Mass. completes $8.8M conservation restriction

BOSTON -- The state has acquired nearly 3,500 acres of western Massachusetts forest in its largest private land conservation deal since the 1920s.

The $8.8 million deal announced Friday is for 5.4 square miles of land that encompasses most of Brushy Mountain in the towns of Leverett and Shutesbury. State officials say the land will be preserved from development and available for hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreation.

The land is home to wildlife including black bear, moose and bobcat.

The agreement was struck between the state Department of Fish and Game, the Kestrel Land Trust, Franklin Land Trust and W.D. Cowls, Inc., the largest private landowner in the state.

About $3 million of the purchase will come from state funds and $5 million from the federal government's Forest Legacy Program.

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