The ribbon-cutting for the Comassakumkanut Preserve was held on August 2021, putting the final touches to a proposal for purchase of the 58-acre property by the Town Community Preservation Committee (CPC), and approved by Plymouth Town Meeting in 2019. Funds for the purchase came from the Community Preservation Act fund, from a Massachusetts State Land Grant application made by the Wildlands Trust and the CPC, and from the Herring Ponds Watershed Association (HPWA) and friends.
The property, located at 107 Roxy Cahoon Road, is preserved for passive recreation, protection of priority habitats of rare species, protection of the water quality of Great Herring Pond and the Herring River, protection of a keystone herring run, protection of significant ground water resources, and for protection of globally rare Pine Barrens ecosystem.
The property also is significant for being entirely within the state-designated 4,450-acre Herring River Watershed ACEC. ACECs (Areas of Critical Environmental Concern) are places in Massachusetts that receive special recognition because of the quality, uniqueness and significance of their natural and cultural resources. These areas are identified and nominated at the community level and are reviewed and designated by the state’s Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
In 1973, soon after her father Keith Hartford died, Barbara Hartford Condon purchased the land on the west side of what is now called Roxy Cahoon Road, in her words, “for protection”. She willingly paid taxes on the land for over 30 years to keep it from development.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was officiated by CPC chairman Bill Keohan, and featured an opening prayer delivered by Melissa Ferretti and Jennifer Harding of the Herring Ponds Wampanoag Tribe. Brief accounts were given by state Senator Susan Moran and HPWA President Don Williams. Others attending included Plymouth Select Board Members, members of the town Open Space Committee and Community Preservation Committee, and friends of the Herring Ponds Watershed Association.
In 1973, soon after her father Keith Hartford died, Barbara Hartford Condon purchased the land from Felix Knauth, on the west side of what is now called Roxy Cahoon Road, in her words, “for protection”. She willingly paid taxes on the land for over 30 years to keep it from development.