A Smith professor, nuclear physicist, and passionate lover of the land, Margaret Waggoner always planned to conserve her beloved 160 acres of forest and wetlands in Ashfield and Goshen. In February 2024, more than two years after Margaret’s passing, Hilltown Land Trust permanently conserved these parcels through a Conservation Restriction. The land features 2 miles of hiking trails, to be opened to the public later this year.
“She loved her land,” Margaret’s close friend Melanie Lamere said. “She bought it for the purpose of conservation – before she even purchased it in her 80s, she knew that was her goal.” Margaret knew the woods and wetlands intimately, Melanie added. “She knew every rock, every boulder, every sentry,” Margaret’s term for the gargoyle-like burls she cut out of trees and placed on the massive glacial boulders dotting the land.
The title to Margaret’s land and house will pass temporarily to Smith College, with the sale to a private buyer raising funds for the College. Two miles of trails on the land will be open to the public, and the land permanently protected through the CR. HLT will work with Ashfield Trails, a local nonprofit, to open and maintain the footpaths. A formal opening to the public is expected in summer of this year.
The public trails will add a unique experience for local hikers, where longer out-and-back trails are the norm. “It’s a closed loop with two miles [of trail]. It’s something that’s a lot more doable for a larger part of the population,” said Phil Pless, treasurer of Ashfield Trails.
The land is familiar ground for locals, who have used the trails for hiking and dog walking for years. Margaret wanted people to keep visiting.
“It’s really important for people to know them that behind and around them are places that nobody is going to build on or change,” said Melanie. “Public access is very important” too, she added. “[We don’t want] ‘No Trespassing’ signs where people used to be able to enjoy.”
The land’s many behemoth boulders, deposited by glaciers over 12,000 years ago, are the most striking trailside feature. Sears Meadow, seen through trees from the trail, is a 100-acre wetland partially conserved through this conservation restriction. The wetland, together with the upland forest covering most of the parcel, safeguards water quality, sediment capture, plant and wildlife habitat, and carbon storage – all important buffers against the effects of climate change.
“Hilltown Land Trust is excited to permanently conserve this land, which connects the D.A.R. State Forest to land conserved by MassWildlife and includes a large section of Sears Meadow, an extensive wetland identified as BioMap Core Habitat,” said HLT executive director Sally Loomis . “We’re so grateful Margaret chose to leave a legacy through conservation.”
“She was very private in life, and very generous in death,” said Melanie Lamere of Margaret and her gift. “I hope that it’s utilized and people appreciate the beauty.”
