Waskosims Rock Reservation, Chilmark, permanently protected with VCS help The Vineyard Conservation Society has been working with families and government agencies to protect land on Martha’s Vineyard since 1965. The Island of Martha’s Vineyard is about 57,000 acres in size. Conservation efforts over the last century have resulted in protection of about a third of it, but much of the Island remains vulnerable to new development. Only about a quarter of the Vineyard is actually “built out” to the limits of current zoning. Subdivision of remaining vacant land could double existing dwelling units on the island: The 2014 Land Tally
Total acreage: 57,067
Acres conserved, by town
All stats from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission Our concern is the cumulative impact of such land use.
Each new structure contributes to habitat fragmentation and the erosion
of the remaining open space inventory. More, and bigger, houses means
more people, more cars, more pressure on infrastructure, more septic
systems polluting our fragile coastal ponds, and more contentious
development disputes.
Ways to Protect Land
Conservation Restriction (CR)A conservation restriction (CR) is a landowner's voluntary agreement to restrict development of private land. It is a contract between a property owner and a conservation entity designed to protect the important natural attributes of the land by tailoring what kinds of uses or development, if any, will be allowed to take place in the future.
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