Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation have finalized an agreement to close and restore more than 25 miles of trails that were illegally cut.
A divided Chilmark conservation commission voted last week to approve a project to install a new culvert in Mill Brook headwaters off North Road. Proposed by the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, the project has kicked up a cloud of controversy.
The Chilmark conservation commission continued a public hearing this week on a long-running plan by the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation to replace two culverts at the Mill Brook headwaters off North Road.
A long trail of good intentions that began with a once-promising partnership between the state and Sheriff’s Meadow ended with an announcement that 25 miles of unpermitted trails would be closed.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation plans to immediately close some 25 miles of unpermitted trails that were carved into the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.
To support conservation and inspire others to do the same, the Wyss Foundation has pledged $1 million in matching funds to create the Squibnocket Pond Reservation, a rare 304-acre preserve that is now part of the Kennedy family’s Red Gate Farm.
Unpermitted trail clearing in the state forest has led to a citation from state environmental officials for violations of the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act.
The two conservation organizations announced Thursday that they will buy 304 acres of undeveloped land at the rare oceanfront estate in Aquinnah owned by the family of Caroline B. Kennedy.
