Conservation
Portions of Yokun Ridge are owned by the non-profit Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC), the Massachusetts Audbon Society (MAS), and the towns of Lenox, Stockbridge, and West Stockbridge.
The ridge and certain outlying features were designated as part of a conservation planning area in 1993 by the U.S. Forest Service under its Forest Legacy Program. Called the "Stockbridge-Yokun Ridge Reserve," it is among at least five in Massachusetts authorized in 1993 by the program, which enables federal purchases of conservation easements. About 370 acres (1.5 km2) in the Stockbridge-Yokun Ridge Reserve had been conserved using the program as of 2000. The northern boundary of the Stockbridge-Yokun Ridge Reserve conservation zone includes Mud Pond and its surrounding wetlands, and the outlying summit of South Mountain 1,388 feet (423 m). Both are located in Pittsfield.
In December 2010, the Berkshire Natural Resources Council closed on the purchase of 80 acres of land around Mahanna Cobble from the Bousquet Ski Area after two years of negotiation.
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Famous quotes containing the word conservation:
“The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.”
—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)