Face Of This Place
David Graham Wolf
David Graham Wolf is Deputy Director of the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, a regional Massachusetts land trust that serves 23 towns in Worcester and Franklin counties and has helped protect more than 27,000 acres since 1986. In 2014, our Land Conservation Loan Program worked with Mount Grace on the building purchase for the Quabbin Harvest market and food co-op. Check out this page for more information on the partnership, including a video featuring David talking about his experience working with LCLP.
What are some of the biggest challenges facing land trusts today?
There is a widely accepted goal in Massachusetts that we have to protect one half of the remaining unprotected land base by the year 2050 if we are to provide sufficient environmental infrastructure to support our communities. We also agree that there are not likely going to be financial resources available for us to pursue a program of strictly buying conservation easements in that time frame. Our biggest challenge is that we have to come up with innovative ideas to help slow the loss of land to development using other strategies, such as rebuilding the regional food system to support the economy and slow the loss of our farmland. And that’s why, at Mount Grace, we decided to partner with the food co-op to open the Quabbin Harvest Market.
What are some of the changes you’ve seen to the landscape in this area?
Orange, Mass., is an old mill town on the Miller’s River in the north central part of the state. Right now, Massachusetts is experiencing a sort of renaissance in farming, where a lot of young farmers are entering into the business. There is a lot of farmland here in Orange and the surrounding area in the North Quabbin that is available for new entry farmers. Our mission is to support the working lands economy here, so we see this as an opportunity to help support that renaissance in Massachusetts.
Why was it important for Mount Grace to step in and help secure this building for the Quabbin Harvest market and food co-op?
Many people might wonder why a land trust would purchase a building in an economically depressed mill town in north central Massachusetts. How is this land conservation? I believe the answer to that question is quite straight forward. We believe that a thriving regional farm economy will help stave off the development of our region’s farmland for residential and commercial uses. So we are using a market-based approach to address a market-based problem by opening a food co-op in a neighborhood that really needs to gain access to healthy, fresh and affordable food.
What impact will this place have for the community?
We believe that buying the building and making it available for the Quabbin Harvest market will have a great community impact. First, we’ll be providing access to local, affordable, healthy food to a population that really needs it. Second, we’ll be increasing a market opportunity for our region’s farmers to sell food directly to people in their community, which is a market that hasn’t existed for a long time in the North Quabbin region. And last, we’re hoping by having a new, beautiful storefront in downtown Orange that we also can encourage other economic development in a town that could really use some revitalization.
What tools did the Land Conservation Loan Program provide to help you accomplish this project?
If it weren’t for The Conservation Fund, I don’t think we could have moved so quickly or confidently. They were able to provide us with access to affordable capital that allowed us to purchase this building and attempt to try to get the doors open on the Quabbin Harvest Market within a six month timeframe. That’s an important goal when you consider that the food co-op wanted to open their door to the market at the peak time for when the harvest comes in from North Quabbin farms.
When you think of The Conservation Fund, what attributes do you think of?
There are a number of things that I think of when I think about The Conservation Fund. The first is Reggie Hall, the director of the Land Conservation Loan Program. He is an incredibly innovative thinker—someone who can help you work through a problem, thinking outside the box to come up with solutions to make a win-win outcome for any conservation project you might be working on. Another really important thing about The Conservation Fund is that they are a partner in any project that you work on. They are not just a lender. They get in there and help you figure out strategies to be successful in whatever it is you are trying to do. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, is their ability to cut through all of the red tape. I find that the The Conservation Fund is an incredibly flexible organization, willing to take on risk along with strong partners as they develop projects. I couldn’t ask for a better partner in the conservation work that we are doing.
" I find that the The Conservation Fund is an incredibly flexible organization, willing to take on risk along with strong partners as they develop projects. I couldn’t ask for a better partner in the conservation work that we are doing."— David Graham Wolf
