Press Release

 

October 4, 2004

 

For Immediate Release   

 

Pages:             2

                       

Contact:          Stephen Sloan

South Coast and Cape Cod Area Manager

                        The Trustees of Reservations   

                        ( 781 828-9524

______________________________________________________________________________

 
Citizens of Rochester Awarded Conservationists of the Year

On Saturday, October 2nd, The Trustees of Reservations, the nation’s oldest regional land trust, awarded the Citizens of Rochester the Conservationists of the Year Award.  The award is given each year to a person or people who have made the greatest impact in the conservation work of The Trustees.  This is the first time the award has recognized an entire town.  Rochester was recognized for its role in helping preserve the 780-acre Eastover Farm.

 

According to David Croll, a member of The Trustees of Reservations’ Board of Directors who presented the award, “the people of Rochester pulled together and preserved Eastover Farm because its development was unthinkable. 

Slide 3

FIELD
 
The farm is a local icon due to its unusual granite stone walls, handsome yellow structures, and rolling fields.

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STREAM/POND
 
It also includes miles of river habitat along the Sippican River, Hathaway and Leonard’s pond, and hundreds of acres of woodlands and cranberry and blueberry bogs. Eastover Farm is one of the South Coast’s gems – at once historic, scenic, ecologically important, and part of the very fabric of Rochester.” 

 

Mr. Croll explained that without Rochester’s bond of $1.75 million, the protection of Eastover Farm could not have moved forward.  “If every town in Massachusetts made a similar commitment, we would have billions of dollars to preserve open space,” he pointed out. To date, more than 500 acres have been protected, and additional closings are scheduled for later this year.  Portions of Eastover Farm will be jointly owned by the town of Rochester and The Trustees of Reservations and opened to the public. 

 

Susan Peterson and Russ Keeler, Board members of the Rochester Land Trust, which played a critical role in the protection of Eastover Farm, and Rochester Selectman Bradford Morse, accepted the award along with a framed photograph of the farm.  Ms. Peterson thanked The Trustees, citing appreciation for the technical support provided to the community which helped them organize the campaign to secure the funds needed to save the farm. 

 

The Trustees of Reservations and the Rochester Land Trust are also giving free one-year memberships to every resident of Rochester in further appreciation of their role in protecting the farm.  The membership offer will be mailed in the coming weeks, according to Steve Sloan, Area Manager for The Trustees.

 

Notes

1. About The Trustees of Reservations

The Trustees of Reservations has been conserving the best of the Massachusetts landscape since 1891, making us one of the nation’s oldest conservation organizations. Our mission is to preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts and to protect special places across the state. From the mountains of the Berkshires to the beaches of Cape Cod and the Islands, we have helped protect more than 50,000 acres, including 23,300 acres on 94 reservations that are open to the public. We are a nonprofit organization funded entirely by our visitors, supporters, and more than 40,000 members. For more information, visit www.thetrustees.org or call 508/679-2115.

 

2.   Digital photographs of the farm are available upon request.

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