State awards $2.8M to protect land near water supplies

(Photo courtesy The Trust for Public Land)

Land in Rutland that will be protected by the grant program.

By Globe Staff

More than 390 acres of land near public drinking water supplies will be protected from development as a result of $2.76 million in grants, state environmental officials said today.

The nine state grants will help municipalities shield the land, covering up to half of the total project costs.

"Conserving key parcels of land is vital to ensuring that we will always have an abundant suply of clean water -- our most precious resource," Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles said in a statement.

The land can be protected either through direct acquisition or conservation restrictions, state officials said. Over the past three years, the state has invested more than $5.8 million to help protect 1,372 acres.

Land in Ashby, Ashburnham, Rutland, Sudbury, Cohasset, Ipswich, Marshfield, Medfield, and Salisbury will be protected through the program, the officials said.

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