Hardy family conserves 63 Alford acres

This spring Louise Hardy and her brother Rolf, both long time residents of Alford Valley, donated a conservation restriction on 63 acres on East Road in Alford. The Hardy conservation restriction was donated jointly to BNRC and the Alford Land Trust. It protects a 900 foot corridor along Alford Brook as well as the surrounding forested wetlands and uplands. The brook’s cool clean water is critical for brook trout and is an important contributor to the Green River Infiltration Gallery, part of the Great Barrington water supply. The land is adjacent to a 97-acre property which was placed under a conservation restriction in 1999 by Charles and Josephine Gardner. Preservation of the two adjacent parcels (Gardner and Hardy) adds to the relative value of each by protecting more than 150 acres of open space in the center of the valley.