Elizabeth Brook Knoll
With the help of a Conservation Partnership Grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the BCTrust was able to complete the purchase of this 15.28 acre parcel of land in March 2019. The Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) and The Town of Boxborough through its Conservation Commission will hold the Conservation Restriction, allowing us to permanently protect this pristine forested upland property.
Elizabeth Brook Knoll is located within the Stony Brook sub-basin of the Merrimack River Watershed and consists of mature upland forest of mixed coniferous and deciduous native tree species, shrubs, and wildflowers. Pre-20th century, the Property was most likely used as pastureland and/or a woodlot.
The land includes a portion of a highly distinctive, prominent landscape feature, known as a glacial knoll, rising abruptly several hundred feet in elevation directly above the surrounding terrain. The knoll was formed during the last Ice Age by the scouring action of a slowly moving mile-thick glacier. The summit of the knoll provides an impressive scenic view of the lower elevation portion of the Property and vicinity.
In 2018, SVT and the Harvard Conservation Trust successfully protected Horse Meadows Knoll, 47 beautiful acres on the Harvard-Boxborough line, adjacent to Elizabeth Brook Knoll. Elizabeth Brook Knoll and Horse Meadows Knoll sit at the southern edge of what we call the “High Ridge.” This 12-square-mile area in Harvard, Littleton, and Boxborough is rich with wildlife habitat, abundant native plants, and important sources of drinking water.
