A thousand-acre victory for land conservation

SALISBURY —A coalition of eight conservation groups and two limited liability companies comprising private citizens have joined forces to protect 1,000 acres of mature woodland forests and farmland in Connecticut and Massachusetts, valued at between $13 million and $15 million, from development.

The acreage, a portion of which offers sweeping views of the Taconic mountain range, was put on the market this summer by Salisbury resident Robert Boyett, a retired television producer.

 Boyett said he turned down several lucrative offers, preferring to buy time for concerned environmental groups and property owners in two states to work together to put a conservation plan in place.

“A Boston developer wanted to build 30 houses on it,” and other offers included plans for a golf course and a marijuana farm, he explained. “A lot of people have come along but I wanted to wait until I could just hold onto it and do the right thing.”

The land comprises several separate parcels, all in different stages of preservation. 

So far, 297 acres on the north side of Twin Lakes on Tom’s Hill was taken off the market by an LLC (limited liability company)comprising about 10 individual donors who scrambled to raise nearly $2.5 million to give the Salisbury Association Land Trust (SALT) time to apply for state and federal preservation grants.

That parcel, which offers expansive views of the Twin Lakes watershed, had been on the market for $2.9 million. The closing from Boyett to the LLC took place in late September, said John Landon, co-chairman of the Salisbury Association’s Land Trust Committee.

A second LLC comprising about a half dozen donors, several of whom own property around Twin Lakes, was formed to purchase a 220-acre parcel on Miles Mountain, which leads to Cooper Hill, Landon explained. “That hasn’t closed yet,” noted the SALT official.

In addition, several other parcels comprising the 1,000 acres eyed for preservation include about 456 acres on Cooper Hill Farm and another 75 acres in Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield, Massachusetts.

“For eight conservation groups in two states to partner with private donors to work together like this is amazing. It has never been done to this magnitude,” said real estate agent Elyse Harney Morris, who brokered the deal, representing Boyett’s interests, with Bill Melnick. 

She credited Boyett for his generosity. “He accepted less than he could have in selling the land.”

The coalition involved in the multiple transactions include, in addition to SALT, the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC), the Connecticut Nature Conservancy, Massachusetts Nature Conservancy, the Sheffield Land Trust, the Trustees of Reservations and Massachusetts Audubon. 

Time was of the essence

In early August, Grant Bogle, president of the Twin Lakes Association (TLA), invited Landon to address TLA members about a 297-acre parcel atop Cooper Hill owned by Boyett that had just been put on the market.

“We quickly ascertained that in order to make this work, we needed to get a group together to buy it and preserve it while SALT applies for grants and then buys it back from the LLC,” said Bogle, who noted that the expectation is to get “from 80 to 90% of the funds returned” to donors.

“We formed the LLC very quickly and what’s good about this is that not everybody knew each other before coming together. Some have been on the lake forever, and some are fairly newcomers to the area.” 

According to Landon, “The transaction gives us time to apply for grant funding and find other funding to purchase it. We have already submitted an application to the state for an Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant, but the rewarding of grants by the state probably won’t be announced until May.” But at least, until then, he said, the land is safe from development.

Eventually, said Landon, if SALT does secure a state grant, one of the requirements will be that there should be some sort of public access to the land. “Perhaps some sort of trail, but that is way off,” he said.

Important forest and farmland habitat

Tim Abbott, regional conservation and greenprint director for HVA, described the 1,000 acres being protected “as significant” and in line with HVA’s mission: protecting wildlife and clean, cold groundwater.

“It includes an Upland Review Area for the Housatonic River Corridor and at or near the top is a very large amount of important forest and farmland habitat all in one place in two states,” noted Abbott, who has been a staunch advocate for regional conservation partnerships for the past 25 years.

“The Connecticut portion of it is off the charts in terms of biodiversity,” he noted.

On the Massachusetts side, said Abbott, a large swath of farmland atop Cooper Hill, along with a piece of land that will be added to Bartholomew’s Cobble, is now in the hands of the Trustees of Reservations.

Abbott described the various parcels of undeveloped land making up the 1,000 acres, which all came on the market within six months, as those that “tend to sell fast” and have “tremendous dollar value, particularly the Massachusetts portion, valued at between $7 million and $8 million.

“No land trust was sitting on a couple million dollars to drop on some of these parcels. The land is not protected right now, but it is on a path to protection. There is more to do because we’re not done, by any means,” noted Abbott. “It’s going to take a few years.”

‘I could control what to do with it’

Boyett, who has retained several hundred protected acres where his home is located, the majority of which are under conservation, said he acquired his real estate portfolio over the years as neighbors were looking to sell off contiguous properties.

“I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to put it under conservation or not, but I thought, if I own it, I could control what to do with it.”

On the Massachusetts side, Boyett said he is happy to be able to transfer farmland “to younger hands.” The Aragi family, he said, “have farmed that land for 20 years, and have been wonderful custodians of the land, so when we were able to transfer it to them, I was thrilled.”

Boyett said he was heartened by the rapid response from local citizens.

 “It’s not only the people who have money who have stepped up, but the everyday citizens who are so concerned and protective of the land have also stepped up to become guardians of this area.”

To Boyett, the recent land deals represent more than cut-and-dry transactions. Parting with the land he has cherished for so long, he said, is bittersweet.

“About 10 days ago I was up on Cooper Hill looking at that beautiful view, and almost had a tear come to my eye because I view it all so affectionately,” recalled Boyett. “But I am very lucky to have found people to become the next custodians who want to do the right thing.”