This week, the Vineyard Open Land Foundation gifted 335 acres of land to the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation in what marks the largest conservation land acquisition in the organization’s history.
The properties span several locations across the Island, including Squibnocket Farm and Eddy Farm in Chilmark and Cranberry Acres, an organic cranberry bog in Vineyard Haven.
The bog is expected to be open for cranberry sales and picking this fall, said Adam Moore, president of Sheriff’s Meadow, in an interview with the Gazette on Friday.
“This week we harvested 1,600 pounds of cranberries, so those berries will be sorted, and when the sorting is complete, there will be sales of cranberries to customers, and then there will be hopefully a schedule of pick-your-own dates,” Mr. Moore said.
The cranberry bog will remain under the supervision of the Vineyard Open Land Foundation [VOLF] for the remainder of the year.
“This transition year, we’re working really closely. But then after the first year, Sheriff’s Meadow will take it over entirely and run it going forward,” Mr. Moore said.
In addition to the land, the Vineyard Open Land Foundation gifted Sheriff’s Meadow four conservation restrictions: two in West Tisbury, one in Chilmark and one in Edgartown. Conservation restrictions are agreements between a landowner and a conservation organization or government agency that limit land development rights.
“The gift from VOLF is for charitable purposes, so these will never be sold and never be developed,” Mr. Moore said. “They will always remain in conservation, and I think that’s the most critical thing. Aside from that, we will study them and write a management plan for how they’ll be managed going forward.”
Eric Peters, chairman of the Open Land Foundation, and Carol Magee, the foundation’s executive director, will continue to provide advice and guidance on the properties for years to come.
Sheriff’s Meadow was founded in 1958 with a mission to conserve the landscape and character of the Vineyard.
The Vineyard Open Land Foundation was founded in 1970 with a similar goal of assisting in and promoting the preservation of the Island’s natural beauty and rural character. Since then, the organization has helped preserve over 2,035 acres of land across the Island. It had previously conveyed a number of properties, totalling 274 acres, to Sheriff’s Meadow.
“These lands are going to remain forever conserved, so that’s really the most important thing,” Mr. Moore said. “We’re honored to be the stewards of these properties.”
It seems that hardly a week goes by without another reminder of the mounting pressures on Martha’s Vineyard. Overcrowding, increasing traffic, relentless development, deteriorating pond water quality, growing demands on drinking water, disappearing wildlife habitat, solar installations replacing open landscapes, and offshore wind projects changing our ocean views and raising concerns about marine life.
Sometimes I wonder how much more this Island can absorb before we permanently lose the very qualities that make it so special. With each passing year, the cumulative effects of development become harder to ignore.
And then comes news like this.
While so much of our remaining land is viewed in terms of its development potential, here are two foundations working to ensure that hundreds of acres remain protected for generations. The preservation of farmland, an organic cranberry bog, wildlife habitat, and precious open space represents something increasingly rare: a lasting gift to the Island rather than another demand upon it.
I am grateful to both the Vineyard Open Land Foundation and Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation for their dedication to preserving the Island’s natural beauty and character.
With so much troubling news about the Vineyard’s future, this is the kind of story that reminds me why I love living here.