2022 – A Remarkable Year of Renewal and Progress
We are proud to announce that Metacomet has received two gifts of land last week which together push our lands preserved to over 1,000 acres!
Nearly two years ago we were approached by land owner Tom Finacom in Sutton who wanted to participate in the Commonwealth’s Conservation Tax Credit program. In exchange for his donation of 4.7 acres of land to a qualified conservation organization, the program would offer him up to $75K in a tax credit. Several members of Metacomet’s board walked the property and found it to be of high conservation value. Much of it is critical habitat to a protected species. We would be glad to accept his donation!.
But this story is long because the program also requires that a Conservation Restriction be added to the property and that the baseline characteristics be documented. In order to receive the credit, the donor must also have an appraisal done at the time that the deed is recorded. We are grateful that the Town of Sutton’s Conservation Commission agreed to hold the conservation restriction and, after close to a year long wait for the restriction to be approved, the property was deeded to the land trust on December 28th!
We’ll have more information to come and thank you, Tom, for your generous donation!
We were fortunate to meet Steven Clapp when he reached out to the land trust in early December. His family owned 27 acres in Norfolk and Medfield that runs along the Stop River. It is restricted by an Army Corps of Engineers floodplain easement. Several board members walked the property with Steve, learned of its background with his family and deemed it of significant conservation value. We were happy to accept his family’s donation and we hope to create a small parking area so paddlers can enjoy the beautiful wetlands beside the upland hills where majestic pines grow. It was also deeded to the land trust on December 28 and the family will be seeking a federal tax credit for their donation.
We’ll have more information to come. Thank you to Steven and his siblings for this generous donation!
These two donations increase Metacomet’s protected lands to 1,021 acres, including 669 in fee-owned properties and 352 in conservation restrictions on land in private ownership.
For a list of our properties with a simple map, click here.
If you or your family would like more information about how to preserve land for the future, please contact us through our phone line or by writing to info@metacometlandtrust.org. All inquiries are confidential.
