The Trustees of Reservations

The Trustees of Reservations

Motto	Find your place.
Established	1891 (1891)^[1]
Founder	Charles Eliot
Headquarters	Holyoke, Sharon, Beverly, and Leominster, Massachusetts, USA
Membership (2016)	125,000^[1]
President	Barbara Erickson
Website	www.thetrustees.org

TTOR's World's End reservation

The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and as of 2016 has 125,000 dues-paying members.^[1] In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building. The Trustees of Reservations own title to 116 properties on 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) in Massachusetts,^[1] all of which are open to the public; it maintains conservation restrictions on 200 more properties. Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.

Main offices of the organization are located in Beverly, Leominster, and Sharon, Massachusetts. Financial support for the organization comes from membership dues, annual contributions, property admission fees, special events, grants, and endowments. In June 2006, The Trustees earned gold-level recognition from the United States Green Building Council for its Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster. On September 16, 2006, The Trustees of Reservations announced its permanent affiliation with the Boston Natural Areas Network.

History

Charles Eliot

The Trustees of Reservations was proposed in 1890 when the New England periodical Garden and Forest published a letter by landscape architect Charles Eliot (protégé of Frederick Law Olmsted) entitled "The Waverly Oaks." Eliot's letter proposed the immediate preservation of "special bits of scenery" still remaining "within ten miles (16 km) of the State House which possess uncommon beauty and more than usual refreshing power." To this end, Eliot proposed that legislation be enacted to create a nonprofit corporation to hold land for the public to enjoy "just as a Public Library holds books and an Art Museum holds pictures."

In the spring of 1891, the Massachusetts Legislature established The Trustees of Public Reservations "for the purposes of acquiring, holding, maintaining and opening to the public beautiful and historic places within the Commonwealth." The act was signed into law by Governor William E. Russell on May 21, 1891. The word "Public" was dropped from the organization's name in 1954 to avoid confusion with government-owned land.

Virginia Wood in Stoneham was the first property acquired by The Trustees. This property was conveyed to the Metropolitan District Commission in 1923 and is now a part of the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Waverly Oaks itself was also conveyed to the state by TTOR and is part of the Beaver Brook Reservation, established in 1893.^[2]

In 1925, The Trustees joined with the Appalachian Mountain Club, Massachusetts Audubon Society, and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England) to organize a conference on "The Needs and Uses of Open Spaces." This conference led to a 1929 report emphasizing the need to protect the state's rural character and countryside and the importance of identifying and describing the qualities and characteristics of specific sites that should be preserved. Today, nearly every site listed in the report is protected by a government or nonprofit conservation agency.

Mission and initiatives

Appleton Farms

The Tully Trail passes Royalston Falls

The mission statement of The Trustees of Reservations is to "preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts." The Trustees of Reservations also supports a number of contingent initiatives.

Initiatives

The Putnam Conservation Institute, also known as the Conservation Common, offers workshops, conferences, and networking for "land conservationists, urban park advocates, historic preservationists, watershed associations, state agencies, municipal commissions," etc.^[3]

The Highland Communities Initiative is a cooperative effort of TTOR and community members from small hilltowns in The Berkshires geography dedicated to preserving regional cultural and physical landscapes and enhancing the quality of life of local residents;^[4]

The Doyle Conservation Center is a green architecture initiative and regional office, conference, and education center located in Leominster, Massachusetts. The structure, designed by HKT Architects of Somerville, Massachusetts and landscape architects Hines Wasser & Associates, was registered for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification with the United States Green Building Council. The building includes "photovoltaic panels, high-efficiency lighting and controls, a displacement ventilation system, high performance windows, a high performance building envelope, geothermal wells and carbon dioxide monitoring systems;" it incorporates green materials such as desks made of sunflower seeds, bamboo and cork flooring, and recycled fiber carpet and paneling.^[5]

Collaborative conservation

Copicut Woods, Slocum's River Reserve, the Tully Trail, and Appleton Farms represent collaborative efforts of TTOR, government agencies, local communities, and private groups to create a bioreserve, a mixed use open space preserve, a 22-mile (35 km) recreation trail, and a mixed use and community supported agriculture preserve, respectively. Copicut Woods is part of the cooperatively managed Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve which protects 13,600 acres (5,500 ha) of forest in Fall River, Freetown and Dartmouth, Massachusetts.^[6] Slocum's River Reserve is a cooperative effort by the state, TTOR and the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust and includes protected braken river frontage and farming conservation restrictions.^[7] The Tully Trail, of northern Worcester County, is a collaborative recreational project produced by TTOR, the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, Harvard University's Harvard Forest, the National Park Service, the New England Forestry Foundation, state agencies, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers.^[8] Appleton Farms of Ipswich is a combination CSA project, retail feed and mulch haying operation, livestock and dairy program, recreation area, and ecological preservation area; it includes experiential education programs for adults and children.^[9] Current conservation projects include cooperative efforts on the Mount Tom Range and interpretive development of the birthplace of suffragist Lucy Stone in West Brookfield, Massachusetts.^[10]

Properties

The Blue Steps of Naumkeag

See List of properties managed by The Trustees of Reservations

TTOR owns and manages a broad range of properties across the state of Massachusetts. Many properties contain historic buildings, including nine historic house museums and two lighthouses open to the public. The Trustees manage five National Historic Landmarks, one National Natural Landmark, and several properties that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, The Trustees of Reservations manages, per contract, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Tully Lake Campground in Royalston; the Westport Town Farm in Westport; and Norton Point Beach in Edgartown, which is owned by the county government of Dukes County. TTOR properties spill over into both Connecticut and Vermont.

Notable properties include Bartholomew's Cobble of Sheffield, a National Natural Landmark containing North America's greatest diversity of fern species; Crane Beach and the Castle Hill mansion of Ipswich, a barrier beach and National Historic Landmark; Doane's Falls and Royalston Falls, popular waterfalls located in Royalston; Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge, a barrier island located on Martha's Vineyard; The Old Manse of Concord, made famous by transcendentalist writer Nathaniel Hawthorne; Naumkeag a gilded-age historic mansion and National Historic Landmark located in Stockbridge; World's End on Boston Harbor, a coastal peninsula park transformed from an unrealized Frederick Law Olmsted residential subdivision design; and Dinosaur Footprints, a rock face in Holyoke containing 134 footprints of Triassic dinosaur species. Moose Hill Farm in Sharon and Cormier Woods in Uxbridge are some of its most recent acquisitions.^[11]

References

1 2 3 4 http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2016/05/06/how-massachusetts-seeded-idea-land-conservation/w5avInQ5aXOmwtKnl8JosO/story.html
↑ TTOR. "About Us." Retrieved December 25, 2008.
↑ Conservation Common Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008
↑ Highland Communities Initiative Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008
↑ Doyle Conservation Center Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
↑ Stewardship Projects. Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008
↑ Slocum's River Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008
↑ Tully Trail Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008
↑ Appleton Farms Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008
↑ Conservation Projects Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
↑ Property List. Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved December 25, 2008

External links

The Trustees of Reservations website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Trustees of Reservations.

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

National Historical Parks	Adams Blackstone River Valley Boston Lowell Minute Man New Bedford Whaling

National Historic Sites	Boston African American Frederick Law Olmsted John Fitzgerald Kennedy Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters Salem Maritime Saugus Iron Works Springfield Armory

Other National Park Service Units	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Cape Cod National Seashore

National Wildlife Refuges	Assabet River Great Meadows Mashpee Massasoit Monomoy Nantucket Nomans Land Oxbow Parker River Silvio O. Conte Thacher Island

Other	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve West Hill Dam (USACE)

State Parks

Parks	Alewife Brook Ames Nowell Ashland Bash Bish Falls Blackstone River and Canal Heritage Borderland Boston Harbor Islands Bradley Palmer C. M. Gardner Callahan Castle Island State Park Chicopee Memorial City Square Clarksburg Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway Demarest Lloyd Dighton Rock Dunn Ellisville Harbor Fall River Heritage Gardner Heritage Great Brook Farm Halibut Point Hampton Ponds Holyoke Heritage Hopkinton Lake Lorraine Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage Lowell Heritage Lynn Heritage Massasoit Maudslay Moore Mount Holyoke Range Natural Bridge Nickerson Pearl Hill Pilgrim Quinsigamond Robinson Roxbury Heritage Rutland Skinner South Cape Beach Wahconah Falls Webb Memorial Wells Western Gateway Heritage Whitehall Wompatuck

Reservations	Beaver Brook Belle Isle Marsh Blue Hills Breakheart Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Dorchester Shores Elm Bank Fort Phoenix Hammond Pond Hemlock Gorge Horseneck Beach Jug End Lynn Shore Middlesex Fells Mount Everett Mount Greylock Mount Sugarloaf Mount Tom Myles Standish Mystic River Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Nasketucket Bay Neponset River Pope John Paul II Purgatory Chasm Quincy Quarries Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Salisbury Beach Sandy Point Scusset Beach Stony Brook Upper Charles River Wachusett Mountain Walden Pond West Island Weymouth Wilson Mountain

Other	Appalachian Trail Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Cape Cod Rail Trail Fort Revere Lake Dennison Recreation Area Lower Neponset River Trail Nashua River Rail Trail Norwottuck Rail Trail Quabbin Reservoir Southwest Corridor Park Squantum Point Park Streeter Point Recreation Area Sudbury Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir Ware River Watershed Area

State Forests

Wildlife Management Areas

Wildlife Management Areas	Agawam Lake Agawam Mill Pond Ashby Ashfield Hawley Attitash Ayer Game Farm Baddacook Pond Bakers Pond Bay Circuit Trail Bearse Pond Becket Bennett Birch Hill Black Brook Blackstone / West River Bolton Flats Boxboro Station Brayton Point Salt Marsh Breakneck Brook Brewer Brook Bullock Ledge Burrage Pond Canoe River Catamount Chalet Chase Garden Creek Salt Marsh Childs River Chockalog Swamp Church Homestead Clapps Pond Clinton Bluff Concord River Connecticut River Cook Pond Copicut Coy Hill Crane Pond Cummington Cusky Pond Dartmoor Farm Darwin Scott Memorial Day Mountain Deerfield River Dogfish Bar Beach Coastal Dolomite Ledges Dunstable Brook E. Kent Swift Eagle Island East Mountain Eastham Salt Marsh Elbow Meadow English Salt Marsh Eugene D. Moran Facing Rock Fairfield Brook Farmington River Fish Brook Fisherville Pond Fisk Forestdale Lot Fisk Meadows Five Mile River Flagg Swamp Flint Pond Four Chimneys Fox Den Fox Island Salt Marsh Frances A. Crane Freetown Swamp George L. Darey Housatonic Valley Glen Echo Lake Gosnold Grassy Pond (Dennis) Grassy Pond (Plymouth) Green River (Franklin County) Green River (Berkshire County) Greenfield River Halfway Pond Hamilton Hancock Harlow / Cooks Pond Haskell Swamp Hauk Swamp Hawksnest State Park Hawley Head Of The Plains Herman Covey High Ridge Hinsdale Flats Hiram H. Fox Hockomock Swamp Hog Pond Lot Honey Pot Hoosatonic River Hoosic River Hop Brook Housatonic River Hubbard Brook Hunting Hills Hyannis Ponds Ipswich River John J. Kelly Joint Base Cape Cod Jug End Fen Jug End Kampoosa Fen Katama Plains Knops Pond Konkapot River Lackey Pond Lake Lorraine Lake Rohunta Lake Snipatuit Lake Warner Lanesboro Lawrence Brook Lawrence Pond Lot Leadmine Leyden Lilly Pond Little Alum Pond Long Sought For Pond Maple Hill Maple Springs Martha Deering Martin H. Burns Mascuppic Lake Mashpee Pine Barrens Mashpee Pond Lot Mashpee River Mckinstry Brook Meetinghouse Swamp Merrill Pond Miacomet Heath Mill River Millers River Mine Brook Montague Plains Montague Moose Brook Moose Brook Moose Hill Mossy Pond Mount Watatic Reservation Mt. Esther Mt. Toby Highlands Mt. Toby Mt. Tom Muddy Brook Muddy Pond Mulpus Brook Nashua River Natty Brook Nemasket River Nissitissit River Noquochoke Nordeen Marsh North Brookfield North Shore Salt Marsh Northboro Oakham Olivers Pond Orange Otis Packard Pond Palmer Pantry Brook Pauchaug Brook Peru Peterson Swamp Phillipston Podunk Marsh Poland Brook Popple Camp Popponesset Beach Poutwater Pond Powell Brook Prince River Provincetown Route 6 Corridor Purchade Brook Quaboag Quacumquasit Quag Pond Bog Quashnet River Quashnet Woods State Reservation Quinapoxet River Quinsigamond Marsh Quisset Raccoon Hill Rainbow Beach Red Brook Richardson Robbins Pond Rochester Rocky Gutter Rowe Salisbury Salt Marsh Salisbury Salt Marsh Sandwich Game Farm Sandy Pond Satan's Kingdom Savage Hill Savoy Sawmill River Scorton Creek Coastal SE Mass Bioreserve Sevenmile River Shattuck Brook Sheperds Island Shubael Pond Sibley Brook Sly Pond South Barrier Beach South Meadow Pond South Shore Salt Marsh South Triangle Pond Southampton Southwick Spectacle Pond Springhill Lot Sputtermill Pond Squannacook River Stafford Hill Sudbury River Sunderland Islands Taconic Mountain Taunton River Taunton River Tekoa Mountain Thad Ellis Thayer Pond Three Mile Pond Townsend Townsend Hill Trapfall Brook Triangle Pond Tully Brook Tully Mountain Tully River Wakeby Pond Wales Walnut Hill Ware River Warwick Wendell West Meadows Westboro Westfield River Westfield Weymouth Back River Whately Great Swamp Whately Ponds Whately Wilbraham Game Farm William Forward Williams River Williamsburg Winimusset Wolf Swamp

Wildlife Sanctuaries	Billingsgate Island Carr Island E. Howe Forbush Egg Rock Grace A. Robson J.C. Phillips Knight Penikese Island Ram Island (Salisbury) Ram Island (Mattapoisett) Susan B. Minns Tarpaulin Cove Watatic Mountain

The Nature Conservancy

Black Pond Bog Boat Meadow Francis Newhall Woods Grassy Pond Greene Swamp Halfway Pond Island Hawley Bog Hockomock Swamp Hoft Farm Homer-Watcha Preserve Katama Plains McElwain-Olsen Miacomet Moors Reed Brook Drury Sandy Neck David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail Stacy Mountain Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

Audubon Society Wildlife Sanctuaries

Arcadia Broad Meadow Brook Broadmoor Daniel Webster Drumlin Farm High Ledges Ipswich River Moose Hill North River Pleasant Valley Stony Brook Wachussett Meadow Wellfleet Bay

Other

Concord Land Conservation Trust Harvard Forest Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Lloyd Center for the Environment Lynn Woods Reservation Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary

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