The Hull-Peck Project

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The Hull-Peck Project protected over 8,000 acres in western Massachusetts and north-central Connecticut with conservation easements, which will prohibit development forever on these properties...

Read the updated project summary below.(7/2/02)
Download PDF versions of the project maps.
- The Westfield Basin map (1.1 Mb) shows properties that will be purchased by Bill Hull and protected with easements.
- The Hull Properties map (449 Kb) shows properties already owned by Bill Hull that will be protected with conservation easements.
You must have Adobe Acrobat to view or print these files.

*Bill Hull at the mill*

In 1998, Bill Hull, owner of a sawmill business in Pomfret, Connecticut, made a commitment to purchase 34 properties in western Massachusetts totaling 7,021 acres from the heirs of the Peck Lumber Company. Mr. Hull then sought NEFF's assistance to find purchasers for conservation restrictions on the Peck lots, and also on some of his own properties. Two years of efforts succeeded in mid-2000, when Mr. Hull was able to sell the development rights to various non-profit and government agencies. These conservation restrictions protect the wildlife habitat, water quality, and open space values of these properties by prohibiting development while still allowing the sustainable harvesting of trees.

There are many environmental, economical, and social benefits to retaining these properties as working forests. The lands help support local forest-based economies in 18 communities. By using conservation restrictions rather than fee purchases to protect working forestland, the land stays in private hands and on the tax rolls. Keeping land in active forest management also supports local forest products jobs and industries.

Most of the lands abut other lands already under permanent protection. Many provide corridors between protected lands and several are situated in the watersheds of public drinking water supplies. Contiguous forested parcels provide much-needed corridors for wildlife to travel and migrate in today?s fragmented landscape. Retaining forested watersheds proves to be one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods of supplying clean water.

Grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, and the Frank Stanley Beveridge Foundation supported this complex project. NEFF, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, and the Springfield Water & Sewer Commission now hold the conservation restrictions.

In total, 8,064 acres of working forestland and valuable wildlife habitat have been protected from development. This is the largest single land conservation project in recent Massachusetts history. The success of this project with an industry leader of Mr. Hull's stature and influence has stimulated new land conservation initiatives for the remaining large commercial forest landowners in Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as other states in the Northeast. This model of combining public, private, and non-profit resources to protect working forest landscapes signals a new phase of cooperation between industry and environmental advocates. If we are to protect all the resources necessary to sustain this region, it can happen only by incorporating private stewardship as a partner with public and foundation funding for resource protection.

For more information, please contactWhitney Beals.

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