It’s not often that Greenbelt celebrates municipal approval of a conservation restriction.
However, as it’s only our second private conservation restriction (CR) project in Haverhill, Greenbelt is indeed celebrating the City Council and Mayor’s unanimous approval last month of the CR donation to Greenbelt by sisters-in-law Janice Anton and Barbara DiSalvo.
Through this conservation gift, Janice and Barbara will ensure that their 25.7-acre historic family farm will never be converted to homesites, and can always be used as working farmland. Ninety-six residents signed a petition in support of the conservation restriction, and over 20 residents and neighbors attended the City Council meeting to voice their support for preserving this rural, farming landscape in Haverhill.
Anton Farm has been owned and farmed by just three families since 1765: the Merrills, the Dawleys, and the Anton family when it was purchased by Barbara’s grandfather in 1922.
Now, the farm is leased to two local farmers – one who hays, and one who grows rhubarb for his nearby winery, Willow Spring Vineyards.
"To think of it going to development would have broken my heart," says Barbara. "I'm frequently reminded of how lucky I was to have grown up on a farm, an education you can’t get any other way. I have supported a number of conservation organizations for many years but this CR is an opportunity to make a larger, lasting impact. And knowing that this piece of land will remain much as it always was is the best part."
Greenbelt is honored to have worked with Barbara and Janice to help protect their and Haverhill’s farming heritage, and the city’s farming future.