Chichester’s Madeline Sanborn Conservation Area
Submitted By The Chichester Conservation Commission
Map: Chichester Main Street Lands
Marsh Pond looking west
Pond at the Shaw Pasture
Between 1989 and 2003, the Town of Chichester acquired four
contiguous parcels of conservation land located between Main
Street and Marsh Pond. Two of these parcels were donated
for the Town’s enjoyment by Madeline Sanborn in 1989, while two
other contiguous parcels were purchased separately with
conservation funds. These lands altogether have been named
the Madeline Sanborn Conservation Area (MSCA), an area of about
38 acres available to the town for passive recreation, wildlife
viewing, fishing and hunting (except where prohibited due to
deed restrictions). The Town owns an additional 35-acre
parcel nearby north of Main Street, sometimes known as the Shaw
Field, which is open space but is not designated as conservation
land.
In
2017, a 7-acre parcel adjacent to the MSCA was purchased from
the Shaw Family by the Town through the Conservation Commission.
This parcel is familiar to people traveling Main Street as
mixed woods, a small pond, and open field where livestock have
been seen grazing in the past, and has been named the Shaw
Pasture. Corridor 15 snowmobile trail currently traverses
the property. As this parcel is adjacent to the MSCA, it
offers the possibility for better access to other town lands and
Marsh Pond for town residents’ enjoyment. The Conservation
Commission has started mowing and clearing brush from the field,
and hopes to continue to make the land available for mixed
livestock grazing, hiking, and snowmobiling.
The
MSCA has been designated by the Town as a Town Forest, enabling
expenditure of funds from the Forest Maintenance capital reserve
account, established from the proceeds from timber sales, for
land improvements. The Town will consider an article at
2018 Town Meeting to extend the Town Forest designation to the
recently-acquired Shaw Pasture. Other warrant articles
call for appropriation of Forest Maintenance Account funds for
better Main Street vehicular access and additional mowing and
rock removal from the pasture. These improvements will be
carried out using funds from a capital reserve account, and will
have no impact on the property tax rate.