Land Protection

Miracle in the Marsh - Great Marsh Conservation Initiative a Huge Success!

Bob Wilber, Director of Land Protection

For the last two years we have been working to protect 75 acres containing valuable salt marsh and upland within the Great Marsh ecosystem in Rowley. The unique location of this land, if protected, would knit together more than 8,000 acres of permanently conserved land.  After a myriad of last minute obstacles were resolved, we finally achieved that long sought goal earlier this week.

 I’ve often remarked that working as a land protection professional is sort of like working in an Emergency Room of a busy hospital. A seemingly endless stream of ‘patients’ come before you—in varying stages of ‘trauma’, generally requiring immediate attention, and with the continued well-being of each one being so very important to someone, sometimes  everyone.  With two polar opposite futures—imminent development and conservation forever—often swinging in the balance, it can get pretty heavy. Emotions can become frayed, physical energy depleted, and relationships sometimes strained from the tension often involved in these high stakes endeavors. 

But when a ‘patient’ is ‘saved’ after a threatening and complicated crisis is successfully unwound a powerful sense of satisfaction arises from being a part of doing something of real and lasting good. That is how we and so many of you who donated funds to make it happen feel about the news that the 75 critically important acres at the Great Marsh in Rowley were finally protected this week.

Because of the Chandler family who played such an important role, so many of you who contributed personal funds, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Open Space Institute(both of which awarded substantial grants to this worthy project) the Town of Rowley, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and of course our valued conservation partner, the Essex County Greenbelt Association,  the plants and animals—both rare and common—that have quietly thrived there for eons will continue to do so forever.   Thank you all so very much.      

 
 

Conservation begets conservation

Bob Ford, Land Protection Specialist

As an old Greek proverb says, kindness begets kindness. Similarly, conservation often begets conservation. 

Such is the case with our recent efforts to purchase and preserve 75 ecologically sensitive acres in the Rowley Great Marsh owned by the Oak Knoll Realty Trust. Our activity on this conservation initiative in Rowley has begotten more conservation activity! (See our webpage for information on the progress we’ve made and the challenge we face during the home stretch of this critically important conservation project.)  

A landowner that abuts the Oak Knoll Realty Trust land is now working with Mass Audubon to donate their 10 acres to the cause, which will increase the total amount of salt marsh to be protected through our efforts to 85 acres! The enlarged scope of what was already a significant salt marsh conservation project will provide an enormous protective benefit to the salt marsh ecosystem of the Rowley Great Marsh, now and forever. We hope to receive this gift around the same time as we hope to close on the Oak Knoll land, which we currently anticipate to take place in September 2011.

Rowley Town Meeting Unanimously Supports Great Marsh Acquisition

Bob Ford, Land Protection Specialist

On May 16 Rowley Town Meeting unanimously approved Mass Audubon’s request to allocate $250,000 from the town's Community Preservation Act open space account toward the conservation of over 75 acres in the Great Marsh (the Great Marsh Conservation Initiative). The approval of town funds is a critical part of the financial package needed to acquire the property, which also includes various forms of other government support, such as the Federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), and private support. Once purchased (hopefully in September 2011), the land will become part of Mass Audubon’s Rough Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary in Rowley. This project represents the last opportunity to acquire a critical missing link in the Great Marsh which conservation advocates have been trying to secure for over 30 years. This land protection effort provides numerous benefits for the Great Marsh and Rowley including preserving Rowley’s saltmarsh and water resources, shellfish beds, tidal creeks, and estuaries, completing a Heritage Landscape and historic Main Street scenic vista prioritized by the Essex National Heritage Commission, providing for increased public safety by absorbing storm-related floodwaters, protecting farmland from future development, and continuing saltmarsh agricultural activity.

 

Town Committee Support Gained for Great Marsh Project!

Bob Ford, Land Protection Specialist

Earlier this month, the Great Marsh Conservation Initiative seeking to preserve 75 acres of critical open space and salt marsh estuary habitat in Rowley gained unanimous votes of approval from the Rowley Board of Selectmen and Community Preservation Act Committee. The Conservation Commission also unanimously voted to support the project at a meeting last month. Due to the purchase price of this land it has been very important to gain funding support from various partners, and the Board of Selectmen’s and Community Preservation Act Committee’s endorsement of our $250,000 request was a key achievement. Underscoring the importance of this land, one member of the Board of Selectmen said “we owe it to future generations to protect this land and the Great Marsh and there won’t be many other opportunities like this one again.” Other partners supporting this initiative include the Essex County Greenbelt Association, a Federal funding grant from NAWCA, and the support of numerous private foundations and individuals.   

To see a map of the project area, or learn more about the project, please visit our webpage.

 
Fisherman in the Great Marsh, near the land we're working to protect.

A Major Boost for Our Great Marsh Project!

Bob Wilber, Director of Land Protection

We recently received official notification (aka wicked good news) that a $1 million challenge grant will be awarded from the US Fish and Wildlife Service through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant Program to help fund our ongoing efforts to purchase more than 75 acres of ecologically rich land as part of a larger initiative to create a wonderful new wildlife sanctuary in the Great Marsh in Rowley. This exciting challenge grant , combined with other funds—received, pledged, and hoped for from generous individuals, foundations, and others—help keep this ambitious project on a course for success despite a daunting fundraising goal and tight timeline.  We are proud to be working in partnership with the Essex County Greenbelt Association, the regional land trust for the North Shore. An old adage in the land conservation field says that great projects attract funding, that certainly appears to be the case with our project at Great Marsh. The next important step in this project will be the Town of Rowley Town Meeting on Monday, May 16^th, where voters will consider a request from the Community Preservation Committee for $250,000 for this project.

To contribute to this effort, or simply to learn more about this project, please visit our webpage.