SVT Celebrates 100th Conservation Restriction!

SVT is thrilled to reach an incredible milestone! On September 12, we finalized a conservation restriction (CR) on the remarkable 45-acre Eastern Greenway-North land in Harvard. This marks our 100th CR in our 71-year history!

The Eastern Greenway-North land spans hilly woodlands and forested wetlands and features rock outcrops that overlook Horse Meadows Pond. With a rich landscape dominated by native plants, nearly all 45 acres are considered to be priority habitat for rare and endangered species of wildlife.

Bobcats and moose roam the forest. Green heron wade in the pond. Great horned owls and red-tailed hawks build nests in the oak- and pine-dominated tree line. Potential vernal pools promise opportunities for frogs and salamanders to hatch, mature, and reproduce.

Eastern Greenway-North is the northern-most section of the 200-acre Eastern Greenway conservation area that Harvard Conservation Trust (HCT) purchased and protected in 2022. Eastern Greenway includes several long, thin parcels that knit together numerous conservation areas—and an important corridor of wildlife habitat—near the Harvard-Boxborough line.

Eastern Greenway was previously owned by National Grid for an anticipated utility corridor that was never constructed. When HCT had an opportunity to purchase these 200 acres and protect the wildlife corridor, SVT was eager to help.

Thanks to the many donors who supported our crowdfunding campaign, SVT contributed $90,000 to help HCT purchase Eastern Greenway land, and we agreed to accept a CR on the Eastern Greenway-North parcel.

Eastern Greenway-North sits adjacent to the Horse Meadows Knoll conservation land that HCT and SVT protected in 2018. In fact, a short trail that cuts across Eastern Greenway-North connects Horse Meadows Knoll to the trail on HCTs Muller Land.

CRs are an important legal tool that allow landowners to protect a property from development. By agreeing to hold a CR on Eastern Greenway-North, SVT will enforce the specific terms of this CR and will act as a consistent guardian of the land forever.

It took a while for the CR to wend its way through the regulatory process, but the work is finally done! SVT now holds the CR and we will ensure this healthy land stays that way forever for the wildlife that rely upon it.

Now, on to the next 100!

Thank you to all the individuals and foundations who supported this project, including an anonymous foundation and an anonymous donor who contributed matching gifts for our fundraising campaign. Transaction funding for the project was provided by the Merrimack Conservation Partnership, a public/private effort for land conservation in the Merrimack River Watershed.

The protection of Eastern Greenway-North marks the latest success in the High Ridge Initiative, a collaborative effort to protect nearly 2,000 acres of high-priority habitats in Harvard, Boxborough, and Littleton. Learn more about it.

CRs Protect Land Forever, an article in our September 2024 Wren newsletter, explains why CRs matter—and why they are fast becoming one of the primary tools in the land conservation toolkit.