By Mackenzie Kegans, Reporter
The Sterling Land Trust has been updating trailheads and acquiring new land recently to maintain and add to recreational properties in the region.
In the most recent edition of LandLines, the Sterling Land Trust newsletter, the organization’s newest projects are highlighted. These include acquiring new properties and updating trailheads in Sterling.
The most recent project the Land Trust has taken on occurred at the Allenwood Trailhead on Heywood Road, acquired in 2001. The LandLine newsletter states that the trail received a gain in popularity due to Covid-19 and would require additional parking. The Land Trust and their team of volunteers spaced out the parking lot and doubled the capacity of the lot from four cars to eight cars.
The Land Trust doesn’t only do work on public areas, but they conserve private land as well. Property owners in Sterling can donate their land to the Land Trust in order to have it protected from development or public use. These types of projects are called conservation restrictions, while the property owner still owns the land, it is protected by the Land Trust.
An example of a conservation restriction by the Land Trust is Brown’s Farm acquired in 2004 and located on Leominster Road. This area is protected, but not open to the public.
The Sterling Land Trust is a private, non-profit organization and was formed in 1998. They have since been adding new properties and conservation restrictions on land in Sterling to ensure that the most beautiful and environmentally important areas remain protected. They are run by a board of directors. The current president of the board is Dan Mongeau.
The Land Trust has been responsible for gaining new recreational properties around Sterling since they were founded. Some of the most popular and earliest acquired properties protected by the Land Trust include the Wekepeke Path trail, acquired in 1999, and the Fitch Pond Floodplain, acquired in 2005.
In an interview, Vice President of the Land Trust Jim French talked about ways the public can get involved with the Land Trust.
“We are always looking for new members and donations,” he said. “Donations pay for maintaining trailheads and building kiosks…joining helps and donating helps, whether it’s donating time, effort, or love of the land.”
Anyone interested in volunteering with the Land Trust can find more information on their website, www.sterlinglandtrust.org under the “volunteer” tab. Those interested in donating can go to the same website and click the donate button.