Mount Washington road frontage protected in perpetuity

Lainey Alexander donates CR in Mount Washington

Lainey Alexander of Mount Washington first contacted BNRC in 2003. She proposed to donate a conservation restriction to BNRC in a town where more than half of the acreage is already conserved, mostly as state forest.

Lainey Alexander

We knew the selectmen were wrestling with revenue shortfalls caused by the commonwealth's PILOT program. PILOT, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes, is a the state's promise to reimburse towns for their tax-exempt state land. Unfortunately, budget woes in Boston have led to PILOT payments that are a fraction of what was promised. That makes it difficult for towns like Mount Washington to balance the budget and makes even conservation-friendly selectmen wary of restrictions that might reduce the taxable value of land.

Lainey's beautiful open field along this mostly forested road was caught in the headlights. After a little explaining and some back-of-the-envelope calculations, the selectmen came down in support of the CR. Thanks to Lainey, BNRC has completed its first project in Mount Washington.