Douglas Open Space Committee Holds Landowner Forum on Permanent Conservation Tools

DOUGLAS -- May 14, 2026, Douglas Open Space Committee hosts public forum on permanent land conservation options for local landowners. Vice Chair Lisa Moszynski, who also serves as president of the Metacomet Land Trust covering 15 communities along Massachusetts's southern border, opened the May 14 program on Douglas's community access TV, framing it as outreach to property owners seeking tools to protect their land. A recorded webinar from the UMass Mass Woods program featured Olivia, the Criden Land Conservation Specialist at The Trustees of Reservations, explaining three permanent protection tools: fee ownership transfer, conservation restrictions, and agricultural preservation restrictions. Moszynski noted that conservation restrictions in Massachusetts require review by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and are nearly impossible to extinguish once recorded, offering landowners assurance that protections run with the land regardless of future ownership changes.