Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
BELMONT, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Judy Record Conservation Fund in Belmont is making moves to protect Rock Meadow from any potential construction.
Rock Meadow is distinct from the rest of Belmont and many of the cities and towns in Massachusetts for its more natural environment, with wide open fields and wildlife being the main attraction.
Roger Wrubel, executive director of the Judy Record Fund, spoke about how this less developed aspect of the meadow is its strongest appeal.
“When you’re standing out in the meadow and you have an open vista, that’s not very usual in densely developed eastern Massachusetts,” Wrubel said.
A peaceful future isn’t guaranteed for the meadow, however, as he mentioned that the land is unprotected, meaning that the town of Belmont could use the land for building.
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According to Wrubel, there have already been some attempts to build on the land.
“One of those (attempts) was to turn it into playing fields, and the other one was to take part of it and make it into a dog park,” Wrubel said.
Because of this uncertainty, he and the Judy Fund want to protect it themselves, hopefully with the help of the town.
“They were zeroed out in the town budget,” Wrubel said, “That’s when it occurred to me that they should really have an endowment.”
The Fund’s goal is to put the land under conservation restriction in order to protect it from any development the town may want to accomplish. They have also promised to donate $100,000 to maintain the meadow, as long as the town is willing to do the same. This $200,000 endowment would be able to fund maintenance for the foreseeable future.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.