About Us: How We Preserve—and Fund—Open Space
300 Plus 20
By Victoria H. Lowell
This spring is the 20th anniversary of The 300 Committee’s successful initiative to celebrate the Falmouth’s Tercentennial by preserving 300 acres of open space. As one of the founders and the first president, I have been asked to reflect on this anniversary.
What may not be known is that if the original vision of the founders had been the final one, The 300 Committee would now be a moment in history, not a thriving organization. Our goal was to save land in perpetuity, with “perpetuity” modifying the land, not the act of saving. As we began to organize in the spring of 1985 the tercentennial challenge was sufficiently daunting that no one dared to think long term. Why else would we have saddled a long-term land preservation effort with a name—The 300 Committee—which, after the first success, says nothing about the mission? With such a name it could be a vigilante group, a team of perfect bowlers or the designation of a philanthropic society.
What happened was that the rapid rate of development in the mid-eighties had created fertile ground for our mission, and the people of Falmouth, both as individuals and as a community, responded so positively that there was no stopping. In short, they said: We do not want to lose our natural heritage; we do want to protect our water supply; we do want to have places to walk in the woods, or along the edge of a marsh or pond. We cannot stop development but we want to balance it with quiet spaces, thickets for birds, vernal pools for spotted turtles, and vistas to the sea. We accept the idea of the town borrowing money to pay for land; it is an asset that will only increase in value over time. And, it is fair, because under Proposition 2 ½ the question of whether or not to borrow is on the ballot for all the voters to decide.
Another key to longevity has been that many of the founding members were integrated into the town government structure, serving or having served on the Conservation Commission, the Planning Board, the Board of Selectmen and as town meeting members. As they did the work of community outreach, evaluating and ranking parcels, contacting and negotiating with landowners, underwriting appraisals and securing purchase and sales agreements, they were accepted as an extension of town government, not a competitor to it.
This collegial phenomenon is illustrated by the successive year’s purchase, in 1987, of the 80-acre Williams property, which has become the site of the town’s Crooked Pond well. The owner was in Florida for the winter, and it became apparent that a face-to-face meeting would be necessary to reach agreement. Because the DPW had no funds for travel, The 300 Committee paid the airfare for the Director of the Water Department to fly to Florida. He returned with a signed purchase and sales agreement.
Over the ensuing twenty years, town voters have shown again and again their support for preserving open space. Only one parcel was ever defeated, and that was in the lean years that followed the booming eighties. When the opportunity came to create a dedicated fund for purchasing open space, the Cape Cod Land Bank, the vote was an overwhelming yes. And, the Selectmen showed their confidence in The 300 Committee by designating it to administer the Land Bank.
Land being a finite resource and demand for land in Falmouth unceasing, the availability and price of land is far different than it was twenty years ago. In addition, the town’s continuing growth has created a need for new and renovated infrastructure with resulting heavy demand on the town’s financial resources. Reflecting this reality, The 300 Committee’s role has expanded from facilitating the town’s purchase of open space to direct financial support. Beginning with the purchase of Peterson Farm in 1998, successful fundraising has allowed The 300 Committee to augment the town’s efforts with millions of dollars of “matching funds.”
High land values have also increased landowner interest in conservation restrictions. In partnership with the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, we have developed the expertise to be of assistance in drawing up restrictions and a stewardship program to monitor their implementation.
Of course, many reflections of these twenty (one) years of The 300 Committee are personal. The beginning was for me an incredibly exciting and hectic time. I feel very bonded with those “present at the creation.” Being a person who exults in being outdoors, listening to wind high in the trees on the moraine or the trickling water of the Herring River, bedazzled by the sparkle of the late summer sun on the Punch Bowl or Ice House Pond, pausing to view the winter ducks on the Moonakis River, I am exceedingly grateful that so many people in Falmouth share this wonder. Their steadfast support for preserving open space means that The 300 Committee name is associated with success. Twenty years of good work—is there any reason for a name change now?
(Vicky Lowell, now a member of The 300 Committee’s board of directors, was the first president and first administrator of the land trust.)
