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- Elizabeth
Island protection agreement reached!
- Get
your Land and Water license plate from Massachusetts Environmental
Trust
For immediate release
Arlington, Massachusetts – July 14, 2010
Arlington Land Trust is pleased to announce that
it has reached an agreement, with the assistance of Massachusetts Audubon
Society, to permanently protect Elizabeth Island in Arlington’s Spy Pond.
The purchase and sale agreement for the Island
calls for Arlington Land Trust (ALT) to purchase the Island by December 31,
2010 from its long-time owner, Elaine Sacco of Arlington.
The land will be owned by Arlington Land Trust,
and both Mass Audubon and the Arlington Conservation Commission will hold a
conservation restriction on the land, ensuring its permanent
protection. All three organizations
share the goal of maintaining the island’s value as significant habitat for
animals and plants and as the visual centerpiece of Spy Pond, while
permitting continued low-impact public access for passive recreation.
“It’s been in great hands”, said ALT President
Clarissa Rowe; “Mrs. Sacco and her family have stewarded the island for
over 40 years now, to the point that I think a lot of people in town assume
that it’s a pro-tected resource.” In
fact, the island had been marketed for development over the past several
years. “But the owner’s first wish
has been to see it protected, and this agreement makes that possible”, said
Rowe.
In an objective scoring of desirable metropolitan
Boston urban parkland acquisition projects conducted by the state
Department of Conservation and Recreation, Elizabeth Island ranked 11th out
of 250 overall at the time of the study, and notably it now ranks 2nd among those not subsequently protected by
state, local or private action.
Mass Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and
Wildlife Sanctuary staff will conduct occasional programs involving the
island. According to Bob Wilber,
Audubon’s Director of Land Protection, the island “is a great example of
the last-chance opportunities for land conservation that exist throughout
Massachusetts. Elizabeth Island is
both a unique oasis of significant habitat and a defining element of the
community’s identity”.
The protection of the island should also ensure
the continued programmatic use by Arlington Boys & Girls Club. According to its Executive Director Dan
Brosnan, “Use of the island is an integral part of our program, and we hope
to be able to use the area for children of future generations”.
Arlington Land Trust will shortly be commencing
a public fundraising campaign for the project. “Like any conservation
acquisition, funding will be needed from multiple sources”, said ALT
Treasurer Brian Rehrig. “We’ll be
seeking partial state funding and some institutional support, and the
ConCom will contribute a portion of its dedicated land acquisition fund,
but no current or future Town budget funds will be involved. We’ll need the support of our friends and
neighbors to complete this acquisition.”
Nathaniel Stevens, Chair of the Arlington
Conservation Commission, observed that “Elizabeth Island’s protection has
long been a top goal of the Town’s Open Space and Recreation Plan, and
helps preserve and protect Spy Pond's water quality and wildlife habitat by
preventing development of this important natural resource.”
New Land and Water license
plate from Massachusetts Environmental Trust
You
can help fund land conservation in Massachusetts by signing up for the new
Land and Water license plate from the Mass. Environmental Trust
(M.E.T.).
Like
the other Trust plates (right whale, fish & wildlife, Blackstone
Valley) whose proceeds fund important environmental work, this plate will
specifically fund the permanent protection of watershed lands in the
Commonwealth.
To
get the plate issued, 3,000 people must order a plate (numbers 1 to 3,000!)
and actually send a check before the Registry will produce the plates. (And if M.E.T doesn’t get to 3,000
orders, your check will be returned.)
So
please, go to www.masslandandwater.info – print the application – mail it
in with your check – and get your friends to do it too. These great-looking license plates are
the Trust’s primary source of revenue, and through them M.E.T. has
distributed $16 million to hard-working environmental organizations across
the state for projects that enhance and protect water quality. This Land & Water license plate will
allow the Trust to fund its new land conservation program in wetland &
watershed communities across the Commonwealth.
And
your vehicle will proudly display your commitment to the environment, with
a cool, low-number plate!
FEMA draft
flood zone maps
The
Federal Emergency Management Agency has released in draft form its revised
maps of the areas subject to flooding in the Mystic River watershed. The new maps affecting Arlington are
available at the links below, together with useful information for those property
owners affected by the revised maps.
Town
of Arlington FEMA web page
For other
questions please contact ALT
President Clarissa Rowe at 781-643-3156 or email info@arlingtonlandtrust.org
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