Jito Coleman, chair of the Warren Conservation Commission, came before the select board on March 8 to discuss the possibility of the town acquiring a 10-acre parcel of land to preserve a wildlife corridor.
The property, owned by Paul Harmon, is between Dump Road and Brook Road, next to the former town dump and includes deer winter yards.
“The Harman property is located in one of the primary wildlife corridor areas in Warren. Our interests are focused on working to make any development the least harmful to the corridor as possible,” Coleman said in an email to The Valley Reporter.
“It’s the main transportation for animals going north to south,” he said at the select board meeting, saying there is “a pretty impressive amount of animals moving through. We want to use it as wildlife protection.”
Neighbor Kathy Miller offered an adjacent piece of land to the town as long as it remains conserved for wildlife. Conservation commissioners have spoken with other potential donors who have said they would contribute to the cost of acquiring the Harmon parcel if the land would be conserved to protect the wildlife corridor. The commission is looking into working with a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit to accept donations to purchase the land.
Select board member Bob Ackland said, “If we [the town] could be the vehicle” for purchasing the land, “that would solve a lot of problems.” Coleman’s proposal is that the select board negotiate the purchase of the land and the conservation commission would provide recommendations to protect the wildlife corridor.
Coleman said no numbers of potential purchase price had yet been discussed. The commission will continue to pursue working with a registered nonprofit to facilitate the possible acquisition of the land.
