Save Clapboard Tree Meadow

To the Editor:

My family have been Westwood residents for over forty years. I served as a Trustee of the Westwood Public Library and was proud to be given the John J. Cronin Public Service Award. I am severely disappointed that the town has filed a lawsuit against the Westwood Land Trust to allow commercial farming on Clapboardtree Meadow, an 8-acre parcel of open land protected by Conservation Restrictions.

These pristine acres offer a safe habitat for animals, birds and pollinators. As Westwood’s population has grown, the combination of new, large single family houses requiring more land and large residential developments built on multi-acre parcels of formerly open land has drastically reduced the amount of safe habitats for them. Unspoiled open land is a precious resource that is no longer being created and once lost, is lost forever unless expensive remediation efforts requiring years are used to reclaim it.

Real estate agents have named open space available to the public as a highly attractive draw for new residents, especially young families. When they were younger my three children took many walks in Hale Reservation (now Hale Education) and talk about how special those Hale walks were even today.

Clapboardtree Meadows, as well as all conserved land in Westwood, is a priceless legacy that should be passed down to future generations as unblemished as it is now.

Eric Gutterson

9 Salisbury Drive