What is conservation?
“Conservation” is defined as the long-term preservation and protection of the natural environment, ensuring that the natural habitat of an area is maintained for many reasons, including preserving ecological diversity and unique cultural and historic resources, as well as keeping our beautiful vistas.
Why do we need to be concerned about conservation land?
Beyond the pleasure it brings us to see beautiful landscapes and have a peaceful place to walk, protecting our natural resources affects our quality of life in many ways.
The outdoor experience. Conservation land provides a place for observing nature—bird watching, finding animal tracks, and watching the plants leaf out, flower, produce fruit, and then get ready for winter. It is a place for physical exercise, such as hiking, running, skiing, and biking. Remnants of past eras, like old stone walls and foundations can be kept undisturbed for future generations to observe.
Preserving natural resources. Undeveloped land provides habitat for wildlife. Only undisturbed land can provide a place for native plants and animals to thrive in suburbia. Natural ecosystems on conservation lands filter groundwater. Forests, fields, agricultural areas allow the storm water and snow melt to soak in and replenish groundwater supplies. Undisturbed wetlands help control flood waters, prevent flood damage, and control erosion.
Protecting our drinking water. In Carlisle, we are particularly vulnerable to land use changes that affect our groundwater resources. We rely on private wells and therefore are dependent on the purifying and replenishing effects of natural ecosystems for keeping the water supply safe and plentiful.
Stewardship. Preserving land means that future generations will have access to the natural environments and the beautiful vistas that present generations enjoy. Once land is developed, its character is changed forever.
What is stewardship?
Maintaining the character of the town. Carlisle’s character and value derive, in large part, from its quaint New England landscape—rock walls, antique farmsteads, ponds, cornfields, cows, horses, forests and open fields—as if the urban landscape were far away. Carlisle has managed to maintain that charming, rural town flavor.
Managing inevitable changes. Development pressures are constantly eroding these treasures. As each farmstead and forested parcel is sold for development, subdivisions replace rock-lined pastures and forests. It is a source of pride to Carlisle residents that they have had the vision to acquire tracts of land to preserve for conservation purposes. This forethought has given us the conservation lands we currently have. It is important to continue to preserve land, but it is equally important to maintain the integrity of the conservation parcels we already have and enjoy. Maintaining conservation land not only protects our natural resources, but also protects the character of the town, which is a large part of why residents have chosen to live in Carlisle.
Conservation lands need advocates. Stewardship activities are important to maintain the integrity of the conservation properties for the next generation. Stewardship also involves the support of efforts to preserve additional parcels we consider too good to lose to soften the blows that are inevitably going to change the face of our town. Anyone can be a land steward by supporting town efforts to maintain conservation lands and advocating for new acquisitions of ecologically and culturally important parcels.
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