Valley Land Fund (VLF) began in l986 with an ad hoc effort to prevent development of a 50-acre strawberry field in Montague, Massachusetts. More than twenty years later, VLF retains the same grassroots values and passion for the land that helped save that little strawberry patch. Now we work in over 50 communities across Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties in western Massachusetts, and have preserved more than 8,000 acres of prime farmland, scenic vistas and recreational areas, drinking water supplies, productive forestland, and critical habitat for threatened plant and animal species.

Our mission is unusual. Unlike other Western Massachusetts land trusts, VLF provides a regional resource, assisting local land trusts and community groups, local and state governments, and private landowners in land protection. Serving either as the lead organizer or as a vital contributor, we frequently have two or three partners in our projects. We have helped establish several local groups, providing legal advice, fundraising assistance, and administration of accounts for specific projects. We have worked with towns and cities, pre-acquiring land, identifying conservation parcels, providing moral and technical support for municipal Conservation Commissions, and helping connect towns with funding sources. Thus, we have become a ‘first stop’ for landowners interested in protecting their land.

Valley Land Fund is also unique because of the wide variety of landscapes it preserves. VLF has protected:

1. farmland from development, to help ensure that local farmers and local families can continue to work the land;
2. wetlands and river corridors, especially along the Connecticut River, the region’s premier asset. Securing riverbank land not only protects water quality and provides enhanced recreational use, but also provides natural corridors for wildlife;
3. land adjacent to publicly-owned parks and conservation areas, thus connecting existing green spaces;
4. large tracts of forest land to halt development and fragmentation of our precious forest landscapes.

These diverse lands contribute to everyone’s quality of life, creating more space for recreation, protecting drinking water, and supporting local economies.

Our success and our strength are signs of your passion. It is through the generosity of hundreds of local supporters, committed landowners, and tireless volunteers, that VLF has been able to save farmland in Sunderland, forest on the Holyoke Range, Lake Warner in Hadley, endangered turtle habitat in West Springfield, and other important places. We are on the cutting edge of land conservation, willing to act quickly and cooperatively to preserve the special places of the Connecticut River Valley.