardship, Erik Boyer, facilitates a partnership with the Friends of Ellisville Marsh to support Mass Audubon’s annual protection of shorebirds from April through August. For the last fifteen years, staff and volunteers have worked together to monitor and protect Piping Plovers and Least Terns that nest along the shore at these Plymouth beaches.

Declining populations of both birds in the mid-1980s prompted efforts to protect nesting and foraging areas in the state. At the Coastal Waterbird Program's inception, there were 135 pairs of nesting Piping Plovers in Massachusetts, compared to 956 pairs in 2021! These Massachusetts birds currently account for more than half of the entire Atlantic Coast population of the species. According to program staff members, “Coastal birds face many challenges along our busy coastline as they lay their eggs on the sand and raise their young amidst the beach-going public.” It’s not possible for shorebird monitors from one organization alone to do the ongoing work of protecting the birds, so local collaborations like this one are essential.

The Coastal Waterbird Program’s 2021 field summary for Shifting Lots Preserve, issued in December, indicates that our Plymouth partnership is contributing to the program’s impressive achievements. This year’s team installed and maintained protective fencing, posted educational signage throughout the area, and provided direct education to visitors about the threatened birds. And, while the number of nesting Piping Plovers remained consistent relative to the previous year (3 pairs), there were 8 fledglings this summer – the greatest number seen at Shifting Lots in the last fifteen years! Additionally, 12 pairs of nesting Least Terns and an unknown number of fledglings were also protected.

While there’s no question that this program site has demonstrated notable success, it has not been without some challenges. The 2021 field summary reported vandalism to the temporary protective fencing that was installed last spring, which required frequent repairs. Bike tracks were also observed near the nesting sites on several occasions. But perhaps the greatest challenge for program volunteers, and the shorebirds they protect, was predator harassment –most often from dogs.

Both Shifting Lots Preserve and Ellisville Harbor State Park prohibit dogs on the beach throughout the nesting season each year, though leashed dogs are allowed on the wooded trails of the State Park year-round. But pet owners don’t always adhere to the posted warnings, and program volunteers observed unleashed dogs on the beaches on several occasions. Owners often mistakenly believe that close supervision of their pets is sufficient to ensure the birds’ safety. However, the stress of nearby animal activity is enough to disrupt the birds’ habitat and endanger young fledglings.

Looking ahead to next year, the team believes that better signage and additional enforcement of policies curtailing dog activity on the beaches may be helpful for the continued success of this important shorebird nesting habitat. Wildlands Trust is proud of the achievements of this collaborative effort to protect local wildlife, and we look forward to continuing to partner with the Friends of Ellisville Marsh and Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird Program to ensure that Shifting Lots continues to be much more than just a pretty place to visit!

Kingston Dam to be Removed Using State-Awarded Funds

By Amy Markarian, Senior Copywriter

KINGSTON– On July 28, Wildlands Trust received a $729,000 state grant to remove the Sylvia Place Pond dam in Kingston, MA. The award will allow the conservation group to improve public safety in the area and to restore fish passage by conducting a breach of this significant hazard, poor-condition dam.

Governor Charlie Baker announced the 2021 Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Dam and Seawall Program grant recipients from Gloucester’s Haskell Pond Dam on Wednesday. 28 grantees, including the conservation group and 27 cities and towns across Massachusetts, will receive more than $17 million to help repair failing dams, seawalls, and levees. Since the grant program’s inception in 2013, more than $95 million have been provided to address the state’s aging structures.

Wildlands Trust’s Executive Director, Karen Grey, says, “We have to be concerned with how severe storm activity is taking a toll on aging infrastructure. With this funding we can now eliminate the growing public safety issues to residents living downstream of this dam.”

Sylvia Place Pond is nearly surrounded by Wildlands Trust’s 27-acre Stewart/Person Preserve, in Kingston. The Sylvia Place Pond Dam has outlived its usefulness as an historic impoundment for mill power and ice harvesting. It is part of a series of interconnected manmade ponds that were originally constructed to supply power to nearby mills. There is a herring ladder at the north end of the pond that allows fish to complete their annual trek upstream for spawning in nearby Russell Pond. The area is also home to such wildlife as red fox, otter, mink, deer, osprey, and great blue heron.

Wildlands Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving land and preserving the natural heritage of Southeastern Massachusetts. The organization works to permanently protect and steward important habitats and landscapes, including woodlands and fields, ponds, coastal areas, agricultural lands, and river systems. Founded in 1973, Wildlands Trust has worked to protect nearly 13,000 acres of open space in 48 Massachusetts towns.

Historic Hanover Field Permanently Preserved

By Amy Markarian, Senior Copywriter

HANOVER – On Friday, July 23, 2021, a months-long collaboration between regional conservation group, Wildlands Trust, and the Town of Hanover culminated with the purchase and permanent protection of Sylvester Field. Encompassing a small pine grove and 660-feet of frontage on Third Herring Brook in Hanover’s Four Corners neighborhood, Sylvester Field’s highly-visible 10-acre meadow and stone wall bordering Washington Street is a cherished part of the town landscape. It has both historical and ecological value, and has long served as an agricultural, recreational and aesthetic resource for the community.

In May, with support from the Hanover Open Space Committee and the Hanover Historical Commission, residents of Hanover unanimously approved the use of $250,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to purchase a permanent Conservation Restriction on the field. With this partnership, along with the generous contributions of 307 individual donors, Wildlands Trust was able to act quickly on the rare opportunity to purchase this highly-valuable parcel of open space in Hanover.

“It was an incredible effort, with hand-delivered mailings, personal solicitations, a farmers market, banners, signs, field tours and more, which continued unabated until the goal was reached!” marveled Sue Chamberlain, Wildlands Trust’s Donor Relations Manager. According to Chamberlain, this grass-roots effort proved critical for the success of the project. A core group of 16 volunteers, led by Four Corners resident, Caleb Estabrooks, raised $150,000 to be combined with a $200,000 matching gift from a generous donor. This community-generated funding supplied half of the total cost of the land in just six months.

Most recently known to many locals as Robinson Field, the last property owner was Clayton Robinson, who died in March 2020. Under his family’s ownership, a mowed path was maintained around the edge of the field, and local residents have long-enjoyed walking past the tall grass, through the pines, and down to the water’s edge. After his death, Robinson’s cousin and estate representative, Debbie Lincoln, was an important advocate among family members for the preservation of the scenic open field and the continued public use of its frequently-visited walking trails.

When presented with the opportunity to preserve this land, Wildlands Trust immediately recognized the ecological value of Sylvester Field. The property is home to numerous wildlife species, both common and rare, and provides an extensive riparian habitat along the Third Herring Brook, an important tributary of the larger North River.

Under Wildlands Trust’s ownership, Sylvester Field will be maintained in its current state.  The field-edge walking trails will remain and annual mowing of the field itself will continue. The addition of a small parking area and an informational kiosk will improve accessibility for public enjoyment of the preserve.

Long before European arrival, Native Americans occupied the area, including the field, which lies at a strategic location near the confluence of Third Herring Brook and the North River. In the mid-1600s, it was owned by William Barstow, who is believed to be the first European settler in the area. It later became part of a larger farm, changing hands to the Stockbridge family and then the Sylvester Family. When the Sylvester family sold much of the farm in the 1940s, Betsey (Sylvester) Robinson purchased this parcel to save it from development. The land continued to be used for agricultural purposes for many years, including the grazing of Hornstra Farms cows and the production of hay, before settling into its latest role as a scenic resource for the community.

Wildlands Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving land and preserving the natural heritage of Southeastern Massachusetts. The organization works to permanently protect and steward important habitats and landscapes, including woodlands and fields, ponds, coastal areas, agricultural lands, and river systems. Founded in 1973, Wildlands Trust has worked to protect nearly 13,000 acres of open space in 48 Massachusetts towns, including: Great River Preserve, in Bridgewater; Brockton Audubon Preserve; Cow Tent Hill Preserve and Cushman Preserve in Duxbury; the Nook in Kingston; Hoyt-Hall Preserve in Marshfield; Willow Brook Farm in Pembroke; and the Davis-Douglas Conservation Area in Plymouth.

Another Important Milestone for the Sylvester Field Project

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On the evening of Tuesday, May 4, 2021, Hanover Town Meeting unanimously approved a request for $250,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for the Historic Sylvester Field preservation project. The town will use the funds to purchase a permanent Conservation Restriction on the field.  

Wildlands will use the town’s contribution to help fund its purchase of the property from the Estate of Clayton Robinson. We are working toward a closing in July.  

Kudos to Open Space Committee Co-chair Hal Thomas for his outstanding presentation of the project to Town Meeting. Thanks also to Hanover Historical Commission Chair Peter Johnson for his informative presentation evoking the Field’s rich history.  

Situated in Four Corners, one of Hanover’s oldest villages, Sylvester Field is one of Hanover’s most cherished scenic, agricultural and historic resources, and a true community touchstone. The Estate of Clayton Robinson has generously afforded Wildlands and the town the opportunity to preserve the field, and our ongoing preservation effort is an example of how public and private partners can collaborate to achieve substantial conservation outcomes.  

We also want to thank all of the private donors who have supported the project thus far. There’s still an opportunity for new donors to support the project, as we are working to raise the last $60,000 we need to meet our private fundraising target. You can donate to the project at: https://wildlandstrust.networkforgood.com/projects/124001-save-sylvester-field

Thank you!