Yes, I Will Help Save McCray`s Farm!

Valley Views
The Kestrel Trust
PO Box 1016
Amherst, MA 01004
The Newsletter of
The Kestrel Trust
Fall 2010
Amherst • Belchertown • Granby • Hadley • Leverett • Pelham • Shutesbury • South Hadley • Sunderland
5K for Farmland
Sunday, October 17; 10am
5K Road Race or 2 Mile Walk
Start and Finish at Hadley’s West Street Common
Fast, Flat Route Past Scenic Farmland
Post Race Party with Locally Grown Food & Music
To Benefit The Kestrel Trust
Celebrating 40 Years of Land Conservation
Register at kestreltrust.org
Advance Registration Fee: $18 until 9/30• Day Of Fee: $20
Family (2 parents plus 2 kids): $40
T-Shirt with Logo for first 300 Registrants
Sponsored by Northampton Cooperative Bank and Whole Foods Market.
Organized by Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club.
Yes, I Will Help Save McCray’s Farm!
Yes, I would like to make a donation to permanently protect McCray’s
Farm. My donation will leverage state and other town funds to purchase
the Agricultural Preservation Restriction on this 100-acre farm.
*Free ice cream at McCray’s for all contributions of $50 or more.
__$50
__$250
__$500
________other
Name:_______________________________________________________
Address:______________________________________________________
City:_____________________________State:____________Zip:_________
E-mail:_____________________________________Phone:_____________
OR DONATE ONLINE AT WWW.KESTRELTRUST.ORG. THANK YOU!
The Kestrel Trust
PO Box 1016
Amherst, MA 01004
413-549-1097
kestreltrust.org
info@kestreltrust.org
OR Visit our office:
233 North Pleasant St., #38-39
In the Carriage Shops
downtown Amherst.
Writer/Editor: Kristin DeBoer
Cover Illustration: Nancy Haver
Help Save McCray’s Farm in South Hadley!
South Hadley’s Conservation Commission and The
Kestrel Trust are supporting the permanent protection of
the 100-acres of farmland at McCray’s Farm. Located
on Alvord Street in South Hadley, this farm is one of the
premier farmland sites in the Valley, both for its place in
the life of the community and for the incredible views.
When the McCray Family purchased the farm in 1955 it
was one of many farms in town, but as time passed and
development pressures increased many farms were sold
for development. McCray’s farm is the last working
dairy farm in town, and it ranks as one of the top six
Priority Heritage Landscapes in South Hadley.
McCray’s Farm now includes a petting zoo, creamery
with their own home made ice cream, haunted hay rides,
pumpkin patch and mini-golf. As economic times get
hard these side projects help to support the farm, as well
as provide a tourist attraction in town. Through the sale
of the development rights or Agricultural Preservation
Restriction (APR) to the state, the APR payment will
also help sustain the farm’s viability, while permanently
protecting the land from development.
Fortunately, Massachusetts’ APR program has adequate
state funding to cover most of the funding needed to
purchase the development rights or APR. However, the
state requires a local match of $71,500, the equivalent of
only $715/acre. South Hadley’s Farmland Protection Fund
and Conservation land fund will cover up to $51,000, which
leaves $20,500 that Kestrel must raise from neighbors and
friends by the end of 2010. Please make your dedicated
contribution to protect McCray’s Farm today.
Amherst Watershed Land Protected in Pelham
On the top of Pelham Hill next to the Rhodes Building, Pelham’s
municipal offices, sits an old 81+ acre homestead that once served
as a chicken farm and was the site of an 18th century tavern—at
separate points in the town’s history. Owned by the Adriance
family, it is located at 339 Amherst Road in Pelham. The land
includes an old house, several barns, open fields along the street
frontage, and 65 acres of forested wetlands and a mixture of upland
deciduous and evergreen forest. The property was on the market
for almost a year, when The Kestrel Trust assisted the Town of
Amherst to develop a purchase plan that would protect the land as
part of the Amherst Watershed.
Water Supply Values: The property lies approximately 1.5 miles
upstream from the Pelham Reservoir System, a network of three
reservoirs— the Hill Reservoir, Hawley Reservoir and intake
reservoir—that help supply Amherst’s drinking water. Four
streams cross the property as they feed into Dunlop Brook, one
of the main tributaries of the reservoirs. The acquisition of this
property to protect Amherst’s drinking water supply will benefit an
area with a high water table, multiple stream crossings, and various
wetlands.
Wildlife Habitat Values: Located in the Pelham Hills, just west of
the ridge separating the Connecticut River Basin and the Quabbin
Reservoir Basin, the Adriance property is surrounded by core and
supporting wildlife habitat. Approximately a dozen certified vernal
pools have been identified in the general area downstream from the
property, and the presence of six potential vernal pools within a
1/3 of mile of the parcel indicates a strong likelihood that more of
these unique features are located within and around the Adriance
property. Also located downstream near the Pelham Reservoir
System are areas designated as Priority Habitat for Rare Species.
Adding to Contiguous Protected Open Space: The Adriance
property is adjacent to nearly 2,000 acres of permanently protected
open space. As such, it is a priority within Pelham and Amherst’s
Open Space and Recreation Plans (OSRP), which support the
acquisition of private property from willing sellers to help protect
drinking water quality, protection of wetlands, and wildlife habitat.
Special Thanks to Bart’s Homemade
for making Ice Cream for
Kestrel’s 40th Anniversary!
Pick up a pint at your local market.
Kestrel Receives Environmental Leadership Award!
Potential Property
Acquisition
(83 Acres)
Pelham Parcels:
Potential
Water Supply
The
Kestrel
Trust is honored to have received
Protection Acquisition
an A+ Award from the Amherst Chamber of
Commerce for Environmental Leadership on
September 23 during the Chamber’s Annual
Awards Dinner. Amherst Chamber Executive
Director, Tony Maroulis, said of The Kestrel Trust:
“Our lives are better because of them.”
Town of Amherst
Potential Property
Water Bodies-Amherst 1999 basemap
Rivers, Ponds, Reservoirs
Retention Basin
Marsh or Swamp
Rivers / Streams
Other winners of the A+ Awards include A.J.
Hastings, CampusLive, Dr. Frederick Tillis,
longtime director of the UMass Fine Arts Center,
former Selectman Gerry Weiss, and Baer Tierkel,
Clare Bertrand and Andy Churchill, who, as a
group are known as Sustainable Amherst.
Land protection status based upon Town of Amherst
Tax Assessor's Database as of January 1, 2008.
Horizontal Datum: MA Stateplane Coordinate System,
Zone 4151, Datum NAD83, Feet
Planimetric basemap features compiled at 1"=40'
and 1"=100' scale from April, 1999 Aerial Photography.
Aerial Photography: April, 2004.
Parcels compiled through a "best-fit" methodology to
match the basemap; revisions are ongoing.
Property Lines are not for conveyance purposes.
The Town of Amherst and its mapping contractors assume
no legal responsibility for the information contained herein.
1979 Mt. Holyoke 7.5 Min Quadrangle
1979 Belchertown 7.5 Min Quadrangle
The Adriance Parcel is located south of Amherst Road in Pelham.
8
“The diverse nature of the group is truly indicative
of the positive spirit and can-do attitude that makes
our community thrive, even in difficult times,” said
Chamber board President Molly Keegan.
0
1,000
1 inch = 833 feet
Threats to the Land: If this property had not been permanently
protected, the frontage could have been subdivided into house lots
that would use on-site septic systems. The high water table and
a lack of public infrastructure (water and sewer) in this area of
Pelham, in addition to its location within the upper reaches of the
watershed of the Pelham Reservoir System, made preserving this
parcel a high priority to help maintain drinking water supply.
The total purchase price for the 65-acres was $155,000. The
majority of funding came from a grant from the Department
of Environmental Protection, the Town of Amherst Water
Department. The Kestrel Trust assisted with this acquisition by
helping to identify a buyer to purchase the house that came with the
land, by paying for the appraisal, and by securing an option from
the home buyer on the 12-acre field on the road, which will ensure
that it will remain as open space as well.
On a hot and muggy Saturday
morning this July, John and
Wendy Sinton, coauthors of
the Connecticut River Boating Guide, led a Kestrel Trust
kayaking trip on the Connecticut River. The cool refreshing
water, stunning views of the
Mount Holyoke Range, and
paddle down the secretive outlet
to the Fort River were a memorable way to celebrate Kestrel’s
40th anniversary this summer.
Thanks to the Sintons for a
wonderful morning!
2,000
Feet
The Kestrel Trust Board of Trustees: Michael Docter, Doug Albertson, Beth Hooker, Judy
Eiseman, Peggy Hepler, Judi Pierce, LeeAnne Connolly, Alexandra Dawson, Kristin
DeBoer (Executive Director), Ralph Tate, and Paul Beaulieu. (Not pictured: Jim Scott and
David King). Photo taken by Joseph Kushick, courtesy of Amherst Chamber of Commerce.
A Pink Ladyslipper found on one of the many parcels
of land that The Kestrel Trust is working to protect
right now, but can’t yet talk about publicly! Many, if
not most, of the conservation projects we work on are
confidential to honor the privacy of the private landowners with whom we are working. In 2010, Kestrel
has undertaken 21 separate land projects to protect
over 4,535 acres. We either act as the lead negotiator,
partner or facilitator of these real estate transactions.
When it is time to go public and celebrate, we will be
sure to let you know. Until then, thanks for your
confidence and support!
Thanks to the following people
for volunteering this summer!
Valerie Gracechild
Falone Masudi-Minga, Amherst College
Erica Moody, Mt. Holyoke College
Caitlin Kidder, Mt. Holyoke College
Voice Your Support for the Community Preservation Act (CPA)
The Community Preservation Coalition (CPC) is working to pass SB 90 - An Act to Sustain Community Preservation - which
will stabilize and strengthen the Community Preservation Act. The Kestrel Trust relies on the CPA to accomplish conservation
projects in many of the towns we serve, including Amherst, Hadley, Shutesbury, Leverett, and Belchertown.
CPA funds have been used by communities across the Commonwealth to protect open space; some river-specific uses have
included: protecting riparian lands, removing invasive aquatic species from waterbodies, and funding canoe launches. Strengthening the CPA and stabilizing its funding will 1) encourage new communities, especially cities, to adopt the CPA,
and 2) make sure this important tool continues to be used to help communities protect open space and recreational amenities,
preserve historic resources, and create affordable housing.
To support the bill, please contact your own state representatives and senators and ask them to support passage of this bill (call,
fax, send a letter, or email).
For communities that don’t have the CPA yet in Kestrel’s region (Pelham, Sunderland, South Hadley, Granby), by stabilizing the
annual state match at a higher level, and clarifying and broadening the allowable uses of CPA funds on recreational projects, SB
90 will strengthen communities’ confidence and interest in the CPA program, broadening participation.