Dinah Rowbotham, Land Protection Program Assistant
The Town of Ashland has signed an official Purchase and Sale agreement with Northeastern University to buy the Warren Woods property, 120 acres very close to Mass Audubon’s Waseeka and Broad Hill Wildlife Sanctuaries (check out our previous blog post on this project). The agreement was signed just before Town Meeting last month. The agreement includes a provision to delay closing the sale until this year's Local Acquisition for Natural Diversity (LAND) grant winners are announced. If the town is awarded the grant, it could bring in up to $500,000 toward the land’s total purchase price of $5 million. The project is now within a 60-day exploratory period that provides the town with the needed opportunity for environmental studies, title and deed searches, and surveys. Mass Audubon has been assisting the town with various aspects of the purchase including appraisals and technical assistance and has pledged to contribute $150,000 toward the project. It is anticipated that over 100 acres will be covered by a conservation restriction that will permanently protect the land's natural conservation values.
An abutting 23 acre portion of Northeastern University’s land in the neighboring town of Holliston is also being considered for protection by Mass Audubon and other conservation partners.
Land protected by Mass Audubon CR, near soon-to-be-protected Warren Woods land.
