When Walter & Richard Hicks
decided in 2007 to sell a 7-acre
parcel along Route 2 to help
fund their retirement, they
wanted to be sure the land would
stay in farming. What they
didn't know is that the same
parcel they sold would be back
in their family two years later.
The parcel was part of a larger
land purchase by The Academy at
Charlemont, facilitated by the
Land Trust. FLT helped the
Academy negotiate the sale,
place 30 acres under
Conservation restriction, and
put another 8.7 acres into the
Agricultural Preservation
Restriction program.
When FLT began looking for a
farmer to lease or buy the 7
acres, they got a call from
Richard's son, Paul, who bought
the parcel, plus a
1-acre waterfront strip, at its
agricultural value of $20,000.
As Paul says, "It's hard to make
a living at farming. But we love
the land and love the animals."
Working with The Franklin Land
Trust has helped the Hicks
family not only continue to farm
but look to the future. Paul and
his son, Ryan, are using the
land to diversify their
operation: they're filling an
important agricultural niche by
raising bulls to be sold and
trained as oxen, and growing
vegetables to sell to local
restaurants and at their new
stand on Route 2. Ryan is
the fourth generation of Hicks
farmers; by expanding into
different areas of farming, he
and Paul hope that Ryan's one
and two year-old sons will want
to continue the tradition.
The Hicks project was completed
in November.
In December, David and Bette
Richard of Wendell made their
second gift of a Conservation
Restriction to FLT.
After 34 years as a state
forester, David was determined
that their land continue as "a
working landscape." The CR
had to provide the options to
manage the forest land, raise
livestock and engage in small
scale farming if desired,
Richard explained.
"The Franklin Land Trust was a
perfect match and partner
helping us through the process
to accomplish our CR goals.
We felt a need to
protect our 33 years of labor
both because we didn't want to
think of some future owner
laying waste to what we had
worked so hard to accomplish,
and because we liked the idea
that someday someone else with
similar values might be able to
enjoy the land the way we have."
As the pressures to develop land
increase, the Land Trust plays
an increasingly vital role in
preserving the agricultural
heritage and rural character of
Franklin County.
In all, FLT facilitated over two
dozen projects in 2009,
protecting over 1500 acres. This
includes assisting with ten
state APRs in Ashfield,
Greenfield, Montague,
Sunderland, Charlemont and
Whately. FLT also accepted eight
donated restrictions on about
200 acres across the region,
including projects in Heath,
Ashfield, Wendell, and Hawley.
The parcels include prime
farmland, scenic roadways,
woods, fragile habitats and
public drinking water supplies.
