Two Properties
Are Protected
From Development

The Vermont Land Trust announced this week that it has finalized two conservation agreements in Central Vermont. The easements will protect rural land in Barnard and East Brookfield from development.

The 483 acres of the Clark farm in Barnard were protected by a $500,000 conservation easement to the Land Trust. In Brookfield, Clotilde Hryshko and Jim Merriam donated an easement on their 92-acre vegetable farm to the Land Trust, which holds easements on two other properties in Brookfield.

In Brookfield—

The high quality agricultural soils of Clotilde Hryshko and Jim Merriam's 92-acre vegetable farm produces enough food for a 60-member buying club.

Crop rotation, cover crops and weed control are all a part of their careful management practices. In recent years, the East Brookfield couple has investigated ways to ensure long-term stewardship of their fertile valley land. Last week they finalized those plans by donating a conservation easement on their farm to the Vermont Land Trust.

Citing the reasons for the donation, Merriam commented "Clotilde and I strongly believe in the preservation of a working landscape. By conserving the land, we hope it will continue to be farmed, sugared, and hunted for generations to come. This opportunity supports that commitment and the land trust made it easy to put altogether."  

Camp Merrishko, as their farm is known, is located on both sides of Route 14 south of the village of East Brookfield. Most of their vegetable fields lie west of the road, between it and the meandering channel of the Second Branch of the White River.

The majority of their acreage, which is a forest of mixed hardwoods and softwoods, is east of Route 14, rising up the flanks of the hills that line the valley.

Hryshko and Merriam are the third landowners in Brookfield to conserve their land by donating a conservation easement to the Vermont Land Trust. Two years ago, Bill Council donated an easement on 55 acres just east of the Merriam-Hryshko property, and in 1999, Frank and Helen Eccles conserved 75 acres near West Brookfield village.

The Vermont Land Trust helps landowners and communities conserve land through the use of conservation easements. Landowners use easements to voluntarily limit development on productive farmland and forestland, and other meaningful natural and community places. Landowners continue to own, manage, and pay taxes on the land and can sell their land; however, the conservation easement permanently remains on the property.

Under the easement, Camp Merrishko will remain a "working" property, with vegetable farming., timber management, and sugaring.

"Conservation easements are a great way for private landowners to make sure the land they own and love isn't radically changed in the future" commented Mark McEathron, the land trust’s Central Vermont director. "VLT holds easements on nearly 1500 properties, which indicates that a lot of landowners care deeply about their land and the landscape of Vermont."

As the snows of December continue to mount, covering the greenhouses, open fields and forest at Camp Merrishko, the seed catalogues for next years’ vegetables have already been opened. When the snow melts, the farm will look just the way it does each spring, and the easement ensure the property will continue to be this way for a long time to come.

In Barnard—

The Clark family’s 483-acre farm in Barnard will remain in agricultural use in perpetuity, thanks to a conservation agreement recently finalized with the Vermont Land Trust (VLT).

This conservation effort was extraordinary in that more than one-fifth of the $500,000 needed to purchase the conservation easement was contributed by Barnard residents.

With an early, large grant from the Freeman foundation and a $75,000 commitment from the Barnard Conservation Commission, community members donated the final $110,000 needed in order for VLT to purchase the conservation easement on this property. More than 100 individuals from Barnard stepped forward with gifts, ranging from $5 to an anonymous donor’s $50,000 contribution.

Elise Annes, VLT’s community relations officer, noted that gifts have continued to come in for the Clark Farm and, once all the appraisal work is completed, funds raised over the project costs will go back into Barnard Conservation Fund, which was exhausted for the conservation of the Clark Farm.

"It was an amazing show of support from so many people that made it happen," said Tom Platner, Chair of the Barnard Conservation Commission. "As of this week one of Barnard’s most important pieces of land is protected."

The Clark Farm is an operating dairy farm with 95 acres of hay meadow and 60 acres of pasture, nearly all of which are classified as statewide-important agricultural soils. The remaining 328 acres are forested and in excellent condition.

The Clark Farm has remained relatively unchanged since 1951. The family milks approximately 30 cows and raises young stock on site.

Last year, the five Clark siblings decided to investigate conservation opportunities with VLT, and in October they signed a purchase and sales agreement with the Vermont Land Trust to permanently conserve nearly the entire farm. 

The Clarks agreed to a conservation easement for $460,000, a price far below its actual value. Legal, appraisal, stewardship endowment, closing, and administrative costs brought the total amount to $500,000.

According to a VLT release, the agreement balances the five siblings’ great desire to see the farm conserved, while recognizing the infrastructure needs of future farmers of the land.

To ensure that the farm will always be affordable for farmers to purchase, VLT will maintain the right to buy the farm at its agricultural value if a potential buyer is a non-farmer.

Additionally, since future farm owners may wish to focus their management solely on farmland, the agreement allows the eastern block of 200 acres of conserved forest to be sold separately, yet remain protected by the conservation easement.

In an effort to combine the interests of the current owners with those of future owners and to address financial considerations, the easement will allow the construction of a second house in the main farm building complex area, as well as the sale of two house lots in a wooded area fronting Royalton Turnpike.

The easement also allows construction of a size-limited house, exclusively for Dwight Clark, in a location that cannot be seen from the road.

"Conserving the farmland is important for the local community farming heritage, and keeping the land productive is critical to Vermont’s future," said Mark McEathron, VLT’s Central Vermont director. "That’s why conserving a farm such as this is especially important."