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Stewardship

Our Stewardship program is a perpetual commitment to the lands we protect. Our mission is to encourage good stewardship and management practices on the land.

Founded by foresters, Mount Grace employs practices and techniques on our land that are based on science and time-tested approaches from the fields of forestry, conservation biology and agriculture that demonstrate for the public and other conservation organizations how active and responsible stewardship can provide long-term environmental and economic rewards.

Conservation Restriction Oversight

Conservation restriction properties are protected lands owned by private individuals. Our oversight of the land starts with a “baseline” report that describes what is being conserved. Each year, the properties are visited by our stewardship team, which includes trained volunteers, to ensure that the conservation values of the land documented in the original baseline report are being protected forever. We often provide landowners with assistance finding sustainable solutions to land management challenges, such as erosion and invasive species.

Learn how to protect your land with us

Conservation Area Management

Mount Grace owns over 1,700 acres of land that are open to the public for recreational uses including hiking, nature study, and hunting (some donor-based restrictions apply). Visit our properties that are open for recreation.

As a landowner, Mount Grace has a policy of paying property taxes on all the land we own even though non-profits are exempt from these taxes.

Mount Grace management components include:

  • Trail construction and maintenance
  • Invasive plant control
  • Wildlife and habitat monitoring
  • Ecological planning
  • Ecological restoration
  • Sustainable habitat management

Each property is inventoried for plant communities, wildlife (especially rare and threatened species), and critical habitat for rare and declining species. Our management approach is currently focused on the properties best suited for active forest management. Our team works with a licensed consulting forester to develop long-term forest stewardship plans that integrate biodiversity conservation and climate change while practicing the sustainable harvest of forest products from our working forests.

Below are some examples of Mount Grace’s innovative stewardship practices at our conservation areas:

If you have questions about the Mount Grace Stewardship Program, please contact Stewardship Manager Tessa Dowling at 978-541-1769 or dowling@ mountgrace.org.

If you are interested in learning more about our management practices, please refer to the following resources:

Volunteer with our Stewardship team

Our volunteers can elect to help with:

  • trail construction and maintenance
  • sign installation
  • leading nature walks
  • property monitoring, and more!

Learn more about becoming a volunteer