Farms: Valley Post Radio 1-1-17

For more information on these and other articles please visit ValleyPost.org Transcript: Gil Wermeling: This is Valley Post Radio. My name is Gil Wermeling. Find more of our stories on ValleyPost.org. GW: A large part of environmental activism involves lobbying the government for funds to provide to Land trusts and Conservancies. In the Pioneer Valley and surrounding area, the work of these activists is paying off. GW: According to Emily McAdoo, The Putney Mountain Association, recently signed purchase and sale agreements for 182 acres of land along and around the West Cliff trail in Brookline, Vermont, near Brattleboro. GW: In Keene, New Hampshire the Monadnock Conservancy recieved $1.2 million on December 21 from the federal government to save farmland in New Hampshire near Keene and Brattleboro, especially farms along the Ashuelot, Connecticut and Contoocook rivers. The Conservancy said it would save at least 1,000 acres with the money, and another 1,700 or more acres with state money and private donations. GW: In Amherst, the Kestrel Trust secured funding to protect more than 1,000 acres across the Valley this year, according to a December 23 e-mail from the group's director, Kristin DeBoer. GW: Much of New England is made up of second-growth forest. This means that after severe logging wiped out the original tree populations many years ago conservation efforts have allowed a new, vibrant re-growth of trees. It is the continual goal of trusts and conservancies to ensure the continued healthy development of these lands and defend them from developers who would rip them up again. GW: For more information on these and other articles please visit our website at ValleyPost.org. My name is Gil Wermeling. This has been Valley Post Radio.