By order of the state: no hustle, no bustle

Fields along Route 2 (above) and School Street (below) in Acton and land in Concord have been given open-space protection by the state. (Photos by Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)

The rural landscape along Routes 2 and 2A in Acton and Concord, seasonally dotted with rows of cornstalks, cows feeding, and children playing soccer, will not change any time soon.

After nearly four years of talks between several state agencies, legislators, municipal leaders, and environmental groups, 215 acres owned by the Department of Correction will be permanently protected by law as open space. The acreage is split nearly equally between Acton and Concord.

"Route 2 has been able to retain its character as a rural highway without any McDonald's or Home Depots, and this continues that rural character," said state Representative Jamie Eldridge, an Acton Democrat who cosponsored the legislation. "The traffic is already bad, but this will ensure that it won't get worse and won't become a Route 9."

The bill protecting the farmland was pushed by the local legislative delegation including Eldridge, Democratic senators Susan Fargo of Lincoln and Pamela Resor of Acton, and Representative Cory Atkins, a Concord Democrat. It was signed by Governor Deval Patrick this summer, and state and local officials recently gathered at the soccer fields along School Street in Acton to mark the designation. The fields are part of the state property that will now be protected.

"Protecting this land took a great deal of collaboration from private and public stakeholders," Fargo said in a statement. "As partners, we all wanted one thing, to preserve this land under the state Constitution so that future generations can enjoy it, and we have succeeded."

Now, only a super-majority vote of the Legislature could change the open space designation.

The land, which will remain in the control of the Department of Correction, has historically been used for farming and as a buffer to neighborhoods adjacent to the prison property.

The original property was acquired with the construction of MCI-Concord, a medium-security prison, in 1873. Additional parcels were obtained in the 1930s allowing for the construction in 1932 of Northeast Correctional Center, which houses minimum-security and prerelease inmates.

That facility was, until recently, the location of one of the last herds of dairy cattle in the prison system, supported by the fields and grazing land within its grounds.

Currently, the correctional center uses an inmate work crew to grow feed crops for the cattle that reside at the farm there, said Diane Wiffin, a spokeswoman for the Correction Department. The state also leases parcels to Acton for soccer fields and local farmers, including Eric Nelson, owner of Cucurbit Farm in Acton. Arena Farms in Concord used to lease some of the land before closing its doors last year.

"Farmland is really scarce so when you can find land like that, it's really good," said Nelson, who leases about 45 acres to grow corn and pumpkins. Nelson owns land in Acton but uses the additional acreage to supplement his business.

"That land is close to the farm and it's pretty nice land," Nelson said. "It's a huge benefit to us."

Eldridge, who was elected earlier this month to succeed Resor in the Senate, said the legislation was initiated by lawmakers who wanted to make sure the land would not be developed. He said there was some concern several years ago when Mitt Romney, the former governor, announced plans to sell surplus land to make up a budget deficit.

Eldridge said the Romney administration was targeting land in nearby communities, so area lawmakers decided to look at ways to protect the Acton and Concord parcel. At the same time, the state Highway Department was looking at plans to reconstruct the rotary there.

"We wanted to make sure we didn't have a situation where a large swath of open space was ruined," said Eldridge, who used to play soccer on the land.

The effort involved the Department of Correction, MassHighway, state environmental officials, conservation groups like the Sudbury Valley Trustees, and local officials.

"Every land conservation project takes a long time and a lot of work, and they are never simple," said Ron McAdow, executive director of the Sudbury Valley Trustees.

In addition to protecting the land, the bill provides a mechanism for the Department of Correction to accept gifts from local land trusts, which will be used to fund prison recycling programs.

Wiffin said the Correction Department has four regional recycling sites, which use existing buildings for the programs. The inmates sort and bale cardboard, metal cans, and paper products, diverting them from the waste stream that exists at each facility. The program reduces the tonnage costs for waste removal at each facility, thus reducing costs throughout the department.

Jennifer Fenn Lefferts can be reached at jflefferts@yahoo.com.