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David Cobb and his wife, Annette Doornbos, donated a conservation easement on their 123-acre forest in Westford, the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) announced today. Twenty-eight acres of the 151-acre tract, which has been in David’s family for over 150 years, has been set aside for housing. Up to seven houses will be built along the northern edge of the property, served by an access road just north of Cobb’s Corner. David has deep roots in Vermont. His great-grandfather, Cassius Cobb, purchased the land in the late 1800s and managed a small dairy herd there. After he passed away, David’s grandmother, Mabel Cobb, continued to live on the land. Later, she became Vermont’s first female legislator and won an award for her groundbreaking work. “My family has a strong connection to the land,” said David. “For me personally, it is an incredible relief to know that the land is going to be protected and that no one can come along and change it. Given the pace of development, I consider that to be very positive.” Not only does David care for Vermont, but he also cares deeply about the environment and human rights. According to Annette, conserving his family’s land is David’s most recent expression of his lifelong commitment to these issues. During the 70s and 80s David lived throughout South America working on behalf of people being persecuted under tyrannical regimes. After returning to the U.S., he pursued a degree in forestry at UC Berkley, and later founded two environmental organizations, the Pesticide Action Network and the International Rivers Network. Today, David works for an international firm helping to minimize the environmental footprint of large public development projects. Over 800 acres of land have been conserved in Westford, a town that continues to feel the pressures of growth and development. “David and Annette’s generosity comes at a particularly good time for the Town of Westford,” said Bob Linck, VLT’s Champlain Valley Regional Co-Director. Since the establishment of the Conservation Fund in 2004, the Conservation Commission has been reaching out to landowners. “Conservation of the Cobb-Doornbos forestland is a great example of how individual landowners can play a leading role in protecting Westford’s important natural resources,” said Linck. The Vermont Land Trust helped David Cobb and Annette Doornbos conserve their land through the use of a conservation easement. An easement helps landowners and groups voluntarily limit development on productive farmland and forestland, and other meaningful natural and community places. Landowners continue to own, manage, and pay taxes on the land, and can sell their land; however, the conservation easement permanently remains on the property. The Vermont Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that works with individuals, organizations, and communities to conserve land for the future of Vermont. Since 1977, VLT has helped conserve more than 1,300 parcels of land covering over 455,000 acres, or about 8% of the private, undeveloped land in the state. The conserved land includes more than 600 working farms, hundreds of thousands of acres of productive forestland, and numerous parcels of community lands. This conservation work changes the lives of families, invigorates farms, launches new businesses, maintains scenic vistas, encourages recreational opportunity, and fosters a renewed sense of community. For more information, call 802/223-5234 or visit VLT on the web at www.vlt.org.
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