FA L L N E WS L E T T E R THE WREN October 2010 Linden Street Land in Boylston Enlarges Important Habitat Area By Nancy Hallen, SVT Office Manager Sudbury Valley Trustees works as a regional land trust in 36 towns in the Metrowest area. Open space in this scenic and sought-after area is valuable and scarce. In this setting, we often creatively join with other committed environmentalists who share a common vision of the value of protected landscapes for the natural, ecological and quality of life benefits they provide. Often such collaborative efforts include governmental entities or local land trusts, but sometimes we have the opportunity to work with an individual conservation buyer — a person who wants to acquire land with the intent to preserve it. Now due to efforts of Shalin Liu, a 43-acre property off Linden Street in Boylston that was slated for development will instead remain a prime habitat area for wildlife. Rick Findlay Just south of Linden Street in Boylston, near the Berlin town line, lies a 43-acre, wooded parcel. Not so long ago, this land was to be developed as Jameson’s Ridge, a 32-lot subdivision. Now it has a future as a wildlife sanctuary. SVT has always believed that from an environmental perspective, the development of Jameson’s Ridge would forever compromise a region of significant ecological value; this land, pristine and scenic in its own right, is a key- stone amidst a cluster of existing conservation lands. It shares a common boundary with two SVT properties: to the southwest, it abuts corners with SVT’s Keisling Reservation; to the east, a perennial stream, and its associated wetlands, divides the Linden Street land from SVT’s Wrack Meadow and forms the headwaters of North Brook. Other conservation lands nearby include SVT’s Mile Hill Woods and the Mount Pisgah Conservation Area, a complex of protected lands in Berlin and Northborough. Wachusett Reservoir, New England Forestry Foundation’s Falby Memorial Forest, and several undeveloped properties owned by the town of Boylston are also in close proximity. The Linden Street land is a forested parcel with its habitat value greatly enhanced by the other forested properties surrounding it. It is largely a second growth white pine-oak forest, with black and yellow birch common as well. American chestnut saplings are numerous in the understory. The land is primarily upland, with a few small but diverse wetland depressions. The topography rises as you approach the southern portion of the land, with a pair of small parallel hilltops highlighting the interior of the forest, near Wrack Meadow. Boulders and dead wood provide wildlife habitat throughout Numerous boulders, also referred to as “glacial erratics,” are scattered throughout the property (continued on page 4) Board of Directors Stephen Winthrop, Wayland, President Colin Anderson, Sudbury, Vice President Bruce Osterling, Sudbury, Treasurer Pam Resor, Acton, Clerk Jamie Bemis, Concord Brian Clew, Framingham Richard Dinjian, Shrewsbury Marylynn Gentry, Wayland Lucille Hicks, Wayland Chris Jenny, Wayland Richard Johnson, Concord Robert Kamen, Sudbury Deirdre Menoyo, Sudbury Arthur Milliken, Concord David Moore, Framingham Iryna Priester, Wayland Stephen Richmond, Sudbury STAFF Ron McAdow Executive Director Ellen Byrne Business Manager Christa Hawryluk Collins Director of Land Protection Susan J. Crane Land Protection Specialist Nancy Hallen Office Manager Ellie Johnson Office Assistant Laura Mattei Director of Stewardship Michael Sanders Director of Membership Dan Stimson Assistant Director of Stewardship Chris Wilson Caretaker The Wren Nancy Hallen, Editor Joyce Dwyer & Gordon Morrison, Illustrators Jason Fairchild, The Truesdale Group, Designer NOTES FROM RON Twenty years have elapsed since SVT published The Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers. This golden opportunity for first-time authorship came to me because Allen Morgan, SVT’s founding executive director, asked what I did for a living. My response included the coda,“But I’d like to do more writing.” “A writer! I need a writer,” replied Allen, who later said of the canoe guide project that “I have to get this thing off my desk.” He was desperate, so the lucky chance fell to me. Next we had to find a publisher. A regional publisher dismissed the project as too local. When a fellow named Steve Clouter wrote to Allen that he wanted to publish outdoor books, Allen forwarded his letter to me, with the inscription, “Shall we call this guy’s bluff?” Allen was a master of forceful expression. A deal was struck, a deadline was announced, and I went to work. I did not start from scratch because Dick Walton had laid the groundwork for the Sudbury and Concord Rivers, identifying access points and species of plants and animals associated with these rivers. I was to add the Assabet River and bring the project into publishable form. I covered a wall with topographical maps, divided the river into segments, and launched a campaign of paddling, with the goal of seeing first hand every place I would be sending others. Most of these paddles I did with Al Sanborn or Jon Klein, although one memorable outing was with Allen Morgan himself. When the first draft was finished, it was followed by the humbling process of receiving and digesting feedback. I learned a lot in a hurry. Readers pointed out (and saved me from publishing) errors such as my use of “sojourn” as synonymous with “short trip.” Another reader questioned the term “heron rookery” because a rookery is a nest colony of rooks, not herons. I discovered that 1) every reader caught some goof that no other reader did, and 2) that every place a reader flagged, it was worth the effort to improve. Before its release, the book was serialized by the MetroWest Daily News. It was featured on the front page of the then-new “Globe West,” and it became the subject of a Chronicle TV show—I recall with admiration the grace with which Mary Richards boarded my canoe at the Little Farms Road landing in Framingham to begin a videotaped paddle on the Sudbury. Imagine how much fun this all was for me, who had always loved both books and canoes. All these years later, The Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers is still on sale at SVT and at the Concord Bookshop, and I still savor the pleasures of both the process and the product. Ron McAdow, Executive Director Sudbury Valley Trustees 18 Wolbach Road Sudbury, MA 01776 5FMt'BY E-mail: svt@svtweb.org Website: www.svtweb.org Sudbury Valley Trustees is a regional land trust, founded in 1953. For over 50 years, SVT has been dedicated to conserving land and protecting wildlife habitat of the Concord, Assabet, Sudbury river basin. This is one of the most scenic, culturally rich, and historically significant regions in the United States. Guided by a well thought-out strategic plan, SVT carries out its mission for the benefit of present and future generations. 2 / SUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES / FALL 2010 Land Conservation in Landscape Context By Laura Mattei, SVT Director of Stewardship W hat land is worth protecting? How do you identify the lands with the greatest biodiversity value? These are questions that SVT has evaluated for our watershed. We apply fundamental principles of biodiversity conservation and landscape ecology to determine our best strategy for land protection. The Boylston property being protected by Shalin Liu (page 1) is a great example of land conservation in landscape context. In 2000, Frances Clark, in her Suasco Biodiversity Protection Plan, identified the Wrack Meadow area (which contains the Linden Street property) as a biodiversity priority because it contained “large unfragmented tracts of forest, stream headwaters and vernal pools.” The site is on a watershed divide and adjacent to another large tract of forested lands, known as Mt. Pisgah. The site contains mixed oak forest on glacial till. The terrain is uneven with small wetlands and vernal pools in the depressions. This type of natural community is very common in our watershed, but what makes this site important is the lack of development – houses, commercial buildings and roads – fragmenting a larger forest. Certain species of wildlife will only thrive in such large tracts of forests. Ornithologist Simon Perkins visited the Linden Street property site this past spring. He noted that “the avian diversity is somewhat low due to the limited habitat diversity, but as a forested site, its value to birds is greatly enhanced by its proximity to the large forested parcels that are contiguous to it. As such, this property provides potential nesting habitat for an assortment of forestguild species such as northern goshawk, broad-winged hawk, barred owl, pileated woodpecker, veery, hermit thrush, wood thrush, blackthroated green warbler, and scarlet tanager.” Large expanses of forest provide many ecosystem benefits. Wide-ranging, forest-inhabiting mammals such as bobcat, coyote, and gray fox will frequent these areas. With less fragmentation, invasive plant species are less likely to encroach and degrade the forest habitat. Smaller mammals, reptiles, amphibians and some insects have higher survivability in larger tracts of uninterrupted forest and natural habitat due to reduced road kill mortality and higher habitat quality. The natural hydrology - water infiltration and flow - remain intact, thereby maintaining high quality wetlands and waterways. Natural disturbances, such as windblown trees from large storm events, and fire may occur at a more ecologically balanced level; in smaller forests, such disturbances are either lacking or catastrophic. In general, larger expanses of uninterrupted habitats are more resilient to change. In light of the rapid pace of development and especially in this time of an economic slump, it is critically important for SVT to pursue the protection of these large, intact natural areas before they become irreparably fragmented. There are many opportunities within our western watershed to protect such lands, which like the Linden Street property, not only enrich habitats within confined boundaries but also provide benefits which far exceed their values as isolated properties. Drawings by Gordon Morrison S AVE THE DATE SVT’s Annual Benefit 4BUVSEBZ'FCSVBSZtPM The Sheraton, Framingham, MA Join Us For… Cocktails and Hors D’oeuvres Dinner and Dancing Silent Auction More details to follow! FALL 2010 / SUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES / 3 Linden Street Land in Boylston Enlarges Important Habitat Area (continued from page 1) the property, and the relatively large amount of contiguous forest in the area provides nesting opportunities to numerous forest bird species. SVT has long had an interest in protecting this property, which sits in the heart of our Mount Pisgah Priority Area. In 2003, despite efforts to negotiate a conservation purchase, the land went under agreement with a developer who proposed a 42-unit housing project. SVT’s Director of Land Protection at the time, Brandon Kibbe, spent countless hours attending Zoning Board hearings and researching the intricacies of the 40B development laws, which allow increased density in exchange for a percentage of affordable housing units. In the end, the development was approved, but Brandon’s hard work helped reduce the number of units to 32 and added a contingency that a portion of the land along the eastern edge would be donated to SVT for conservation. Then for several years, the property sat untouched. In 2009, it was learned that the property had been foreclosed upon. Sensing a new opportunity, SVT entered negotiations with the bank that now owned the property and reached an agreement on a price that would allow SVT to purchase the property using money from its revolving land fund, which it would later attempt to recover through grants, fundraising, and if necessary, some limited development on the site. SVT secured the land with an Option to Purchase as it continued to develop the conservation plan. SVT had been working with conservation buyer, Shalin Liu, who had a vision of purchasing land for conservation and a nature center. SVT staff members were now able to show the Linden Street property to Shalin, and it turned out to be a great match. SVT was able to assign its option to Shalin who purchased the property on September 14, 2010. Shalin intends to use the property as a community wildlife sanctuary, with input and assistance from SVT. A significant addition to open space in the Metrowest area will now be available to the community. While final plans are still underway for the future of the property and its facilities, the long-planned vision of Shalin Liu for a community wildlife sanctuary is a step closer to becoming a reality. Linden Street Land SVT SVT Private Conservation Restriction DCR-Water Supply Protection Municipal The Linden Street land is situated amidst many protected parcels. Shalin would like to express her thanks and appreciation to her lawyers, Bill Squires, James Black & Barbara Freedman Wand from Bingham McCutchen, “who helped make her dream come true.” Shalin also thanks SVT staff Ron McAdow, Christa Collins, Laura Mattei and Dan Stimson “for working tirelessly to help complete this project and for teaching her so much.” 4 / SUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES / FALL 2010 The Case for SVT SVT has a high rate of member retention – over 80% –thanks to you and your fellow members’ steady financial support. But, naturally and inevitably, there is a certain amount of attrition, which means that SVT must always reach out to recruit new members. As we prepare for future member recruitments, we try to articulate the case for giving to SVT. You already do give, and it would help us to know why. Here are three sets of reasons why people can feel good about giving to SVT: Our beautiful area needs a professional land trust t to work with communities and landowners to protect land t to maintain and map trails and bridges on SVT reservations t to organize recreational and educational opportunities related to conservation t to provide experienced staff to complement community volunteers Land conservation is a terrific investment because these benefits go on forever: t scenic landscapes t wildlife habitat t local agriculture t recreational opportunities t clean water and air Your gifts to SVT are efficient because they exert strong leverage t SVT obtains millions of dollars in land protection funds from federal, state, and local government t SVT secures grants for local conservation from private foundations and corporations Which of these matter most to you? Do you give for other reasons—or can you tell us a better way to express our case? Please send any thoughts you have to Ron McAdow at rmcadow@svtweb.org or give him a call at 978-443-5588 x14. Get Licensed to Protect the Environment Increased participation is still necessary for the “Land and Water” license plate to become a reality. lit If only l tten more members from each land trust in Massachusetts would register to display this plate, millions of additional conservation dollars would become available to support the land and water resources of Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.MassEnvironmentalTrust.org FALL 2010 / SUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES / 5 Wish List R Bird bath on pedestal for our gardens R Good quality digital camera R Small vertical or lateral file cabinet VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT CILE HICKS By Michael Sanders, Director of Membership When I spoke to fourteen-year board member Cile Hicks about this article, she told me she had been at Wolbach a few days earlier at 6:00 A.M., weeding the gardens she helped to create. She was gone by 7:30, before anyone else arrived. This is so typical of the dedication Cile has given to SVT in her fourteen years as a member of our Board of Directors. In an interview with Cile in the April 2007 edition of The Wren, she speaks of her childhood in the Mississippi Delta, “roaming the fields and woods, fishing and hunting with my Dad. Although I wasn’t aware of it at the time, ‘home’ was clearly fixed in my young mind as a place with meadows, woodlands, trees, rivers, and abundant wildlife. It was many years later that those images clicked in when Bill and I were fortunate to find a home in Wayland contiguous to conservation land.” Cile joined SVT’s Board of Directors in 1996, after completing three terms as a state senator. During her time in state politics, she had built relationships with several SVT Board members, including former Executive Director Allen Morgan and Iryna Priester, who recruited her to join the Board. While in the Senate, environmental legislation was one of Cile’s major priorities; she assisted in formulating the Rivers Protection Act and an Adverse Possession Bill, which provided greater legal protection to owners of conservation land against encroachment by abutters. Cile’s tenure on SVT’s Board can best be broken into three phases: Before, during, and after SVT’s first ever capital campaign. Early on, working closely with former Executive Director Stephen Johnson, Cile became involved in SVT’s fundraising program. Historically, SVT has tried to build strong relationships with its donors, but Cile helped take this to another level, as she personally identified and communicated with current and potential donors. The success she had building these relationships made Cile an ideal person to lead the first ever capital campaign, which she co-chaired with fellow board member Colin Anderson. The capital campaign committee met diligently every two weeks for three years. The process could at times be tedious, Milestones Henry Kolm It would be very difficult to express in a small amount of space the richness of the life of Henry Kolm, who passed away this summer. At SVT, we knew Henry as an ardent conservationist. He was an associate of SVT founder Allen Morgan and was instrumental in several of SVT’s early acquisitions. In 2003, he donated a conservation restriction on his 10.42-acre Weir Meadow home in Wayland to SVT. He dedicated this land to the memory of Elizabeth, his wife and companion for 50 years, and honored her with a boulder bench on a knoll overlooking the Sudbury River inscribed, “in memory of Elizabeth Cushing Kolm, who adored this place and preserved it for half a century.” Brandon Kibbe, SVT’s Land Protection Specialist at that time, who assisted in this CR remembers Henry’s commitment to yet Cile describes the capital campaign as fun. She is proud that this committee helped build relationships with donors who are still strong supporters of SVT today. When the capital campaign closed, SVT, under Cile’s and Colin’s Ron McAdow, Cile & Bill Hicks dedicate Cile’s leadership, had bench in the Welcome Garden raised $3 million to support land protection, stewardship and the maintenance of the new headquarters at Wolbach Farm. Meeting every two weeks for three years certainly could have earned Cile a well deserved rest - but this is not her style. Her next project at SVT was the stunning new Welcome Garden, which runs along nearly the entire front of SVT’s headquarters at Wolbach Farm. Thirty-three members of the Wayland Garden Club, where Cile is an active member, helped install this garden. These dedicated volunteers contributed many of the plants, but it was primarily their labor and continued weeding and watering that helped establish the garden, which is thriving and attracting a host of pollinators. Cile’s enthusiasm for the land that SVT has helped preserve is one reason she has been so successful. What surprised me most when speaking with her was her answer to my question about her favorite reservations. Being from Wayland, I was expecting her to mention some of the Wayland properties. Although she referenced the Watertown Dairy and Paine Estate as projects that originally got her involved with SVT, her most enthusiastic comment was for Berlin’s Garfield Woods where tectonic plates are visibly noticeable. This property gives her the “feeling of being close to the formation of the earth.” Cile will be leaving our Board this fall. On behalf of everyone associated with SVT, we thank her for her leadership, intelligence, commitment, and many, many accomplishments. his family and his land. “His motivation was not just the love for this land; he was motivated by his love for his wife and his family, and the memory of the lives they had hewn there on the banks of the Sudbury River. I spent many mornings with Henry over a cup of tea, thinking about the future of that property and listening to the stories he told of his incredible life, his family, and their time at Weir Meadow.” Henry generously supported SVT’s work up until the time of his passing. He was a rich storyteller who wrote The Wren cover story in the April 2003 edition, talking about his fascinating life and his commitment to land. Brandon Kibbe considers himself personally enriched for the time he spent with Henry, hearing his stories and being inspired by his conservation ethic. He sums up the feeling of all at SVT with the thought, “I was lucky to have met Henry, and the Sudbury River was lucky to have him and Elizabeth as its neighbors.” 6 / SUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES / FALL 2010 Three Cheers! Maynard Community Gardeners for donating flower pots for the Family Fair Wayland’s Bella Capellas for performing at SVT’s Ice Cream Social Stop and Shop and Donelan’s for donating gift certificates and Sudbury Farms for its donation of food to the Family Fair Chip Somers for digging holes for the fruit trees at Wolbach Farm To the following individuals and businesses: Bill and Marian Harman for leading a walk on Westford conservation land The American Red Cross for collecting blood at SVT’s Eric Menoyo Memorial Blood Drive. Special thanks to Mary Coulter at the Red Cross for making last minute arrangements when it was discovered that the Bloodmobile was out of service Thank you to everyone who volunteered to donate blood at the Eric Menoyo Memorial Blood Drive Deirdre Menoyo for greeting everyone arriving at the blood drive and thanking each volunteer with a gift of flowers Summer youth stewardship volunteers: Adina Gvili, Basil Halperin, and Kate Ruh George Lewis, one of seven SVT founders, and Roz Kingsbury visit with shoppers at Whole Foods. Roz Kingsbury & George Lewis for helping table at Whole Foods Bedford Barbara Blankenship for helping to table at Whole Foods in Boston on Earth Day Kayla Rice & Marissa Botticelli who assisted with planting fruit trees at Wolbach Farm Debbie Costine for hosting A Woodland Cinderella puppet show at Wolbach Farm Michele Grzenda for hosting two very successful woodcock walks at Greenways Reservation Chris Stix for hosting a walk entitled Observing and Connecting with Nature at Round Hill Phil Stickney for leading a paddle on the Sudbury River Simon Vos and Dave Dimmick for leading a paddle to Cedar Swamp Pond, the headwaters of the Sudbury River Jill Phelps Kern for leading a bike tour of Stow’s conservation lands Carole Ann Baer for her enthusiasm and commitment as she again served as the volunteer Chair of the Family Fair All the volunteers helping out at the Family Fair, including the Foundation for Metrowest’s Youth in Philanthropy volunteers, Jeanne Lavine, Dan Cmejla, Carole Evans, Accent A Capella, Robin Gunderson and Susan Culver, representing Parmenter Community Health Care, and the Wayside Quilt Guild Middlesex Savings Bank and Interstate Gas and Oil for sponsoring the Family Fair Dennis Prefontaine from the Knox Trail Council for leading a hike at the Nobscot Scout Reservation on National Trails Day Bill Fadden and Tom Arnold for leading separate paddles during Riverfest Award-winning author Melissa Stewart for leading the Riverfest program A Place For Frogs based on her latest children’s book Joyce McJilton Dwyer for leading a Painting and Drawing Workshop at Hamlen Woods Sue Flint from the Organization for the Assabet River (OAR) for co-leading a paddle on the Concord River combined with a walk at SVT’s Ralph Hill Conservation Area Greg Billingham for creating the summer bird quiz on SVT’s Bird web page, and for various stewardship tasks Tom Moyles for cleaning up metal trash at Sawink Farm Reservation Rivers School (Weston) students for assisting with moving boardwalks and removing glossy buckthorn at Memorial Forest For assisting with glossy buckthorn removal at Memorial Forest: Marlborough high school students: Julianne Farley, Samantha Kahn, Sarah Baldelli, and Emily Nemitt and Sudbury residents: Rebecca Chizzo, Greg, Anne-Marie Hultin and Francoise Hultin For invasive plant mapping and removal at the Desert Natural Area: Betty Wright, Karin Paquin, Anne-Marie Brostrup-Jenson, Craig Smith, Doug Johnson, Renate Hanauer, Aiko Pinkoski For assistance with the Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol project: Marlborough High School teacher, Linda Ryan, and her environmental studies students; Fay School science teacher, A.J. Purcell, and his students; Nancy Soullette, Gordon Shaw, Ray Nava, Sherry Fendell, Cam Shorb, Kate Ruh, Adina Gvili, Noah Radding, Craig Smith, Renate Hanauer Life Technologies of Woburn, John Metzger and Doug Johnson for their help with a trail work day at Walkup and Robinson Bill Coder for leading a Butterflies of Summer program at Cedar Hill Reservation Michael Arsenault and his crew of volunteers for building a new bridge at Garfield Woods Cecilia Sharma for leading a Watercolor Workshop and hosting an exhibit of her student works at Wolbach Farm Jim Peyton and his son Tyler for trimming trails at Lyons-Cutler Reservation Cecelia’s talented students for helping to set up and organize the exhibit and for displaying their works of art Judy Keseberg, Lauren Kaplan, Donna Appel, Dominique Verly, Judy Eneguess, Barbara Earley, George Harrington, and Noah Radding for their regular SVT office assistance Jerry Grandoni for trimming trails at several reservations Special Thanks Noah Radding for his regular assistance throughout the summer in a wide-ranging assortment of jobs Hannah Lyons for her three plus years of office assistance during her high school years David Ellis from Mass Signage for creating an electronic ad for SVT being displayed at various locations in Wayland, Sudbury, Framingham, and Natick Erikson’s of Maynard for donating ice cream to SVT’s Ice Cream Social FALL 2010 / SUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES / 7 REI for supporting our Conservation Steward Volunteer Program SVT’s Holiday Open House Saturday, November 13, 10am – 3pm At Wolbach Farm We will be hosting our traditional Holiday Fair Open House in November this year to allow extra time to get started on your holiday shopping. Artists, artisans and authors will be on hand to share their varied offerings, many with a nature theme. We will also be offering the annual SVT Holiday Card, traditionally designed by a local artist or photographer. This year’s artist is John Wawrzonek. A portion of all proceeds will be used to support SVT’s conservation work. So please stop by to visit, shop and share a cup of hot cider. 2010 Holiday Cards Are Now Available Cards are $2 each or $17 for a package of ten and can be blank or inscribed with Happy Holidays. Available online at svtweb.org, by calling SVT at 978-443-5588 or at Wolbach Farm, 18 Wolbach Road, Sudbury, MA. “Ice Storm at Sunset” Copyright © John Wawrzonek. Fairhaven Cliffs, Walden, Concord, Massachusetts. Printed with soy inks on recycled paper using 100% post-consumer waste. Printed with 100% wind power. Wolbach Farm 18 Wolbach Road Sudbury, MA 01776 NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 430 BROCKTON, MA