InFocus featuring Kristin DeBoer (Kestral Land Trust)

From the 22 News Plus studio, this is 22 News In Focus with Patrick Berry. Good morning everyone and welcome to this edition of In Focus. I'm your host Patrick Berry. You know one of the amazing things and beneficial things about living where we do here in the Pioneer Valley is there are great places to go outside. Wilderness, ponds, hiking trails, and whatever it might be. And those don't happen by accident. There are organizations across the state that maintain open space so that it's preserved for future generations to come. And I'm excited today because joining across the desk from me to talk about some of those open spaces is Kristen DeBoer. She is the Executive Director of the Kestrel Land Trust. Kristen, thank you very much for joining me. I appreciate you coming in and giving me some of your time. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. I know nothing about the Kestrel Land Trust. Is that normal that a lot of people don't know about the organization and what you do? I think a lot of people have an idea that forests and farms may be protected or sort of take it for granted that forests and farms will always be there. What they don't know is that there are, as you say, a lot of grassroots organizations working to make that happen. And our job is to work in partnership with municipalities, the state, landowners, and communities to ensure that those special places remain for the future. So where do those... We're not making more land. So where do the properties, if that's the right term, where do the properties come from? Are they formerly state properties or are they formerly private properties that turn to state or Kestrel-owned properties? Well, so most land in Massachusetts is privately owned and landowners have a choice to conserve their land permanently for the future. And they can do that in different ways. They can sell their land to the state or to a town to create a conservation area. So you think of places that we all know and love, like now Holy Range State Park, now Tom's State Park, even the Quabbin Reservoir. So they all went from private ownership to state ownership over time. And Kestrel is often facilitating those acquisitions. And then farmland is mostly in private hands and farmers have a choice to sell the development rights, but retain ownership of the farm. So they can keep farming, but they get some financial incentives to ensure that the land remains as a farm forever. So when you say development rights, you don't mean track homes? I do, housing development. So we appraise land and about 80% of the value of land is the potential for sprawl and housing. And then the landowner retains about 20% of the value, but they retain ownership for either forestry or for farms. So land can be conserved with private landowners, and that's often who we work with. It really depends on their willingness. So we're not regulatory in any way. So land trusts are really community-based grassroots organizations. Kestrel serves the entire Connecticut River Valley, but we were founded in Amherst in 1970. So we were one of the first land trusts in the valley, but there are many and Massachusetts is really lucky to have so many great land trusts all around the state. And we work together often to conserve forests and farms and parks and trails for people who live here. What was the reasoning or the impetus for creating the Kestrel Land Trust? Was it a desire of a group of people coming together to say, we need to keep these outdoor spaces open? Yeah. Well, in 1970, some people might remember it was the first Earth Day. And so there was a consciousness that we were losing some open space that was really vital to our lives. And there was a couple, Janet Dakin and Toby Dakin, who were two Amherst residents who were really involved in civic activities and involved with the town. And so they worked with the town to create many conservation areas and protect farmland in Amherst, which was really growing fast because of the university, UMass there. And so they succeeded in creating a lot and Kestrel was behind the scenes. And then we started serving other towns. So we really are focused in rural areas like Pelham and Belchertown, West Hampton, but we also work with urban communities like Holyoke and North Hampton. So let me ask, how did you get involved? Were you, you know, a young elementary school kid, you know, in the seventies and, you know, enjoy being outdoors and thought, you know, looking back as an adult going, I love that so much. I want to, I want to preserve that. Well, I think we all have stories of special places that have influenced us, whether it's a stream or a forest. You know, I used to play in the backyard of my grandmother's house in the stream with my cousins. And that was something that has always stayed with me. I grew up in New Jersey though. A lot of, a lot of farms have been lost and there's not, we don't, there's not the remnants of that rural landscape that we still have here in the Valley. So I've, I've actually been the executive director for 20 years with Kestrel and it's the best job I could imagine because it's, it's what I love to do and land conservation matters to so many people in so many places. And so it's a chance to make a difference in people's lives, acre by acre, place by place, trail by trail. You know, it's interesting. You talked about growing up in New Jersey. Anybody recognizes their license plate. It's called the garden state. And there are fewer and fewer gardens just because of the sprawl from New York city, from one direction, Philadelphia, from another direction. Preserving open space is extremely important. Yeah. And so is housing. So we want a balance really. Right. So, and I think if you view conservation as part of an effort to make more communities sustainable, it's about preserving the best farms and forests and waterways while steering housing to village centers and places where people have good access to schools and transportation. That's one example of a creative project that we've done in the last few years. So in addition to protecting big forests and big farms, we've decided to work in partnership with affordable housing developers. So we have a pilot project in East Hampton with the community builders. And there we had about 50 acres, 10 of which will be developed for affordable housing and 40 acres we own as conservation land. And then looking at that nexus where how do people enjoy that land, whether it's a community garden or an accessible trail, a play areas for play for kids, all of those matter, I think for quality of life. And it's why people live here. And everyone, we think everyone deserves access to nature. And so we're really trying to work with all walks of life. Very good. We have plenty more to talk about when it comes to the Kestrel Land Trust. So stay with us. We're back in just a moment. Welcome back, everyone, to today's conversation here on In Focus on 22 News Plus. I've got Kristen DeBoer across the desk from me today. She is the executive director of the Kestrel Land Trust. And today we're talking about preserving open spaces, which is what we all want. However, you mentioned it in our first conversation, there's a delicate balance between preserving open spaces and the lack of affordable housing. And I like the project that you're doing in East Hampton where you're meeting both needs. You know, you said it was a 50 acre plot of land, 10 acres dedicated towards housing and 40 towards whatever might come of that. So you've got, I mean, even if at half acre lots, you can get a lot of homes in a 10 acre lot, which helps the housing crisis. But I do have to ask, I think back in time to the 1970s when Kestrel first came about to today, I have to imagine there were more opportunities for land acquisition back then than there is today. Is that the right belief or right assumption? Yeah. I mean, I think as land gets developed, those opportunities go away. But there's still plenty of opportunity in Massachusetts to protect forests and farms. So we have some of the largest intact forests in the Hilltown. So think about the Quabbin Reservoir area or, you know, West Hampton now to Huntington. There's a lot of contiguous large blocks of forests. And it's really part of our rural way of life in a lot of parts of the valley. And even places like Holyoke where we're working with the city to create and expand the Anniversary Hill Park. It's an urban forest that really provides a place for people to recreate and be with their families outdoors. So forests are everywhere. And, you know, I think there's plenty of opportunity and we're really working toward that. And I think what's changed is a lot of people really understand why conservation matters and it can be for really basic human needs like clean water, local food. And I think a lot of people are aware of the food to farm movement or farm to food, local food. And the forest of faucet movement is sort of the other one. I've never heard of that one. Well, forests are where all of our water comes from. They act as sponges, natural filters. So all the rain that comes down gets filtered through the forest and it goes into our aquifers or into our streams. And so we don't have clean water without large forest blocks. So when we protect land in a place like Belchertown, we're actually protecting Springfield's water system because that's how far the water flows all the way from Belchertown to Springfield. The Quabbin Reservoir itself is Boston's drinking water supply. And so that connection between forests and water is really motivating for a lot of people and one of the ways that we find funding to protect forests. So how many acres are currently preserved under the Kestrel Land Trust? I mean, that's got to be thousands of acres. I have to imagine tens of thousands of acres. Yeah, we've protected about 32,000 acres over time and with partners and a lot of that ends up as public land and some of it we still hold. I think the goal in Massachusetts is actually to protect 30% of land and water by 2030. So 30 by 30. And so we have a long way to go. A lot of that relies on public and private funding. And so one of the public funding sources that we often use is towns have the Community Preservation Act, which each town can have a small surcharge on their real estate bill and that allows the community to decide where the best place is to preserve. And we work with towns who have done that and it really helps things along. Do you find that where we live, right up and down the Pioneer Valley, is well known globally, I think, for fertile farmland? Yes, absolutely. And you know this better than I do. But I don't think there are people getting into farming for food. So does that create an opportunity for Kestrel to maybe buy up some of that farmland where the, you know, our parents and grandparents who are, you know, retiring from farming was just can't do it anymore. But they want to preserve that land. Is that does that create opportunities for Kestrel to seek out some of these farms that may not be operational or coming to operational and to preserve? Yes, it's very important for farmland to be economically viable, you know, for up and coming farmers to be able to afford it. So actually, by protecting farmland, we make farmland more affordable, because we eliminate that development value. And so it's back to sort of that 80-20%. So young farmers who want to get into the work of farming, which is hard work, buying the land that's already protected is way more affordable than buying unprotected farmland. So that's one way to help new entry farmers gain access and to start small businesses. And it's not just farmland, it's wild spaces, too. You know, you talk about, you know, Belchertown, Laquaban, forest areas, West Hampton, Huntington, up and down the Pioneer Valley. There are creatures that live there that, you know, everybody complains there's a bear in my backyard or a bobcat, but we still we need to preserve that space for those creatures to live because there's a balance between humans and nature. Yes. Yeah, I think some people complain, but I think some people really love the fact that they have a wildlife sighting. You know, I think that's... I love it whenever something walks down my street. And everyone has a story. You know, I saw a black bear the other day and, you know, and the black bear itself needs about 10,000 acres of forest to survive. So it's a large area. And so that's how we think of landscape scale forest conservation. And, you know, I think just honoring the intrinsic value of all life forms is really important to our community. So community is humans and the people, but it's also the land, water and the creatures that we share this place with. So does Kestrel, when you preserve land, is part of the role to determine, you know, and I'm thinking of this East Hampton 50 acre lot, 50 acre plot of land to determine, OK, so these are the types of homes that are going to be built and those types of homes, those types of residents will want open space for farming. Is that Kestrel's role? Yeah. So in that case, that's a pilot project and it's actually being watched pretty closely around the state for how will it go. Right. So we've partnered with the community builders. They now have a permit to do the affordable housing development, which will be about 60 units. And once, you know, as part of that process, we want to engage the community to help us decide how best to have a social impact with that land. So it might be community gardens. It can't get out into the woods with the rocks and the roots because of stability, you know, walking issues. And I think it's really important to have accessible trails, but they'll help us decide. And that'll be part of the creative process that we're in. I like that process where the people who are moving in have a voice to how the remaining property will be preserved and for their use or non-use. Yeah. I mean, it might be kids want to play in the stream. You know, there was actually affordable housing near the Pelham Hills that we just protected and that access to the, that we have a trail there. So all the folks who are living in this new community now have an access to a trail that they never had before in their lives. And it's right by a stream and I'm seeing people play and enjoy themselves. Harkens back to your childhood. Yeah. There you go. Fantastic. We are up on our commercial break. Stay with us. We're back in just a minute. Welcome back everyone to this edition of InFocus. I'm your host, Patrick Berry, sitting across the desk from me from the Kestrel Land Trust is their executive director, Kristen DeBoer. Thank you, Kristen, for joining me. I appreciate you giving me some of your time. We've covered a lot of ground in about 20 minutes of what Kestrel has done for 50 years. But you guys, I have to imagine, and I don't want to put words in your mouth. I have to imagine you can't do this alone. You have to have partners. I mean, just because of the scope of what you do, who are some of the partners that you work closely with across this? Now, do you actually, let me rephrase it. Do you work across the state or just here in the Pioneer Valley? Yeah, we're just in the Valley, but there are many land trusts like us, like Kestrel around the state. So the whole state is covered well by land trust. And all of us work in partnership with municipalities for sure. So the conservation commissions in each town are close partners. We also want to work with other nonprofit groups in the Valley that are working to benefit the quality of life of people here. And the two that I'll profile now, just tell a little story about the Food Bank of Western Mass. Oh, interesting. Yeah. We helped them find a new farm to provide food for local people. So they're growing shelf-stable vegetables like carrots, potatoes, squash, and we have a trail easement around the farm. So it's 150 acres in Hadley. It's funny. I don't think a lot of people understand that the Food Bank of Western Mass isn't just a warehouse of canned and boxed items. They have a whole farming aspect to them. Yes, fresh food. Absolutely. And they're pioneering that and we're really happy to be able to help them find a new farm. And that uses some of that fertile farmland we talked about earlier. Absolutely. Yeah. They're growing great vegetables and we have a nice partnership to bring families to the farm to understand how they're connected to their food source. And connecting to land is really important to us as well. So another group that we partner with is Big Brothers Big Sisters to bring kids out onto trails and help them feel at home in nature. Sometimes it takes more than a trailhead. Sometimes you need a helping hand and a hand literally to hold as you're walking through the woods to make that connection feel safe. Now there is, you mentioned this to me earlier, a ballot initiative that may be happening or is happening this fall. Tell me about it. Yeah. Well, because land and water conservation is so important to Massachusetts, the way we're going to be in our goals is if there's more public funding. So we're working together with Mass Audubon, the trustees and many regional land trusts across the state to pass a ballot initiative called Nature for Massachusetts. And it would use an existing sporting goods tax on golf clubs, RVs, sporting goods at large. We're already paying it, but it would allocate it towards open space. So protecting forest farms and trails, it'd be about a hundred million a year. And that's three times what we normally get now. So if I go out, I buy a fishing pole. I pay my Massachusetts state tax, which five and a quarter, I think is what it is. I don't even remember now. There won't be an additional tax on top of that because I'm buying a fishing pole, but a portion of that tax will be earmarked to go towards preservation. Exactly. Yeah. And it just kind of makes sense, right? Sporting goods, outdoors, let's connect them and provide a dedicated- How has that not been around since 1970? Exactly. Yeah. So we're hopeful it will pass this year. The legislature also has an opportunity to pass it on their own, but if they don't do that first, we'll take it to the ballot in November. So what else or how else can people take advantage of either Kestrel, the properties, or support you? How can the public get involved? Like I said, I never heard of you until you sat down over there about a half an hour ago. Yes. Well, visibility is always a challenge, right? But we have lots of wonderful members and we invite everyone to be a member. So we have about 2,000 members. We're a grassroots organization supported by the community residents who live here giving $50 or $1,000, but each donation we also leverage or amplify through public funding, whether that's town CPA funding or state or this Nature for Mass ballot, for example. So we're kind of a magnet to bring more financial resources to protect forests and farms and trails. And so people can get involved as members. Volunteering is a great way to be involved. We have trail work to be done always. And getting out on the land is part of how people are part of the community of land conservation. How do I know what properties are Kestrel? And do you, when you take over these properties, do you own them in perpetuity? How does that work? So some we own and the ones that we are really profiling as welcoming public spaces, we called nature retreats and we have them kind of scattered across the valley and we have maps on our website and lots of trail opportunities for people to access. And then we also work with the state to expand state parks that we know and love already, right? So the Mount Holyoke Range State Park, we have some new opportunities there to expand the park. We've done about 1,500 acres in the last few years there. So just by going to your town conservation areas or your state park is a way to connect with the land that you're helping to conserve. Fantastic, Kristen. Our time is up, but I can't thank you enough for joining me today to talk about all the great work that you and all your sister organizations across the Commonwealth are doing to protect all that wonderful open space we all love and enjoy. Thank you so much. Wonderful meeting. Thank you. Yeah.