Almost two years ago, Laney Wilder and her husband bought a 19-acre wooded property in Brimfield, MA. When property hunting, they specifically looked for forested land with trails they could walk. They were also interested in finding land they could work to diversify and re-introduce native species.
Keystone Cooperator, Kevin Weir, owns 326 acres of land with his wife on the corner of Amherst, Pelham, and Petersham. Like many of their fellow landowners, Kevin and his wife, Cynthia received the land after much discussion with the relatives who owned it previously. Learn more about deciding the future of your land.
If you ever walk through Ben and Susie Feldman’s woods, you may wonder if you really just saw a gnome. You did! Susie strategically places gnomes throughout the woods. Encouraging people to enjoy their woods is a passion for the Feldmans!
Land in Massachusetts is taxed at its "full and fair market value". Most often this value is based on the land's ability to support residential development. Taxing land based on its development potential can put a burden on those landowners who wish to maintain their land in woodland, since the market value of the land, and the associated annual taxes, is usually greater than the short-term income received from growing trees.
Keeping land in the family is a common goal for many landowners, but how do you actually pay for the long-term ownership and maintenance costs associated with the land?
The Thompson family has found a solution that works for them and their family retreat on 45 acres of woodlands in Leverett. Now owned by the fourth generation, the property is the site of the family’s 4th of July reunion, annual work parties, and lots of family vacations.
