While many people look forward to helping salamanders and frogs cross the road safely, we firmly believe that protecting the land so that no road imperils their path is preferable. The cart path that you walked down today is being sought by a developer for paving and putting residential units, roads, utilities and the like. Help us to permanently protect the cart road, the vernal pools and the upland habitat that the salamanders and wood frogs need for survival by helping us raise money to finalize the purchase.
Manchester Essex Conservation Trust has protected land in this community over the past 60 years. 1600 acres of land with many miles of trails are under permanent conservation.
- But 20 acres off Rocky Hill Road are under immediate threat.
- The land owner has been considering plans for 16 units of townhouses off the dirt road between the gates on Rocky Hill Road (or other uses), including opening the road end to end.
We are close to a deal to protect this land FOREVER but we need YOUR HELP to close the funding gap.
Donate TODAY!
Protect this land FOREVER!
An anonymous donor from this neighborhood has offered a matching gift of up to $25,000 to jumpstart this campaign to raise the $300,000 needed to secure permanent protection of these 20 acres – through an MECT purchase. Your generous gift from $50 to $1000 will be matched 100% before April 15, 2023.
Are you considering a substantial donation to this cause? Matching gifts help extend the reach of your generosity and motivate other, like-minded neighbors. Please reach out to us if you too are in the position to support us at this level and would like your gift to provide matching support.
What’s at stake?
• A vast expanse of wildlife habitat in a mostly conserved area could be fragmented by development
• Peace in your neighborhood could be replaced with traffic and speed
• The dirt cart path could be traded for a paved thru road
• A 20-acre section of woodlands and wetlands could be sacrificed
• Vernal pool upland buffers, essential for vernal pool life could be lost, and habitat for a threatened turtle species could be decimated
• 20 Acres of carbon-sequestering trees could be cut down
What has MECT done?
• Defended the Private Way status of Rocky Hill Road for decades
• Conducted amphibian and vernal pool studies
• Contested development plans at the Planning Board
• Made several offers to the owner over many years
• Alerted neighbors to imminent threats of road construction
• Educated the owner about the consequences of unpermitted work in Blandings Turtle Priority Habitat
So what’s the deal?
The owner of these 20 acres contacted us in November with a reasonable offer. After years of defending this privately-owned land, we want to preserve it forever. We have a purchase under agreement. We have funds to cover a large portion of the purchase but we need to raise $300,000 to close the deal by the beginning of June 2023. We need to move fast to take advantage of this long-sought opportunity to preserve this land! We were not expecting this large purchase after our prior offers were rejected. We need neighbors and hikers alike to help us close this gap. We are reaching out to over 100 neighbors who will benefit most directly from stopping development of this land once and for all. Can you help us TODAY?
Donate securely by credit card or PayPal at the link below.
Donate TODAY to protect this land FOREVER
This effort is part of a large Capital Campaign to Save Our Woods. Learn more about our $5 Million dollar land conservation campaign here.