Manchester Essex Conservation Trust

...preserving natural beauty, wildlife habitat and resources at the gateway

SAVE OUR WOODS

LAND CONSERVATION CAMPAIGN

Here’s what’s happening right now:

 

Continuing our conservation of a natural ‘green corridor’ is the goal of the 5 million dollar campaign for Land conservation.

  • IMAGINE: That the woodlands you hike and the water resources you rely upon are gone forever. Where nature once prevailed buildings, parking lots and streetlights have become a reality.
  • THEN IMAGINE: A completed continuous wildlife corridor for all to enjoy, where trees, understory, salamanders, turtles, and vernal pools will flourish.

PROTECT OUR LAND A core strategy to protect what we have is to expand existing perimeters of permanently protected land with the acquisition of buffer properties and environmentally significant land wherever possible before these parcels are irrevocably altered. When necessary, we also use legal action and other means in defense of land under our stewardship.

THE TIME IS NOW NOW is the moment for MECT to accelerate acquisitions to keep ahead of this surge in development.

MECT HAS IMPACT Sixty years of measured and consistent effort have resulted in the permanent protection of over 1800 acres of land in Manchester and Essex. No other organization cares more about your backyard than you do.

Since 1963, MECT has been protecting land, first in Manchester, then expanding into Essex. Watch how our conservation land has grown. Other organizations have also protected land in this area as well (darker green). Together, this tapestry of tiny parcels forms a vast wildlife habitat. With the Save Our Woods campaign, we hope to completely protect the land within our conservation patchwork and expand our green corridor.

Researching ownership, executing conservation restrictions, and the acquisition process are all costly. As land value increases in this area, our expenses increase. Please support our efforts to move quickly on the conservation of critical areas of our communities.

Help Save Our Woods – Donate Here

https://youtu.be/t9GaXWumhao

Special thanks to Peter O’Donnell for the map graphics, and Tyler Cummins of Manchester for the original composition and performance inspired by our woodlands.

We have work to do. When you hike or bike through the woodlands, the conserved land and the unprotected land cannot be distinguished from each other. You may travel down a path that is protected, every step of the way, and then the next footfall lands on a developable privately-owned parcel with no warning. How long will it stay that way?

We want to conserve those parcels NOW, before the wilderness is fragmented, and the network of trails is disrupted. We care about your backyards and we hope you do too.

Help Save Our Woods – Donate Here

Here’s what’s happening right now:

  • Continuing the defense of Shingle Place Hill in coordination with the town of Manchester through civil suit at Essex Superior Court
  • Permanent trail access and 7 Acres, 25 Crooked Lane, Manchester-by-the Sea ACQUISITION COMPLETED August 2022
  • 20 Acres, Western Woods, Manchester-by-the-Sea ACQUISITION COMPLETED March 2023
  • 20 Acres off Rocky Hill Road, Essex MA ACQUISITION COMPLETED and Development Easement Extinguished June 2023
  • Acquisition of approximately 12 Acres of woodland and trails, Essex MA , ACQUISITION COMPLETED 2024
  • Donation of approximately 2 Acres in Manchester’s Western Woods ACQUISITION COMPLETED 2024
  • Boundary research to accept a donation of approximately 35 Acres in Essex, MA underway, estimated close  2025
  • Fire Tower: Strategic acreage in Essex ACQUISITION COMPLETED April 2025 LEARN MORE
  • Parcel in Manchester abutting Shingle Place Hill to bolster our defense of land from a large development ACQUISITION COMPLETED April 2025
  • Continuing title research in area of conflicting deeds and boundaries, estimated resolution 2025-26
  • Vernal Pool Certification:  17 vernal pools State Certified in the past 4 years, many more in the state’s queue