Ken and Mary Ellen Scott, two of the 17 living heirs who agreed to a conservation sale, enjoying the celebration at Porter Phelps Huntington Museum in July.
100 Acres of Rural Lands Protected in North Hadley!
Ken and Mary Ellen Scott, two of the 17 living heirs who agreed to a conservation sale, enjoying the celebration at Porter Phelps Huntington Museum in July.
This summer, Kestrel worked with 5 other partners to protect 102 acres in six parcels of land in North Hadley including active farmland and sensitive natural areas. The parcels include (See map below):
Farmland: 33 acres of active agricultural land on the
corner of River Road and Huntington Road. The Trustees
of Reservations will secure the land until it can be protected
through a state Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR), and
resold to a farmer.
Connecticut Riverlands: 26 acres in two parcels between
River Road and the river. This riverland will become part of the Connecticut River Greenway State Park to conserve the
floodplain and help to maintain a continuous ribbon of green along the River.
Lake Warner: 5.7 acres of shoreline, which will be protected jointly by The Kestrel Trust and The Town of Hadley’s
Conservation Commission. Residents will gain public access for birding, walking, and to enjoy the lake.
Woodland: 24 acres of woodlands along Stockwell Road. This parcel will be
permanently protected by a conservation restriction, and owned by a forester.
Fields: 13.5 acres of backland off Huntington Road. This will add to an existing
assemblage of contiguous protected woodlands and fields owned by The Kestrel
Trust and other private landowners.
All of this land was originally owned by Frank Scott, who died in 1935. In the following decades, the property passed on to his children and their children, until
today when 17 living heirs have agreed to the sale and protection of the land. For the last two years, The Kestrel Trust worked with a partnership of public and non-profit
conservation groups, including The Trustees of Reservations, The Porter-Phelps- Huntington Museum, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the
Department of Agricultural Resources to negotiate a complex agreement to purchase these 102 acres for $1,205,000.
Major funding for this conservation project will come from the Agricultural ProtectionRestriction Program,
Department of Conservation and Recreation, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs,
and Hadley’s CPA Fund, plus additional funding to cover project expenses from Open Space Institute and private individuals.