The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission today completed the purchase of a 30-acre parcel to expand Wapatequa Woods Reservation, according to commission executive director James Lengyel.
The Land Bank bought the property from Lynne Silva and James Richards for $1.5 million.
Mr. Lengyel said the Land Bank holdings will grow by nearly a third, in an area with significant conservation value.
“The Wapatequa area has long been a priority of the Land Bank, as it serves both as an aquifer recharge area for the Vineyard Haven municipal wells and a greenbelt separating the neighborhoods lining up along the Edgartown and State Roads,” Mr. Lengyel wrote in a news release announcing the acquisition.
The property straddles the Oak Bluffs-Tisbury line and, with the new purchase, totals 135 acres. The trailhead is located on Stoney Hill Road, opposite Thimble Farm.
The Land Bank funds purchase of conservation land through a two percent surcharge on property transactions on Martha’s Vineyard.
