Newly protected Taconic ridgeline as seen from Alford

Key parcel on Taconic Ridgeline protected

In June, the Resources Council made its single-largest conservation investment, purchasing a 632-acre tract of Taconic Range forestland in Alford for $1.1 million from Reed Rubin of New York City.

Six weeks after closing on the purchase, the Council conveyed a conservation restriction on the land to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) for $945,000. The funds for the state's purchase were provided by a grant from the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program.

"This is a key parcel for Alford and the Taconic Range," Ames said. "This parcel commands almost two miles of the beautiful Taconic ridgeline overlooking the Alford Valley. A string of trophy homes up there would have been an abomination." (The property occupies about 80 percent of the ridgeline pictured above.)

"Selling the conservation restriction achieved two things," Ames said. "It gave a fail-safe guarantee that the land will be protected, and, by helping us recoup most of our investment, it gives us the chance to reinvest these funds in another project."

Tad Ames, Peter Milenese, and Daane Crook on the property

"Tremendous thanks and credit for making this work must go to our partners at the Forest Service and DFW, as well as to some exceptionally generous philanthropists."

Apart from protection of the scenic values of the ridgeline, preservation of the land contributes to the protection of wildlife habitat, working forest, and higher elevations of the Scribner and Alford Brook watersheds.

The recent protection of the 950-acre Harvey Mountain State Forest in New York State just over the state line to the north had given added incentive to protect the Rubin tract.

Ames said that along with the Forest Service, The Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation, the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, and an anonymous donor had made significant contributions..

Rubin, the seller, had owned the tract for over 20 years. He made the sale in memory of Phillip Gregory, his father-in-law, a "noted decoy carver and lifelong conservationist."

In June, the Resources Council made its single-largest conservation investment, purchasing a 632-acre tract of Taconic Range forestland in Alford for $1.1 million from Reed Rubin of New York City.

Six weeks after closing on the purchase, the Council conveyed a conservation restriction on the land to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) for $945,000. The funds for the state's purchase were provided by a grant from the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program.

"This is a key parcel for Alford and the Taconic Range," Ames said. "This parcel commands almost two miles of the beautiful Taconic ridgeline overlooking the Alford Valley. A string of trophy homes up there would have been an abomination." (The property occupies about 80 percent of the ridgeline pictured above.)

"Selling the conservation restriction achieved two things," Ames said. "It gave a fail-safe guarantee that the land will be protected, and, by helping us recoup most of our investment, it gives us the chance to reinvest these funds in another project."

"Tremendous thanks and credit for making this work must go to our partners at the Forest Service and DFW, as well as to some exceptionally generous philanthropists."

Apart from protection of the scenic values of the ridgeline, preservation of the land contributes to the protection of wildlife habitat, working forest, and higher elevations of the Scribner and Alford Brook watersheds.

The recent protection of the 950-acre Harvey Mountain State Forest in New York State just over the state line to the north had given added incentive to protect the Rubin tract.

Ames said that along with the Forest Service, The Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation, the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, and an anonymous donor had made significant contributions..

Rubin, the seller, had owned the tract for over 20 years. He made the sale in memory of Phillip Gregory, his father-in-law, a "noted decoy carver and lifelong conservationist."