The Trustees of Reservations - AbsoluteAstronomy.com


Motto	Find your place.
Established	1890
President	Andy Kendall
Headquarters	Sharon Sharon, Massachusetts Sharon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,612 at the 2010 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about 17 miles southwest of downtown Boston.... , Beverly Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides... , and Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190,... , USA
Membership	100,000
Founder	Charles Eliot
Homepage	The Trustees of Reservations

The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members. In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building

Green building

Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...

. The Trustees of Reservations own title to over 100 properties on 25000 acres (10,117.2 ha) in Massachusetts, all of which are open to the public; it maintains conservation restrictions on 200 more properties. Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.

Main offices of the organization are located in Beverly

Beverly, Massachusetts

Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...

, Leominster

Leominster, Massachusetts

Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190,...

, and Sharon, Massachusetts

Sharon, Massachusetts

Sharon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,612 at the 2010 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about 17 miles southwest of downtown Boston....

. Financial support for the organization comes from membership dues, annual contributions, property admission fees, special events, grants, and endowments. In June 2006, The Trustees earned gold-level recognition from the United States Green Building Council for its Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster. On September 16, 2006, The Trustees of Reservations announced its permanent affiliation with the Boston Natural Areas Network

Boston Natural Areas Network

The Boston Natural Areas Network , founded in 1977 is a non-profit organization based in Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, which works to identify and protect significant natural areas described as urban wilds and greenways in the metropolitan area.-Mission:The Boston Natural Areas...

History

The Trustees of Reservations began in 1890 when the New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

periodical Garden and Forest published a letter by landscape architect

Landscape architect

A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

Charles Eliot (protégé of Frederick Law Olmsted

Frederick Law Olmsted

Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...

) entitled "The Waverly Oaks." Eliot's letter proposed the immediate preservation of "special bits of scenery" still remaining "within ten miles (16 km) of the State House which possess uncommon beauty and more than usual refreshing power." To this end, Eliot proposed that legislation be enacted to create a nonprofit corporation to hold land for the public to enjoy "just as a Public Library holds books and an Art Museum holds pictures."

In the spring of 1891, the Massachusetts Legislature

Massachusetts General Court

The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...

established The Trustees of Public Reservations "for the purposes of acquiring, holding, maintaining and opening to the public beautiful and historic places within the Commonwealth." The act was signed into law by Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

William E. Russell on May 21, 1891. The word "Public" was dropped from the organization's name in 1954 to avoid confusion with government-owned land.

Virginia Woods in Stoneham

Stoneham, Massachusetts

Stoneham is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Its population was 21,437 at the 2010 census, down from 22,219 in 2000. The town is the birthplace of Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan and is the home of the Stone Zoo.- History :...

was the first property acquired by The Trustees. This property was conveyed to the Metropolitan District Commission

Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)

The Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...

in 1923 and is now a part of the Middlesex Fells Reservation

Middlesex Fells Reservation

Middlesex Fells Reservation, often referred to simply as the Fells, is a Massachusetts state park located in Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester...

. Waverly Oaks itself was also conveyed to the state by TTOR and is part of the Beaver Brook Reservation

Beaver Brook Reservation

Beaver Brook Reservation is a Massachusetts state park located in Belmont and Waltham. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. It was the first reservation established by the Metropolitan Park Commission in 1893.-Description:...

, established in 1893.

In 1925, The Trustees joined with the Appalachian Mountain Club

Appalachian Mountain Club

The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...

, Massachusetts Audubon Society

Massachusetts Audubon Society

The Massachusetts Audubon Society, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "Protecting the nature of Massachusetts." Mass Audubon is independent of the National Audubon Society, and in fact was founded...

, and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England

Historic New England

Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities , is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England and is the oldest and largest regional preservation...

) to organize a conference on "The Needs and Uses of Open Spaces." This conference led to a 1929 report emphasizing the need to protect the state's rural character and countryside and the importance of identifying and describing the qualities and characteristics of specific sites that should be preserved. Today, nearly every site listed in the report is protected by a government or nonprofit conservation agency.

Mission and initiatives

The mission statement of The Trustees of Reservations is to "preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts." The Trustees of Reservations also supports a number of contingent initiatives.

Initiatives

The Putnam Conservation Institute, also known as the Conservation Common, offers workshops, conferences, and networking for "land conservationists, urban park advocates, historic preservationists, watershed associations, state agencies, municipal commissions," etc.

The Highland Communities Initiative is a cooperative effort of TTOR and community members from small hilltowns in The Berkshires

The Berkshires

The Berkshires , is a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut.Also referred to as the Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Mountains, and Berkshire Plateau, the region enjoys a vibrant tourism industry based on music, arts, and recreation.-Definition:The term...

geography dedicated to preserving regional cultural and physical landscapes and enhancing the quality of life of local residents;

The Doyle Conservation Center is a green architecture initiative and regional office, conference, and education center located in Leominster, Massachusetts. The structure, designed by HKT Architects of Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...

and landscape architects Hines Wasser & Associates, was registered for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

gold certification with the United States Green Building Council

United States Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council , co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a non-profit trade organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built, and operated...

. The building includes "photovoltaic panels, high-efficiency lighting and controls, a displacement ventilation system, high performance windows, a high performance building envelope, geothermal wells and carbon dioxide monitoring systems;" it incorporates green materials such as desks made of sunflower seeds, bamboo and cork flooring, and recycled fiber carpet and paneling.

Collaborative conservation

Copicut Woods

Copicut Woods is a nature reserve and forest located in Fall River, Massachusetts. The property is owned by The Trustees of Reservations.- External links :*...

, Slocum's River Reserve

Slocum's River Reserve

Slocum's River Reserve is a open space preserve co-managed by the land conservation non-profit organizations The Trustees of Reservations and Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust. The property includes of frontage along the bracken tidal Slocum's River in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, of trails,...

, the Tully Trail

Tully Trail

The Tully Trail is a scenic loop trail located in the towns of Royalston, Orange, and Warwick, Massachusetts near the New Hampshire border. The route crosses several ledges with sweeping views of the surrounding rural countryside and passes three waterfalls . Tully Mountain, Jacobs Hill, and Tully...

, and Appleton Farms

Appleton Farms

Appleton Farms is a park in Ipswich, Massachusetts, that is owned and maintained by The Trustees of Reservations.-References:*...

represent collaborative efforts of TTOR, government agencies, local communities, and private groups to create a bioreserve, a mixed use open space preserve, a 22 miles (35.4 km) recreation trail, and a mixed use and community supported agriculture preserve, respectively. Copicut Woods is part of the cooperatively managed Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve which protects 13600 acres (5,503.7 ha) of forest in Fall River

Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...

, Freetown

Freetown, Massachusetts

Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included...

and Dartmouth, Massachusetts

Dartmouth, Massachusetts

Dartmouth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States established in 1664. The population was 30,665 at the 2000 census. It is the location of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth....

. Slocum's River Reserve is a cooperative effort by the state, TTOR and the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust and includes protected braken river frontage and farming conservation restrictions. The Tully Trail, of northern Worcester County

Worcester County, Massachusetts

-Demographics:In 1990 Worcester County had a population of 709,705.As of the census of 2000, there were 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 496 people per square mile . There were 298,159 housing units at an average density...

, is a collaborative recreational project produced by TTOR, the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust

Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust

Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, incorporated in 1986, is a non-profit organization whose mission is the conservation of woodland and agricultural land in north central and western Massachusetts. Based out of Athol, Massachusetts, the MGLCT is named after Mount Grace, a neaby monadnock...

, Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

's Harvard Forest

Harvard Forest

Harvard Forest is an ecological research area of owned and managed by Harvard University and located in Petersham, Massachusetts. The property, in operation since 1907, includes one of North America's oldest managed forests, educational and research facilities, a museum, and recreation trails...

, the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

, the New England Forestry Foundation, state agencies, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

. Appleton Farms of Ipswich

Ipswich, Massachusetts

Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...

is a combination CSA project, retail feed and mulch haying operation, livestock and dairy program, recreation area, and ecological preservation area; it includes experiential education programs for adults and children. Current conservation projects include cooperative efforts on the Mount Tom Range

Mount Tom Range

The Mount Tom Range is a traprock mountain range located in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. It is part of the Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to nearly the Vermont border...

and interpretive development of the birthplace of suffragist Lucy Stone

Lucy Stone

Lucy Stone was a prominent American abolitionist and suffragist, and a vocal advocate and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. She spoke out for women's rights and against slavery at a time when women were discouraged...

in West Brookfield, Massachusetts

West Brookfield, Massachusetts

West Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,701 at the 2010 census. Lucy Stone was born in West Brookfield, and Noah Webster published his dictionary there....

Properties

See List of properties managed by The Trustees of Reservations

TTOR owns and manages a broad range of properties across the state of Massachusetts. Many properties contain historic buildings, including nine historic house museums and two lighthouses open to the public. The Trustees manage five National Historic Landmarks, one National Natural Landmark, and several properties that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, The Trustees of Reservations manages, per contract, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Tully Lake Campground

Tully Lake

Tully Lake, of Royalston, Massachusetts, is a reservoir and flood control project constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1949 for 1.6 million dollars. The project prevents flooding of the greater Connecticut River and Millers River valleys and provides a variety of...

in Royalston

Royalston, Massachusetts

Royalston is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,258 at the 2010 census.-History:Royalston is a small town in the North Quabbin area of northwestern-central Massachusetts. It was named after Isaac Royal, a landowner. It is very large in land area—about...

; the Westport Town Farm

Westport Town Farm

Westport Town Farm is a open space preserve and historic farm complex located in Westport, Massachusetts along the bracken East Branch of the Westport River...

in Westport

Westport, Massachusetts

Westport is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,532 at the 2010 census.The village of North Westport lies in the town.- History :...

; and Norton Point Beach in Edgartown

Edgartown, Massachusetts

Edgartown is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,779 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dukes County. Edgartown has the largest population and area in the entire Dukes County and Martha's Vineyard.- History :In 1642....

, which is owned by the county government of Dukes County

Dukes County, Massachusetts

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 14,987 people, 6,421 households, and 3,788 families residing in the county. The population density was 144 people per square mile . There were 14,836 housing units at an average density of 143 per square mile...

. TTOR properties spill over into both Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

and Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

.

Notable properties include Bartholomew's Cobble

Bartholomew's Cobble

Bartholomew's Cobble is a National Natural Landmark, open space preserve, agricultural preserve, and bio-reserve located in southwest Massachusetts in the village of Ashley Falls abutting Canaan, Connecticut...

of Sheffield

Sheffield, Massachusetts

Not to be confused with the city of Sheffield in the UK, or Sheffield, Vermont.Sheffield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,257 at the 2010 census. Sheffield is home to...

, a National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

containing North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

's greatest diversity of fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

species; Crane Beach

Crane Beach

Crane Beach is a conservation and recreation property located in Ipswich, Massachusetts, immediately north of Cape Ann. It consists of a four mile long sandy beachfront, dunes, and a maritime pitch pine forest...

and the Castle Hill mansion of Ipswich

Ipswich, Massachusetts

, a barrier beach and National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

; Doane's Falls

Doane's Falls

Doane's Falls is a series of five waterfalls located in Royalston, Massachusetts along an section of Lawrence Brook, a tributary of the Millers River. The falls are part of a open space preserve acquired in 1959 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations...

and Royalston Falls

Royalston Falls

Royalston Falls is a waterfall and granite gorge located in Royalston, Massachusetts along an Lawrence Brook, a tributary of the Millers River. The falls are part of a open space preserve acquired in 1951 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations...

, popular waterfalls located in Royalston

Royalston, Massachusetts

; Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge

Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge

Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge on Chappaquiddick Island owned and managed by The Trustees of Reservations. The refuge consists of and includes the 1893 Cape Poge Lighthouse.-Description:...

, a barrier island located on Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....

; The Old Manse

The Old Manse

The Old Manse is an historic manse famous for its American literary associations. It is now owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations...

of Concord

Concord, Massachusetts

Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...

, made famous by transcendentalist writer Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...

; Naumkeag

Naumkeag

Naumkeag is a 44 room, shingle-style country house located at 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, USA in the Berkshires. It is now operated by The Trustees of Reservations as a nonprofit museum....

a gilded-age historic mansion and National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

located in Stockbridge

Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...

; World's End on Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...

, a coastal peninsula park transformed from an unrealized Frederick Law Olmsted

Frederick Law Olmsted

residential subdivision design; and Dinosaur Footprints

Dinosaur Footprints

Dinosaur Footprints in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA is an wilderness reservation purchased for the public in 1935 by The Trustees of Reservations. The Reservation is currently being managed with the assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation...

, a rock face in Holyoke

Holyoke, Massachusetts

Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...

containing 134 footprints of Triassic

Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

dinosaur

Dinosaur

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

species. Moose Hill Farm

Moose Hill Farm

Moose Hill Farm is a open space preserve and historic farm complex located in Sharon, Massachusetts near the summit of Moose Hill. The property, acquired in 2005 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations, includes farmland, woodlots, 21 farm buildings, hiking...

in Sharon

Sharon, Massachusetts

Sharon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,612 at the 2010 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about 17 miles southwest of downtown Boston....

and Cormier Woods

Cormier Woods

Cormier Woods is a open space preserve and historic 18th century farm complex located in Uxbridge, Massachusetts within the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor...

in Uxbridge

Uxbridge, Massachusetts

Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...

are some of its most recent acquisitions.

External links

The Trustees of Reservations website