One of the largest land trusts on the Island just got a little bigger.
In a “historic agreement” announced Thursday, the Vineyard Open Land Foundation (VOLF) handed over stewardship of all its lands to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, the largest conservation land acquisition in the history of Sheriff’s Meadow, according to a press release.
“We are honored that the Vineyard Open Land Foundation has conveyed these lands to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation,” Adam Moore, president of Sheriff’s Meadow, said in a press release. “We look forward to serving as the steward of these lands for generations to come.
Through the agreement, VOLF conveyed 256 acres to Sheriff’s Meadow through properties at Squibnocket Farm and the Eddy Farm in Chilmark and Cranberry Acres, an organic cranberry bog in Vineyard Haven, as well as four conservation restrictions, two in West Tisbury, one in Chilmark, and one in Edgartown, which are 79 acres in size. VOLF still holds two small properties in Chilmark and Oak Bluffs, but Moore said they might give those to Sheriff’s Meadow as well.
According to the press release, Sheriff Meadow plans to continue operation of the organic cranberry bog on Lambert’s Cove Road, which will open soon for harvest and sales, under VOLF supervision. Moore said that he plans to have a set schedule of when the bog is open soon, and berries already harvested will be available at stores and farmstands across the Island. Plans for the Squibnocket Farm and Eddy Farm properties “will be written and implemented after time for ecological inventory, study, and consultation, building on previous VOLF ecologic studies and management,” the release stated.
Prior to the acquisition of VOLF lands, Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Henry Beetle Hough in 1958, owned and protected 2,493 acres of land across the Island and held 45 conservation restrictions over 1,018 acres, for a total of more than 3,500 acres of land across the Island.
The VOLF is a charitable trust founded in 1970 to assist and prompt the preservation of the nature and character of Martha’s Vineyard and minimize land development along highways, byways, and shores, a mission similar to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. It preserved more than 2,035 acres of land across the Island, and planned conservation-oriented subdivisions as well as the development of 16 below-market residential sites for Islanders, the press release said. Some of the projects include Sweetened Water Farm, the preservation of the top of Peaked Hill, Pilot Hill Farm, King Point, Nat’s Farm, the Edgartown Pond Lot (now known as Huckleberry Barrens), Cranberry Acres, the Goethals property, and Squibnocket Farm, which took 10 years to complete and preserved 364 acres.
VOLF has also preserved roadside vistas and uninterrupted natural vegetation along public roads. Founding trustees of VOLF included Jerome Weisner, Mary P. Wakeman, Hans Loeser, William Honey, Herbert E. Tucker Jr., Ann Hale, Edward Logue, Henry Beetle Hough, Kevin Lynch, Robert Simon, and James Alley.
“Over the years, the changing nature of the Vineyard real estate market resulted in less planning opportunities for VOLF’s work, as larger parcels that came on the market were purchased by wealthy Vineyard summer residents as ‘kingdom properties,’ and by the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank’s ability to acquire parcels for preservation and public use,” the press release stated.
The release also praised the work of Carol Magee, who started at VOLF in 1975 and became the first female executive director of a major land conservation organization on the Island. “The VOLF Trustees and I wish to commend Carol Magee for her 50 years of diligence and dedication to the mission of the Vineyard Open Land Foundation and its conservation land planning efforts,” Eric Peters, chair of VOLF’s board of trustees, said in the release.
Now THIS is a sight for sore eyes.
We’re constantly reading about overdevelopment, overcrowding, traffic-clogged roads, deteriorating pond water quality, pressure on our drinking-water supply, vanishing wildlife habitat, solar projects taking over open landscapes, and offshore wind installations changing ocean views while raising questions about marine life.
One piece of bad news after another. More pavement, more construction, more demands on an Island that can only absorb so much. Sometimes it feels as though the Vineyard’s natural beauty is being surrendered one parcel at a time.
And then an article like this comes along.
The transfer of 256 acres, along with conservation restrictions covering nearly 100 more, to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation is a beautiful reminder that not everyone is looking at Island land and seeing dollar signs. These lands were already protected by the Vineyard Open Land Foundation; now their care is being placed in trusted hands for future generations.
Think of what that means: fields, woods, a cranberry bog, and precious open space that will remain part of the Vineyard we love.
Thank you to both foundations. Amid so much discouraging news, this is something to truly celebrate.
This is wonderful news for all of us who cherish Martha’s Vineyard. I was already so pleased to read a few weeks ago about how the Aquinnah Land Initiative is working with Sheriff’s Meadow re a property in Aquinnah. Now I am so glad that this conservation group will take over stewardship of what VOLF created over many years . Thank you to all who are working so hard to make this happen. We are all more deeply aware of the sacredness of open land that nourishes our spirits and also may help preserve our Island in the face of climate change.
We need more mergers of duplicate organizations on this island. As behind the scenes, logistics of running any organization cost money and let’s try in save money so we can save more land. This includes all the splinter groups that are working towards affordable housing as well.