TARR AND STANLEY ANNOUNCE $45,000 GRANT TO ESSEX COUNTY GREENBELT ASSOCIATION

1/9/07 

BOSTON- Senate Assistant Minority Leader, Bruce E. Tarr (R-Gloucester) and Representative Harriett L. Stanley (D-West Newbury) announce that the Essex County Greenbelt Association will be receiving a $45,000 grant from the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) to go towards the Wet Meadows South – Common Pasture Project.  The grant money will be used to acquire 46 acres of land in the Town of Newbury

“Newbury is taking action to preserve its character and protect the environment.  This grant supports that leadership,” said Tarr.  “Newbury is one of the Commonwealth's oldest, most historic communities and this grant will help preserve that,” said Stanley.

The grant money is being provided through the Conservation Partnership Grant Program, which is administered by EOEA, and which assists non-profit conservation organizations to protect, conserve and restore the Commonwealth’s natural resources.  The grant recipient money will be going to the Essex County Greenbelt Association (http://www.ecga.org/), is a nonprofit regional last trust dedicate to conserving the open space heritage of Essex County.

The criteria that the Wet Meadows South – Common Pasture Project was judged on include; the ability to conserve biodiversity, protection of water quality, the promotion of recreational opportunities, the conservation of working farms and forests, as well as the ability to provide appropriate public access.

 The acquisition of the Wet Meadows parcel will be a tremendous asset not only to the Town of Newbury but to Essex County as a whole.  David Santomenna, Director of Land Conservation at Greenbelt said, “We are deeply appreciative for the grant we received from the Conservation Partnership program, and for the support that Senator Tarr and Representative Stanley lent to our application.  We are also grateful to the many private individuals, local businesses and foundations that together with the state provided the $150,000 that we required to protect this land.  The Wet Meadows and the larger Common Pasture area are some of the most significant areas in Essex County for conservationists, so this is indeed a landmark acquisition for Greenbelt and our other conservation partners, including the Parker River Clean Water Association and the Trust for Public Land.”

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