A recent agreement conserves nearly 2,400 acres of land in western Massachusetts and preserves access along two major hiking trails.
The Lyme Timber Company of New Hampshire recently completed a land purchase that includes 1,050 acres in Belchertown and 955 acres in Pelham, both west of the Quabbin Reservoir. The properties were considered among the largest unprotected contiguous forested tracts in Massachusetts, and they supplement more than 5,500 acres conserved in the surrounding area.
Lyme is working with the Kestrel Land Trust and The Trustees of Reservations to keep the properties open to the public for recreational use and permanently protect the land from development.
The conservation purchase creates the opportunity to return miles of the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail – now known as the New England National Scenic Trail – to its original route. It also secures several miles of the Robert Frost Trail for hiking.
The 950 acres in the Pelham Hills, purchased for $7.88 million, contains the headwaters of Amethyst Brook and offers access to miles of trails, including a three-mile segment of the Robert Frost Trail.
The 1,050 acres in Belchertown was purchased for $9.12 million and includes the Bergeron, Great Hills, Gulf Road, and Chimney Hills areas, and it is considered a critical wildlife corridor between the Mount Holyoke Range and the Quabbin Reservoir. Nearby is the Holland Glen waterfalls and other conservation areas.
The agreement also includes the conservation of 77 acres in North Amherst, 44 acres in Gill, and 229 acres in Orange and New Salem.
