The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank announced its purchase of 18.2 acres of land on Chappaquiddick this week.
The Land Bank bought the 18.2 acres off Chappaquiddick Road for $950,000 from Judith Tucker, who purchased the property in 1999, according to Edgartown assessors’ records. The Land Bank’s new purchase surrounds a 1.6-acre farm with a farmhouse that was purchased by a neighbor. Together, the property has long been known as Whale Jaw Farm.
The property abuts Three Ponds Reservation, and will be incorporated into the reservation’s management plan.
“The Land Bank sought the property because it notches into the Three Ponds Reservation, and therefore was a logical fit,” Land Bank executive director James Lengyel told The Times. “And accretion — adding on to existing Land Bank properties — represents good conservation planning because it expands wildlife habitat, trail networks, hunting grounds, and the like. The Land Bank will always seek acquisition opportunities in fresh, new areas, but there’s great value in enlarging existing reservations.”
So $52,200 per acre on Martha’s Vineyard the land bank paid, doesn’t really add up. This seems to be the way wealthy residents will ensure they don’t have any future neighbors in the midst of a housing crisis.
“The Land Bank will always seek acquisition opportunities…” sums up the Land Bank to a T, no matter how new land is acquired, what private property owners are affected, or how little it is wanted by the public. Greedy for land, despite having more than enough to conserve and manage for public enjoyment, certainly in conjuction with several other island conservation orgs, is who the Land Bank is. The Land Bank is a secretive, runaway monster that needs to stop buying more land, period.
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