The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank will add an extra 28 acres to the Wapatequa Woods Reservation in Oak Bluffs after receiving its largest-ever land donation this week.
Seasonal Edgartown resident Elizabeth Campbell granted the land abutting the current 200-acre conservation property and the land bank closed on the property on Tuesday.
“Seldom has the land bank received gifts, and never on this scale,” said land bank director James Lengyel.
The conservation of the land will help protect the aquifer underneath it and wildlife management, but will also be open to the public. Hay Path Road, an ancient way, cuts through the property and another ancient way runs along the perimeter.
“It’s a very beautiful thick woodland,” Mr. Lengyel said, before also noting the property’s stand of blueberry bushes. “It’s a perfect wedge that fits in the larger Wapatequa reservation.”
The land bank does not expect to do much more work on the property and because the trails are ancient ways, they are already accessible to the public.
Chris Alley, the chair of the Oak Bluffs land bank advisory board, said he was grateful for such a sizable donation.
“It's kind of a nice puzzle piece,” he said.
The land bank has long been eyeing the property and had first reached out in to Ms. Campbell and her husband Ronald Campbell in 1989. They had a pleasant exchange at the time, but nothing came of it.
Ms. Campbell wrote to the land bank in October to talk about the donation.
“We were just so charmingly surprised to get a letter from Ms. Campbell,” Mr. Lengyel said.
Since then, the two have been working on the logistics of the transaction. The property will be named the Ronald and Elizabeth Campbell Preserve of the Wapatequa Woods Reservation.
Mr. Campbell died in 2021.
The land bank preserves naming rights for donated properties. The second largest donation to the land bank was from Pam and Clark Goff, who granted a conservation restriction over their 13-acre field in 2014.
This article appears in July 3, 2026.
While I recognize that the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank serves an important purpose by preserving open space, protecting the Island’s natural beauty, and maintaining its unique character, I believe it is time to have an honest conversation about the unintended consequences of its success. Specifically, we should examine the role that large-scale land preservation has played in limiting opportunities to create affordable housing for both year-round residents and the seasonal workforce that the Island depends on.
The Land Bank has already protected dozens of properties and placed conservation restrictions on hundreds of acres across Martha’s Vineyard. That achievement deserves recognition. However, it is also reasonable to ask whether there comes a point when enough land has been preserved to balance conservation with another equally pressing need: housing.
Rather than continuing to set aside additional parcels for preservation, we should consider whether some land could be more appropriately used to create affordable housing opportunities. Given the amount of protected land already on the Island, there is a legitimate argument that conservation and housing should no longer be viewed as competing priorities, but as goals that must be balanced.
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank is not the only organization contributing to this dynamic. Other conservation organizations, such as Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, have also placed restrictions on large tracts of land, further reducing the amount of property available for housing development. While these efforts have undoubtedly helped preserve the Island’s landscape, they have also made the prospect of building affordable housing increasingly difficult for countless Islanders.
At a minimum, I believe it is time to ask an important question: Have we reached the point where preserving additional land comes at too great a cost to the people who live and work on Martha’s Vineyard? If we truly want the Island to remain a vibrant, year-round community, we must be willing to have an open and honest discussion about whether our current approach has struck the right balance between conservation and housing.
I agree 100%.
yes.
AMEN!
Have you seen the explosive growth on the island over the last several years? Have you noticed the massive Increase in traffic? I see things almost the opposite as you do. Thank goodness for the Land Bank or the character of this island would have already been destroyed already. And so much has been lost already. I would advocate more conservation and less housing. The biggest issue facing the island, as I see it, is the significant growth of the year round population. It is straining the environment and the infrastructure. Less housing and more high speed ferry service. The island needs to curtail growth or it will soon be Barcelona.
Yes, I agree, and it seems physically impossible to both support development of new housing projects and Land Bank purchases. What might eventually happen is building government housing on Land Bank property.
Your opinion.
Every building could add a 2nd and 3rd level for year round Island employed staff.
Not to be able to rent seasonal and especially not summer vacationing visitors.
What a thoughtful and fabulous legacy from this generous family. Thank you so much for this gift to the whole island! And my gratitude that the Land Bank (and other conservation groups) exist to facilitate a family’s wishes like this.
As evidenced by our impaired coastal ponds, an infrastructure (traffic, schools, hospital/healthcare, police, fire etc)struggling to meet the incessant demands of an ever increasing population, PFAS- contaminated water wells, new multi million dollar municipal water well projects facing our down island towns, the as-yet unspoken fact of multimillion dollar sewering projects facing all island towns in order to meet clean water standards, the fact that we currently ship all of our trash and sewage off island to impact other communities, the answer is NO, we have not yet preserved enough land here to maintain any semblance of quality of life for humans, nor to protect the health of the island’s natural habitats, waterways and ecosystems
Thank-you, Prudy! I came here to say just this, but you’ve stated it much more eloquently than I could have.
You are absolutely right Prudy . We live on an island which makes it a finite resource . I’ll add that more and more people want to move here and expect they should also own a house . If the owners of this property had sold it off to be developed it would only house a handful of the working class and as usual the rest would be multi million dollar homes .
Completely agree.
Yup.
As ever Prudy, thank you for your continued fight to protect the island and it’s natural resources. More protection of our ONE source of water should be a priority. Thank you to the family for this gift to all of us. And ditto to all that Prudy said.
I agree with Prudy, and I appreciate the thoughtful points she raised. This generous 28-acre donation will help protect open space, wildlife habitat, and our aquifer, and the Campbell family deserves our thanks for making it possible.
Prudy mentioned several important facts that deserve serious consideration: impaired coastal ponds, increasing traffic, growing demands on our schools, hospital, police and fire departments, PFAS concerns, expensive municipal water projects, the likelihood of future Island-wide sewer expansions, and the fact that we already ship all of our trash and sewage off-Island. Those concerns are very real.
Martha’s Vineyard depends entirely on a sole-source aquifer for its drinking water. According to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s 2024 seasonal population study, our year-round population of about 20,500 swells to nearly 95,000 people on a peak August day—more than four times the permanent population. Nearly every one of the Island’s 27 coastal ponds is already classified as impaired. Those realities should give us pause before assuming every remaining undeveloped parcel ought to become housing.
Not every undeveloped parcel should be viewed as a future housing site. Once open space is developed, it is almost never recovered. Protecting our remaining forests, aquifer recharge areas, wildlife habitat, and the Island’s rural character is one of the best investments we can make for future generations. In my opinion, Martha’s Vineyard is already beyond the level of development it can comfortably support, and preserving what remains is essential.
This is awesome and I’m sure everyone that lives on Morgan Luce lane are super excited to know that this beautiful piece of land will be preserved indefinitely!
thank you…there can never be enough land donated. We need to protect this precious island..
Thank you 100 percent to the donor! It’s because of the sweat of their toil they purchased it and are now gifting it. they are the ones to be wholly applauded. It was theirs to donate how they choose. Anyone wishing it to be used otherwise knock yourself out and donate some land. Otherwise just say thank you and move on. If folks aren’t appreciative sell it in the open market and anyone can buy it if they choose.