Wildlands' Governance News 2022

It’s always hard to say goodbye to long-serving, knowledgeable, committed board members. With their fingerprints on so many of our protected lands projects, Howard Randall and Gary Langenbach combined had 60-plus years of service to Wildlands by the time they retired from the Wildlands board this past September. We thank them both for their many years of service to our mission. Howard has served as past Board Chair, and Gary as the Chair of the Lands Committee. We would also like to thank Allen Caggiano, who stepped down after nearly a decade of service.

The board voted in a slate of new members, and we are delighted to welcome Matt Cammack of Milton, Russ Keeler of Rochester, Peter Tyack of Hanover, and Ethan Warren of Plymouth.

Late Summer Land Acquisitions Update

By Scott MacFaden, Director of Land Protection

Thus far in 2022, we’ve completed a variety of projects across our coverage area that protect a diverse array of habitats and conservation values, including properties on two of the region’s major rivers.

In February, we completed the first two phases of a long-contemplated project that will create our first preserve in Plainville. These first two steps involved adding another two acres to the 33.5-acre Conservation Restriction (CR) we’ve held on lands of the Crystal Spring Center for Ecology, Spirituality, and Earth Education Inc., since 2008, and then assigning the expanded CR to another qualified nonprofit conservation organization—the Attleboro Land Trust. With those steps concluded, the third and final step will transfer the “fee simple,” or outright ownership of the property, from Crystal Spring to Wildlands Trust. We expect that final transfer to occur before year’s end.

A drone's view of Sylvester Field and the Indian Head River in Hanover. Photo by Jerry Monkman.

In June, we acquired five acres in Norwell along the North River that protects important habitat for marsh wrens. Donated by the Estate of Clayton Robinson, the parcel represents the culmination of the Sylvester Field Preservation Project, through which we previously protected 20 contiguous acres along the Third Herring Brook in nearby Hanover.

In late July, we purchased 30 acres on Halfway Pond in Plymouth that was the largest remaining unprotected parcel on the pond’s west shore, and consequently one of our longest-standing preservation priorities. The property includes pockets of Pine Barrens, a globally rare natural community, and directly abuts and expands our Halfway Pond Conservation Area, now over 460 acres in extent and one of the crown jewels of our protected lands portfolio.

Most recently, in the waning days of August we protected 11.7 acres in Lakeville along the upper Nemasket River through the combination of a deed restriction and a two-acre land donation. This hybrid project protects over 900 feet of linear frontage along the Nemasket, a major tributary of the federally designated Wild and Scenic Taunton River.

Morning fog on Halfway Pond in Plymouth. Photo by Jerry Monkman.

We’re working to close more projects by year’s end, including the third and final phase of the Plainville project, and projects in Bridgewater, Scituate, Rockland, and Hanson.   

Watch this space!   

Staying the Course to Protect Atlantic Coastal Woodlands

Read Time: 3 min

By Karen Grey, Executive Director

As we were sealing the fate of the newest addition to Wildlands’ 550-acre Halfway Pond Conservation Area this past July, one of the sellers remarked, “Can you believe we started talking about this seven years ago?” He was surprised when I explained that it’s not unusual for projects to take a decade (or sometimes two) from start to finish. Establishing trust with those contemplating the fate of their land is the lynchpin to success, and building that trust requires an investment of time from both parties. Often, the landowner is surprised at how long a project can take, but rarely are we.

Wildlands Trust has methodically worked to build the relationships necessary to protect the last four privately held parcels within our largest holding, the Halfway Pond Conservation Area in Plymouth, for the past thirty years. We successfully protected three of the four parcels by 2015 before turning our sights toward the jewel in the crown, the 30-acre property owned by the Advaita Meditation Center (AMC), headquartered in Waltham. AMC had purchased the land and its accompanying 11,000-square-foot building as a retreat center in the 1980s, and by 2015, its aging membership was rethinking the organization’s future. For the past seven years, we have worked with AMC to contemplate a purchase of the property by Wildlands that would include a term tenancy for AMC to continue using the retreat center several times a year. On July 26, 2022, we celebrated the consummation of this win-win-win scenario for Wildlands, AMC, and the people of Plymouth.

Halfway Pond Conservation Area is a significant holding within the Atlantic Coastal Woodland (ACW), a 20,000-acre forested corridor in Southeastern Massachusetts spanning from Carver and Wareham in the west and through Plymouth to Cape Cod Bay in the east. Wildlands Trust has focused much of its work over the last 50 years on protecting this landscape, recognized as the largest contiguous forest in one of the fastest-growing regions in the Northeastern United States. The ACW is an intact ecosystem home to globally rare pine barrens and coastal plain ponds with huge sections uninterrupted by roads and development. Other iconic landscape features of the ACW include wooded wetlands, cranberry bog complexes, and a mosaic of pitch pine, scrub oak, and scattered ponds with rare species found nowhere else in the world; ACW has the second-largest remaining tract of Coastal Pine Barrens worldwide. Globally rare plants sit upon deep glacial deposits to filter and protect the largest drinking water aquifer in Massachusetts, the Plymouth-Carver Sole Source Aquifer.

Large-scale development projects continually threaten to fragment and denigrate the ecological integrity of this vital landscape. We are delighted that this property is now permanently protected. Plans are underway to expand trail systems and establish a stewardship training center on the property.

Seasonal Staff Success in Summer 2022

Read Time: 2 min

By Rachel Calderara, Director of Special Projects

Summers are for growth; not just for the local flora, but also for our staff! With 10,000 acres to protect in 52 towns, Wildlands’ stewardship staff have their work cut out for them during the growing season. That’s why each summer we hire a handful of seasonal staff to help us tackle the busiest time of year. Not only do they help keep our trails clear and free of obstructions, but our seasonal staff also engage with volunteers, help lead youth projects, and collaborate with partner organizations. As summer winds down, we’d like to take a moment to appreciate everything our stewardship staff accomplished this season in service to the environment and our communities.  

Three new staff joined us this summer, doubling the size of the stewardship department. Tess Goldmann, who was first introduced to Wildlands Trust as a high school Green Team member in 2017 and 2018, joined Wildlands as a Seasonal Land Steward after earning a dual degree in Biological Science and Computer Science at Smith College. Lucky for us, she’ll be staying on to help with a variety of projects through the end of the year. Tyler Williams was with Wildlands from May to August and has returned to UMass Boston to complete his senior year as an Environmental Science major. Nico Johnston joined us all the way from Texas for a second summer and returned home in August for his senior year of high school.  

The long list of accomplishments that wouldn’t have been possible without Tess, Tyler, and Nico includes: 

• Constructing two miles of new trails at Halfway Pond Conservation Area. 

• Installing new roadside signage at Showcase Preserves. 

• Repairing benches and picnic tables with the Brockton Green Team at D.W. Field Park. 

• Constructing a half-mile connector trail that links the IHRT loop with the trails at Chapman’s Landing in Hanover. 

• Installing bog boards at Mark’s Cove Conservation Area with Buzzards Bay Coalition and Wareham Land Trust. 

Caring for our conservation lands is both challenging and rewarding, and we are grateful to Tess, Tyler, and Nico for their hard work this summer! We hope you find the time to get out on the trails and enjoy the fruits of their labor this fall.  

Does this sound like the kind of work YOU would like to be doing? We’re HIRING a full-time Stewardship Coordinator! Learn more here. 

Photo by Rob MacDonald