The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank announced Tuesday that it will continue to expand the Wapatequa Woods Reservation with the purchase of 36 acres in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven.
The land bank paid $925,000 for the property. George Fisher Jr. was the seller.
The acquisition adds more land to the Wapatequa Woods Reservation, which now includes 135.5 acres stretching between Vineyard Haven and West Tisbury.
The land bank has long been adding land to the property. In February, the land bank purchased 30 acres to add to the reservation.
The land bank receives its funds from a two per cent fee charged on many Vineyard real estate transactions.
Land bank executive director James Lengyel told the Gazette that the Wapatequa Woods Reservation is an important part of the Island because it surrounds Vineyard Haven’s aquifer area and serves as an important green belt for the area outside Vineyard Haven center.
“There are a lot of neighborhoods around it,” he added. “The land bank believes that every neighborhood deserves open space and it’s convenient to so many people to be able to amble through this area.”
While most of the property is wooded, the land also includes a five-acre pasture and field at the southern end of the property and a house.
Mr. Lengyel said the land bank will look into leasing the pasture for farming.
The house, which was Mr. Fisher’s residence for a number of years, could be used in two different ways, Mr. Lengyel said. One option is to use it for summer housing for employees.
Another option would be to have a fulltime caretaker live on the property and manage the trails at Wapatequa, Tisbury Meadow and Little Duarte’s Pond. The caretaker would also manage some kind of woodland improvement plan, Mr. Lengyel said, by managing the trials and culling out trees that are not thriving.
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