Land Projects
Slate Estate Conserved, surrounded by Satan’s Kingdom
Slate Estate, Huckle Hill Road, Bernardston, 106 acres The Department of Fish & Game reached out to FLT to collaborate on the conservation of 106 acres of land surrounded on all sides by Satan’s Kingdom Wildlife Management Area in Bernardston. DFG reportedly has been in contact with the Slate family on and off since 1973.…
Read MoreAaron Family Homestead
The Aaron family wished to donate a conservation restriction (CR) on the 70-acre family homestead at the end of French Road, just above the Cummington Fairgrounds.
Read MoreTwo Men in a Barn by Pleun Bouricius
Two Men in a Barn by Pleun Bouricius A few weeks ago I spent some time one morning standing around with two men in a very large and very old barn, we three trying to solve a problem. If we’d had them we’d have been thoughtfully pulling on our beards. The barn is a landmark…
Read MoreIntern Jon Gardner Creates Regional Development Risk Model
This past winter and spring, FLT enlisted the aid of Westfield State senior Jon Gardner to help answer a critical question: what land in FLT’s service area is at the greatest risk of development? Jon, whose background includes an impressive computer modeling skillset, used a Geographic Information System (GIS) program to combine a range of…
Read MoreFly fishing on FLT’s recently conserved property
Alan’s first West Branch brook trout, taken on a dry fly and released un-injured after a fierce battle. This spring, the Franklin Land Trust completed its first fisheries conservation project, protecting over a mile of wild brook trout water on the West Branch North River in Heath on its new Crowningshield property. In the course…
Read MoreGood Stewardship: Farmland Conservation & Barn Preservation Go Hand-in-Hand!
Many thanks to the National Barn Alliance for featuring our Guyette Barn in their most recent blog post. Learn more about the Guyette Farm or contribute to the preservation of this beautiful, historic structure.
Read MoreA Hat Trick for Conservation
A Hat Trick for Conservation The small twist of fate that resulted in conserving the Crowningshield farm in Heath has become a transformative experience for Franklin Land Trust and its partner, Trout Unlimited. In a hat trick for conservation, the collaborative project has conserved a family farm, protected valuable habitat for wild trout, and opened…
Read MoreVirtual Tours of Treasured Places
THE CONSERVATION FUND AND THE FRANKLIN LAND TRUST CREATE VIRTUAL TOURS OF TREASURED AMERICAN PLACES Virtual tours of some of America’s most important places—its parks, waterways and even battlefields—went online this week in Street View in Google Maps. The Conservation Fund and the Franklin Land Trust unveiled a host of sites across the Eastern seaboard…
Read MoreThe Faces of Forever Farmland
The land we use to grow our food–whether it’s a hilltop dairy farm, a valley vegetable field, or an urban community garden — is irreplaceable. Farmers from farms throughout the region share why preserving their land forever was good for them — and for all of us. Listen to Colrain dairy farmer, Larry Shearer talk about…
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