Who We Are
The 300 Committee is a private, non-profit land trust working to preserve and protect natural lands in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Our organization was formed in 1985, with the goal of saving 300 acres to celebrate the town’s 300th anniversary the following year. More than 1,200 members have joined our mission.
In our 23-year history, The 300 Committee has collaborated with the town to preserve more than 2,000 acres of open space. In 1998 the town adopted the goal of preserving 25% of all land in Falmouth as protected open space for conservation, recreation and water protection. This became a cornerstone of Falmouth’s Local Comprehensive Plan. Official figures show we are close to achieving this goal, yet The 300 Committee plans to continue its efforts to permanently protect as many acres as possible.
Recent Accomplishments
A successful capital campaign, lower real estate values, and a new federal law that increased the tax benefits of conservation restrictions enabled The 300 Committee to permanently preserve 78 acres in 2007. Congress has extended this tax benefit for an additional two years, and we hope it will encourage property owners to consider donating additional land.
Riverbend Farm on Sandwich Road, Haddad Beach at Menauhant in East Falmouth and 526 Quaker Road in North Falmouth have all been acquired in the past year.
We continued to build our stewardship program so that we now hold, and are responsible for, 24 conservation restrictions that protect nearly 500 acres on town land and private property. The Stewardship Committee includes 14 monitors and 47 stewards who have "adopted" parcels. In all, they help maintain 1,235 acres of open space.
The Trail Crew spent the winter maintaining trails, particularly the Eaton and Northern Moraine trails. T3C volunteers expanded public access on open space by establishing new trails on the Roskovics parcel in North Falmouth, the Hanson-Powell parcel in East Falmouth, and the Dupee parcel in Hatchville.
