Concord’s Commitment to Conservation

BY SAM COPELAND

When someone says, “Concord is a special place,” they could likely be referring to its history, whether that be its role in the American Revolution or its literary tradition. But those things belong, after all, to the past, and so they are more reasons for saying Concord was a special place than that it is. Many towns have history, especially in New England, but few of them, like Concord, retain the sense of a living historical legacy. Concord, then, is a special place, as much as it was a special place, because of a long and ongoing tradition of conservation. Conservation in Concord means caring both for historical sites and indigenous natural beauty, protecting lands from development, and keeping away pollution and invasive species. The shared commitment of residents, nonprofits, and state agencies has made the quality and extent of conservation in Concord exceptional, or, put otherwise, special.

Like everything else in Concord, its conservation has a deep history. In fact, the conservation movement in Concord is arguably as old as the modern conservation movement itself. The writings of the Transcendentalists were among the first to champion the preservation of nature against encroachments from industry. Thoreau’s maxim, “In wildness is the preservation of the world,” continues to be a mission statement for conservationists all over the world. But the Transcendentalists did not only write about conservation. When, in 1879, the State of Massachusetts announced the extension of the Lexington and Arlington Railroad to where it would destroy a wooded area in Concord called the Leaning Hemlocks, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Amos Bronson Alcott, and others signed a petition against “building the new line through what is to us and to all lovers of nature most precious ground.”

Henry David Thoreau

The foundations for the conservation movement in Concord have consistently been laid by private individuals. A generation after the Transcendentalists, American ornithologist William Brewster purchased the land known as October Farm to protect it from being developed. Many of Concord’s historical sites, like the Old Manse and Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, were cared for by private families before being handed over to conservatorial organizations. More recently, in 1989, over 60 acres of the woods around Walden Pond came under threat when a real estate company proposed to bulldoze it and build offices and condos. The National Trust for Historic Preservation had listed Walden Woods as one of America’s most endangered historic places when Don Henley of the Eagles heard about the controversy. Henley, who had been inspired by Thoreau’s writings as a college student, brought together celebrities like Billy Joel and Meryl Streep to raise the money to buy the property and found the Walden Woods Project, a nonprofit that conserves the land to this day.

But it is everyday residents of Concord who form the lifeblood of conservation efforts. “A lot of Massachusetts towns value their history,” says David Santomenna, associate director of the Trustees of Reservations, “But Concord takes it to the next level.” The land trusts active in Concord work with volunteers to maintain protected lands and educate the public about them. Every year volunteers participate in efforts like the Concord Bird Count and the Assabet River Cleanup. Small, community-led initiatives, such as clearing away invasive plants like the vine bittersweet, are not uncommon either. Whether they are marching in the Earth Day Parade, voting in environmental laws at Town Meeting, or picking up litter, the people of Concord consistently show a deep concern for the beauty and conservation of the town. As important as are the large-scale efforts, it is the persistent attention of the residents of Concord, born of a longstanding culture of conservation, that keeps the town exceptionally well conserved.

Volunteers at the 24th Annual Assabet River Cleanup

©David Griffin Photography

The history and ongoing culture of conservation have left Concord with an extensive and varied range of protected lands. Organizations at the local, state, and national levels all own and manage lands in Concord. The Concord Land Trust keeps nearly 1,000 acres of land, including Wright Woods and Upper Spencer Brook Valley; the Sudbury Valley Trustees steward the lands of Gowing’s Swamp and Dugan Kames; the Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations keep the land surrounding the Old Manse and part of the land of Estabrook Woods; and the National Park Service maintains the land of Minute Man National Historical Park by the Old North Bridge. Other institutions conduct conservation programs in Concord as well, such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Refuge, and Harvard University. Their protected lands are not only for the preservation of ecosystems, they are also open to the public, and many of them have extensive trails. These trails have been an invaluable resource to the people of Concord during the pandemic when quarantine would otherwise have meant being cramped inside all day.

Concord has long received praise for its exceptional conservation efforts. In 1999, when the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers were designated as part of the National Wild and Scenic River System, then-president Bill Clinton commented how “the rivers are remarkably undeveloped” and expressed his confidence in “the strong local support and commitment for preservation.” Christa Collins, director of land protection for the Sudbury Valley Trustees, holds a similar sentiment, saying, “We have a really rich history here of people who were observing and caring for the environment. And then to have all the conservation groups working here makes it an incredibly unique place.” But the true testament to Concord’s history of conservation is the land itself, whose beauty is available to anyone fortunate enough to be near it.

Concord is a town that has been blessed with a rich history and a beautiful natural environment. But these blessings cannot be enjoyed without the efforts of the townspeople to conserve them. In that sense, Concord is also a town that is blessed with a certain kind of townspeople, people who care deeply for conservation. This culture of conservation has deep roots that are as old as the modern conservation movement itself, going all the way back to Concord’s great nature writers like Emerson and Thoreau. The culture has only grown since then, and it has brought with it countless conservation efforts involving all manner of groups and institutions. Concord’s commitment to conservation is bound to continue and grow, as the pandemic has shown more than ever the value of protected lands. And so what is special about Concord will belong to the future as much as it does to the present and past.

Sam Copeland is a Concord native and a writer based in New Yor

Find more fascinating articles in the complete 2021 Guide to the Great Outdoors here: discoverconcordma.com.