Conservation Land/Open Space Earthlands ties into a landscape rich with conserved forestland. The North Quabbin Region, distin-
Audubon, Miller’s River Environmental
is an asset to Earthlands' future plans.
guished by its unique rural character
Center, Mount Grace Land Conservation
Preserved areas in the Swift River Valley
of mixed hardwood forests, lies at the
Trust, Harvard Forest, and others have
surrounding Earthlands offer diverse
southernmost portion of the north-south
conserved a substantial amount of land
opportunities for outdoor learning
Quabbin-to-Cardigan Corridor (Q2C).
in the North Quabbin Region.
including Native American culture, land-
Over 100 miles long, the Q2C is one of
use history, forestry, and agriculture.
the largest remaining tracts of contig-
Within Petersham, numerous organiza-
uous forest in central New England.
tions and individuals have successfully
The Earthlands property forms a critical
protected in perpetuity over 40% of the
link between the 3,300-acre Phillipston
The unusually high amount of conserva-
town’s open space, with a commitment
Wildlife Management Area, managed by
tion land in the region can be attributed
to place more land in Petersham into
the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries
to water quality protection, government
conservation in the future. One of the
and Wildlife, and a corridor of conserva-
resource conservation, and the conser-
Petersham Master Plan’s stated goals is to:
tion land along the East Branch of the
vation efforts of individuals and non-
“Protect a significant portion of
Swift River connecting to the conserved
profit organizations. The North Quabbin
Petersham’s remaining unprotected
open space adjacent to the Quabbin
Regional Landscape Partnership has
open space in order to preserve the
Reservoir. Since the creation of Earth-
been working since 1997, attracting
Town’s rural character, protect its
lands, 175 acres of the original land has
grant funding for conservation projects
natural resources, and minimize
been placed in conservation. The final
between the Quabbin Reservoir and the
development in inappropriate areas.”
parcel was preserved in 2006.
New Hampshire border. Its objective,
Not only are the natural resources and
like that of the Quabbin-to-Cardigan
rural character being conserved, but the
Corridor, is conservation at a regional
cultural history rooted in the landscape
landscape-scale. Organizations like the
of the region is being preserved as well.
Trustees of Reservations, Massachusetts
The integrity of Petersham’s landscape
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