Effort seeks to preserve historic Common Pasture
Landscape tied to Colonial era
Since Colonial times, farmers have used the pasture land on the border of Newbury and Newburyport as a grazing ground for livestock and a place to grow hay.
Now the mostly undeveloped area, historically known as the Common Pasture, is the focus of a coordinated land preservation effort. Several private organizations are working with Newburyport and Newbury to protect a 640-acre section of the 1,500 acres that comprise the Common Pasture.
''This is a landscape that people in Newbury and Newburyport really cherish," said Mary Harbaugh, a member of the Newburyport Open Space Committee. ''It's a link to our 300-year-old history and it's just beautiful."
The Common Pasture extends from Scotland Road in Newbury in the south to Hale Street and Crow Lane in Newburyport in the north. It is bordered on the east by residential and industrial development, and stretches west across Interstate 95 into West Newbury. The vast majority of it is privately owned. The 640 acres cover land south of Hale Street, north of Scotland Road, and east of I-95.
An informal coalition began meeting about three years ago to discuss preserving the pasture.
Its effort took on a sense of urgency last year, participants say, when the owner of 22 acres of land within the Common Pasture filed for permits to build houses on the site. The land, owned by William Herrick III of Rowley, is located on Scotland Road in Newburyport and Newbury.
Essex County Greenbelt, a regional land trust and a coalition member, sought assistance from the Trust for Public Land in negotiating a purchase of the Herrick land, said David Santomenna, Greenbelt's director of land conservation. The Trust for Public Land, a national organization with expertise in complicated land preservation deals, agreed to help.
Santomenna said it was decided that the acquisition of the Herrick site should be part of a larger effort to protect the Common Pasture. The 640-acre section was chosen because the land is contiguous, is not bisected by any roads, and has common features.
The Trust for Public Land drew up a plan to protect the 640-acre section, which has separate parcels with about 14 different owners. Under the plan, the two communities or private groups would purchase some of the properties and acquire legal restrictions barring development on others.
The Common Pasture is so named because dating back to the area's settlement in the 1630s it was held and used in common. Today, it is a collection of open fields, forested land, wetland, and farmland used for grazing and haying. The land is visible to motorists on their right as they head north on I-95.
''Many people find that coming back to the area is like coming home," said Christopher LaPointe, a field representative for the Trust for Public Land. ''It's really a signature landscape for the region. . . . At certain times of the year, it almost looks like the Serengeti. There's just beautiful grassland and wetland resources out there."
''It's important to a lot of different groups for a lot of different reasons," he said. Some are ''attracted to the historic significance," he said, while others appreciate that ''there are still working farms out there."
For some, especially the birding community, ''this is a tremendous natural resource," LaPointe said, pointing out the variety of animal and plant life that inhabits the area, including rare birds and turtles.
LaPointe said the area is also valued because of its contribution to water quality. The land filters rainwater that drains into the Little River, which crosses it. The Little River is a major tributary to the Parker River, which flows into Plum Island Sound.
Growth pressures make much of the land vulnerable to development, LaPointe said. Last year, the organization PreservationMass included the Common Pasture on its list of the state's ''Ten Most Endangered Historic Resources."
The Herrick land purchase is part of the first phase of the plan. The Trust for Ppublic Land has negotiated an agreement with Herrick that gives the two communities an option through Sept. 30 to purchase the land for $725,000.
Also as part of the first phase, the Trust for Public Land is seeking an option for the communities to purchase a 172-acre parcel east of the Herrick site, while Greenbelt is working to have a 50-acre Newbury farm included in a state agricultural protection program.
A second phase calls for efforts to acquire three additional parcels totaling 351 acres.
The plan outlines $4.3 million in potential funding sources to accomplish those two phases. Newburyport and Newbury would contribute $500,000 apiece, and state, federal, and private funds would be sought for the rest.
LaPointe said that if the purchase of the Herrick land occurs, it could build momentum to protect other parcels. ''It's a step-wise process," he said. ''You reach a milestone and build off of that."
The coalition is asking the two communities to provide $700,000 by this fall to enable the Herrick land purchase to occur ($500,000 would come from Newbury and $200,000 from Newburyport).
Vincent Russo, chairman of the Newbury Board of Selectmen, supports the preservation plan. But he doubts residents would support the Proposition 2½ tax override he said would be needed for Newbury to cover its $500,000 share.
As an alternative way to raise the money, Russo said, he is establishing a Newbury Charitable Trust, which could be tapped for the Common Pasture project and other needs.
Newburyport's Community Preservation Committee is considering a proposal that the city use $200,000 this year and $300,000 next year from its Community Preservation Fund to meet its $500,000 share of the project.
Project supporters hope to raise enough in private funds to reduce the amount the two communities have been asked to raise.
LaPointe is impressed with the interest the project is generating.
''People are very excited about the potential to preserve this landscape," he said. ''It's an area near and dear to the hearts of many." 