Annual Report of the Trustees of Public Reservations 1977

The Trustees of Reservations 1977 Annual Report The Trustees of Reservations Eighty-Seventh Annual Report 224 Adams Street Milton, Massachusetts 02186 Telephone: (617) 698-2066 The Trustees of Reservations is a privately-administered, charitable corporation, founded for conservation purposes in 1891 to preserve for the public, places of natural beauty and historic interest within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Contributions are deductible under Federal income tax law. Officers and Committees Officers H. Gilman Nichols, Peter L. Hornbeck, Essex North Andover Mrs. Robert G. Potter, Arthur M. Jones, John M. Woolsey, Jr., President Edgartown Newbury David C. Crockett, Andrew J.W. Scheffey, John W. Kimball, Vice President Leverett Andover Augustus P. Loring, Charles W. Schmidt, Augustus P. Loring, Beverly Vice President Wayland Mrs. William C. Mrs. William C. Henry Lyman, Wigglesworth, Vice Wigglesworth, Cambridge President Ipswich Charles E. Mason, Jr., Woolsey, Jr., Chestnut Hill Henry R. Guild, Jr., John M. Mrs. R. Meyer, Secretary Cambridge August H. Gilman Nichols, Belmont Lawrence K. Miller, Treasurer Advisory Council Pittsfield Thomas L. P. Standing Mrs. William C. Brewer, O'Donnell, Hingham Jr., Manchester Committee J. Graham Parsons, Mrs. I. W. Colburn, Stockbridge Manchester Theodore Chase, Miss Amelia Peabody, Daniel J. Coolidge, Dover, Chairman Dover Boston Mrs. John M. Bradley, Arthur H. Phillips, David C. Crockett, Manchester Ipswich Ipswich Paul Brooks, Lincoln Sidney N. Shurcliff, Charles W. Eliot, II, Boston Mrs. David C. Forbes, Cambridge Sherborn Charles R. Strickland, Richard L. Frothingham, Plymouth Henry R. Guild, Jr., Dedham Dover Mrs. Richard D. Roland B. Greeley, John Hay, Brewster Thornton, Concord Lexington B. Williams, Robert Livermore, Jr., Thomas Henry R. Guild, Dover Beverly Needham Charles P. Laurence M. Channing, Lyman, John T. Hemenway, Canton Esq., Counsel, Milton Boston Cover photo: Photo credits: Spring thaw in the Gabriel Amadeus Berkshires brings Camp Cooney, cover, pp.6, Brook's torrent down 68, 70. Round Mountain —McLennan Reserva- tion, Tyringham. 2 1 Contents Officers and Committees— 1978 2 Foreword 4 Report o f Activities— 1 977 7 Financial Report 37 Conservation Award 41 Properties 1897-1978 42 Trustees (Members of the Corporation) 46 Special Committees 48 Local Committees 50 Staff 52 Contributors— 1 977 54 Officers 1891-1978 69 Membership and Gifts 7 3 Foreword The activities of The Trustees of Reservations, both in the management of our own properties and in our participation in the wider community, revolve around the preservation of open space and the wise use of land. We have been heartened by the process recently completed by the Commonwealth's Office of State Planning in encouraging each town and city to pre- pare a Local Growth Policy Statement and in assembling the local and regional reports in an over-all Massachusetts Growth Policy Report published in September, 1977. This report, entitled "City and Town Centers: A Program for Growth," is a wide-ranging and perceptive review of the effect of population pressure and automobile-induced sprawl on the Massachusetts landscape. Its analysis of regional and state-wide problems and its recommendations for land-use priorities are persuasive. The main thrust of the report is that major emphasis be given to revitalization of community centers, especially in urban areas, and that further suburbaniza- tion of the countryside be curtailed. Of particular interest is the finding that the primary concern of most of the Local Growth Policy Committees is preservation of the character of the community. This may mean different things to different communities, but in each case it includes a genuine belief that the physical aspects of the community are important—architecture, open space, the arrange- ment of buildings upon the land and local history and tradi- tions. We commend this report to you. It should have wide circula- tion throughout the Commonwealth. Although it may not ad- dress directly all of the land-use problems we are facing, it is an excellent beginning. In a variety of ways The Trustees of Reservations has made a substantial contribution to the maintenance of the Massachu- setts landscape and to the character of its communities, by preservation of highly visible open space, by maintenance of historic houses, by ownership of parcels of land of ecological significance and through ownership of conservation restric- tions. This program has never been more urgent. In the words of The Nature Conservancy "what we have saved and what we will save in the next few years will be all that will remain to be passed on to future generations.' ' Open space once lost cannot be reclaimed. The revaluation for real estate tax pur- 4 poses of open land in many of our rural communities is put- ting increased pressure on many owners of large tracts to sub- divide and sell. Along with the increasing urgency to acquire critical areas before they are lost we are faced with continuing problems of stewardship. The care and maintenance of our existing properties require money and manpower. In properties which are preserved as habitats for birds or wildflowers or because of their scientific or ecological interest it may be necessary to re- strict access. Our obligation is to preserve the ecology of our natural areas, not to provide public recreation, and we cannot permit overuse to destroy those qualities of a reservation which first justified its preservation. At the same time we are engaged in interpretive programs, which include self-guided nature trails, descriptive pamphlets and other material to make available to visitors information about the landscape. As you will read in the Report of Activities, we have had a busy and productive year. This has been made possible by the encouragement and support of our members. We have an ac- tive program which is of critical importance to the Massachu- setts landscape, and with continuing assistance from our members we shall be able to acquire further areas and to provide sensitive and thoughtful management for our existing reservations. John M. Woolsey, Jr. President Theodore Chase Chairman of the Standing Committee 5 Between Round Moun- been dammed by bea- tain and the western vers and is today a ridge of Long Moun- shallow pond—McLen- tain, Hale Swamp, fed nan Reservation, by Camp Brook, has Tyringham. k /d 6 Report of Activities 1977 Acquisition and Preservation In May, 1977, President Carter, in his Environmental Mes- sage, called for the creation of a National Heritage Program. Its goal: "to preserve those places of special natural, historic and scientific value to ensure that (future generations) will have a chance to know a part of America which we and our ancestors might otherwise have taken for granted.' ' In its land and history, the President declared, a nation finds continuity. The National Heritage Program was established early in 1978 by the Department of the Interior. We applaud its goals and purposes and we are honored and delighted to be able to help the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management initiate a Heritage Program here within the Commonwealth as described later in this report. We also take a special pride in the efforts and accomplish- ments of The Trustees of Reservations which began America's first heritage program now 87 years ago. Today The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) is custodian for 64 "beautiful and historic places and tracts of land" in 46 communities from Berkshire County to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Properties of TTOR now total more than 14,286 acres. In addition it holds 46 conservation restric- tions or easements protecting an additional 4,374 acres— a total of 18,660 acres of land throughout the Commonwealth preserved for environmental purposes. And the variety of landscape is extraordinary. Six Gifts of In 1977, TTOR received gifts of land and interests in land Land in Fee totaling 616 acres. They are listed below. 1 The McLennan Reservation, some 446 acres in Tyringham and Otis which include Round Mountain, some 1,500 feet above sea level, and a portion of the ridge and peak of Long Mountain, 1,950 feet. Between Round Mountain and the steep western edge of Long Mountain, Hale Swamp, fed by Camp Brook, has been dammed by beavers and today is a shallow pond. There are white-tailed deer and bear on the land as well as bobcat. Gift of John S. McLennan. The McLennan Reser- vation is also a key part of TTOR's program to preserve the beauty and still wonderfully rural charm of Tyringham Valley. 7 2 One-half undivided interest in 153 acres at Nantucket known as the Galls, a narrow barrier beach which joins the northern portion of Coskata with Great Point. The land is now a part of 963-acre Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge which includes more than five miles of ocean shoreline. Gift of Pro- fessor and Mrs. Christoph K. Lohmann. 3 One-eighth undivided interest in 8.7 acres of land at Cape Poge, Chappaquiddick Island; upland and beach, a valuable addition to 484-acre Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Murray. 4 2.8 acres of woodland bordering 438-acre Rocky Woods Reservation in Medfield. Gift of William F. Spang. 5 1.24 acres of woodland in Andover bordering the 597-acre Charles W. Ward Reservation in Andover and North Andover. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jon D. Swenson. 6 Twelfth one-twelfth undivided interest in some 149 acres of land at Menemsha Hills Reservation in Chilmark. Gift of Miss Catherine P. Harris and Nathaniel L. Harris. The gift completes the acquisition of some 149 acres of land on the north shore of Martha's Vineyard. The area includes a dramatic sand cliff and a portion of Prospect Hill, the highest hilltop on the Vineyard.

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