For nearly a year, conservation groups in Harvard have been working to acquire a 50-acre parcel called Horse Meadows Knoll, located between Sherry Road and the Boxborough town line. The effort is a public-private partnership, with the Conservation Commission and the Harvard Conservation Trust seeking to combine a state grant, town funds, and private donations for the cost of the land.
The star marks the property between Sherry Road and the Boxborough town line. (Courtesy drawing)
The complicated transaction requires the approval of the Community Preservation Committee, which OK’d $100,000 for the project in August; the selectmen, who voted unanimously at their Tuesday meeting in favor of CPC’s action; the Capital Planning and Investment Committee, which on Sept. 12 will consider recommending another $100,000; and voters, who will have the final say on both amounts at a Special Town Meeting Oct. 24. If all those groups approve, the project’s success will still hinge on getting a state LAND (Local Acquisition for Natural Diversity) grant of $397,000 in November.
Despite the numerous hurdles, Harvard Conservation Trust President Peter Dorward said he is optimistic that all parties will see the purchase as a bargain. “It’s a chance for Harvard to get 50 acres at a cost of $200,000 to the town,” he said. Some of the selectmen appeared to agree, with Chairman Ken Swanton calling the proposal “good leverage” and Stu Sklar describing it as “an amazing deal.”
Land has high conservation value
The name Horse Meadow goes far back in Harvard history. Henry Nourse mentioned it in his history of the town, describing it only as an area east of Bare Hill. Meadows were highly valued for their natural grasses when Harvard was first settled, Nourse said, naming nearly a dozen within the town’s boundaries: Broad, Brook, Pin Hill, Great Pond, Wigwam, Horse, Round, Ho-sokie, and Polypod meadows.
Today, Horse Meadows Knoll is a steep, rocky, drumlin-shaped hill overlooking a reservoir and a mixed forest of white pine, hemlock, and hardwood. The area includes an unnamed stream and wetlands, which are home to at least three rare or endangered species: blue-spotted salamanders, Blanding’s turtles, and eastern box turtles. Black gum trees grow in the wetlands, and scarlet tanagers have been sighted in the forest.
“It’s gorgeous land,” Dorward said, “and it has some nice trails already there.”
The knoll is particularly valuable as conservation land because it is adjacent to a number of other protected areas, including the Gillette land, the Endicott land, and the Muller land. An unused corridor owned by New England Power runs next to several of the parcels.
Massachusetts has designated the whole parcel “priority habitat” for the protection of endangered species. A joint project of Mass Audubon and the Nature Conservancy ranks this piece of land as the highest priority for conservation protection in Harvard. Several other regional conservation organizations also identify Horse Meadows as environmentally important, all of which may increase the project’s chances of winning the state LAND grant.
Finances are complex
The asking price for the land, Dorward confirmed, is $800,000. The plan is for the Conservation Trust to buy it at that price and then sell off a 2-acre building lot along Sherry Road for about $230,000. The trust would next sell the remaining 48 acres to the Conservation Commission for $660,000. The trust would also cover a range of costs associated with the acquisition, including the demolition of a derelict house on the property.
For its part, the Conservation Commission would use the $200,000 from Community Preservation and capital funds, if approved, for part of the purchase. The LAND grant would eventually cover most of the remaining costs. But that money comes only as a reimbursement, after the town has paid the full price. So, as a sort of bridge loan, ConCom plans to ask the capital committee for about $400,000 up front, to be paid back with the grant money. The entire purchase is contingent on the state’s approval of the grant, so the money is not at risk if the grant application is rejected.
At last June’s Special Town Meeting, capital committee members urged voters to approve borrowing money for the Hildreth House cost overrun rather than paying with free cash, and to move free cash into the capital account instead. At that time, Selectwoman Alice von Loesecke, a former member of the Finance Committee, mentioned this expected $400,000 request as a reason to keep cash on hand in the capital account. The capital committee will meet next week to decide if it will advance the money for the land purchase.
