Westport land trust granted conservation restriction on Drift Road

Owner donates restriction on Kirby Brook property to land conservation trust

By Ted Hayes
Posted 11/21/22

The owner of a 24-acre parcel at 333 Drift Road has donated a conservation restriction to the Westport Land Conservation Trust, agreeing to keep the land in a protected state forever.

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Westport land trust granted conservation restriction on Drift Road

Owner donates restriction on Kirby Brook property to land conservation trust

Posted

The owner of a 24-acre parcel at 333 Drift Road has donated a conservation restriction to the Westport Land Conservation Trust, agreeing to keep the land in a protected state forever.

Apart from other means of protecting property, done either on its own or with assistance from the Town of Westport's Community Preservation Committee, the trust also accepts land conservation restrictions donated by landowners. Though it doesn't happen as often as it used to, that's what happened in this case, said the trust's executive director, Ross Moran.

"The owner recognized the value" of the land and approached the trust earlier this year, Moran said. "It was very generous."

The land's protection amounts to a major win for Westport's natural resources, Moran told the select board last week, as it contains Kirby Brook, a cold water stream that flows into some of the best and most pristine marshlands on the Westport River's East Branch. It also contains a 'critical mass' of brook trout, as documented last year by a state biologist.

"Preserving properties like this and preserving (Kirby Brook) is important from a climate resiliency perspective," Moran said. "If you look at the mouth of Kirby Brook and go about a mile south of it ... it has some of the best salt marsh still left in the East Branch. So preserving some of the fresh water that is coming out of Kirby Brook is really important in retaining that salt marsh."

The land is the former site of a small dairy farm, and under the terms of the deal, the owner will continue to own the property, though the trust holds the conservation restriction on it.

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