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Dedicated to protecting the working lands, native habitats and rural beauty of the Hilltowns since 1986

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You are here: Home / Announcements / 160 Acres of Wetlands, Trails, & Glacial Boulders Conserved

160 Acres of Wetlands, Trails, & Glacial Boulders Conserved

March 30, 2024

A sunrise over distant hills casts beams of light across a foggy wetland,.
Sears Meadow, part of a recent conservation project in Ashfield and Goshen. Photo by Bob Labrie @bob.labrie.photo

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.

Margaret Waggoner, seen from the shoulders up wearing a blue shirt and a bucket hat, smiles into the camera.
Margaret Waggoner

“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.

A warmly dressed man poses with his arms flung open, gazing up at a giant snow-ringed boulder.
One of the land’s many glacial erratics – Phil Pless of Ashfield Trails for scale.

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.”

A lush verdant wetland, seen from a bird's-eye drone view.
Sears Meadow, core habitat partially conserved through Margaret’s gift. Photo by Bob Labrie @bob.labrie.photo

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.

A map of the Waggoner parcels titled "Waggoner Land 160 Acres, Ashfield and Goshen." The map shows BioMap core habitat and critical natural landscapes, which congregate around the southern edge of the parcel.
This map shows ecologically significant habitat, highlighted in teal and light green. The Waggoner parcels are outlined in red.

“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.”

Margaret Waggoner, seen from behind, walks along a path in the woods using a walking stick. She is dress in jeans and a red top with a red vest. Next to her is a long rock wall, and she is surrounded by autumn leaves on the trees.
Margaret Waggoner in her woods.

Filed Under: Announcements, Conservation Stories, Newsletter, Our Protected Lands

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Pottery and Poetry for Land Conservation
Pottery and Poetry for Land Conservation
Jul 28th, 2024    
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Stonepool Pottery
  • Family Fun
  • Partnership Event
Our 3rd annual pottery fundraiser is back at the scenic Stonepool Pottery in Worthington! Join Hilltown Land Trust and local potter Emmett Leader at the [...]
More Info
Events on Jul 28th, 2024
Pottery and Poetry for Land Conservation
Pottery and Poetry for Land Conservation
28 Jul 24
Worthington
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