Creating Space for Preserving Land: A Nod to Milton’s Leading Thinkers in the Land Use Movement
W
ith his family, Henry Moulton, Class of 1942, recently placed 75 acres of forestland in northern Massachusetts under the protection of a “conservation easement,” preventing that land from ever being developed. Henry’s research disclosed the facts that his Milton contemporaries Kingsbury Browne ’40 and James C. Dudley ’39 were leaders in the modern land conservation movement. Both men created opportunities for people uninterested in selling land to developers. They developed spaces for different ideas and actions to flourish. Kingsbury, a tax lawyer in a Boston firm, honed an expertise in using conservation easements
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and land trusts to protect property from overdevelopment. In 1982 he was instrumental in forming the Land Trust Alliance, and served as its general counsel for ten years. The organization, which “promotes voluntary private land conservation to benefit communities and natural systems,” now represents over 1,700 local and state land trusts that have conserved over 47 million acres. The Alliance presents an annual award known as the Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award to honor “outstanding leadership, innovation and creativity in land conservation.” (landtrustalliance.org) In the forefront of today’s advocacy for increased protection of forestland is the Harvard
Forest, a department of Harvard University that comprises 3,500 acres of land, research facilities and the Fisher Museum. The Highstead Arboretum, founded by Jim Dudley ’39 in 1982, is a partner of Harvard Forest.
on building upon the organization’s success, initiated a new effort to engage in meaningful ways in the conservation of woodlands and natural landscapes at local, regional and national scales.
Jim, an investment advisor, and his wife, Elisabeth, created the Highstead Arboretum in Redding, Connecticut, 30 years ago. It is a “sanctuary for the study and appreciation of woodland plants and habitats;” its mission, “to inspire curiosity and build knowledge about plants and wooded landscapes in order to enhance life, preserve nature and advance sound stewardship practices.” (highsteadarboretum. org) In 2005 the Highstead board, intent
“In a book published by the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 1965, there was reference to the ‘young, energetic bird men associated with the Massachusetts Audubon Society… from Milton Academy,’” Henry says. “Forest preservation is apparently another cause that drew to it Milton graduates of a bygone era.” Diane Pierce-Williams