State Sen. Jamie Eldridge has announced that the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has approved a Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) grant of $500,000 to help Acton preserve Wetherbee Woods. Working as the Acton delegation, Eldridge and state Reps. Simon Cataldo and Dan Sena collaborated on the effort to obtain the grant.
According to a press release on September 24, the EEA described the project, saying: “This purchase will conserve critical habitat, including sensitive wetlands, vernal pools, as well as provide flood protection along the Nashoba Brook. The property expands a network of 315+ acres of adjacent protected land and abuts the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. This acquisition will protect mature second-growth forests and historic features including a stone-lined natural spring. ”
The Town will be the buyer of the 33-acre open space that abuts Wetherbee Conservation Land and the funds will be supplemented with the $500,000 LAND grant from the Commonwealth and a $100,000 donation from Acton Conservation Trust (ACT). The Town has been working with ACT and the Open Space Committee on this project since 2018. (ACT has been working on it since 2001.)
As documented on the ACT website, the land includes historical elements, such as a stone-lined catchment; a possible viewing connection to the Rail Trail; and animal habitats. Captain Thomas Wheeler may have created the stone lined catchment, related to providing a water source for a stable. Wheeler was a herdsman for the Town of Concord, responsible for protecting fifty herds of cattle from wild beasts at night, according to a plaque that commemorates the location of Wheeler’s house nearby at 8 Alcott St.
A Special Town Meeting that will be held on Monday, November 25 will include a vote on the Wetherbee property purchase.
Janet Furey is a retired English teacher and serves Acton Exchange as a copy editor and sometimes writer.