Andover Village Improvement Society

The Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) is a land preservation society in Andover, Massachusetts. Founded in 1894, AVIS is the second oldest land preservation society in the USA. Its goal is to acquire land within Andover and preserve it in its natural state.

The organization controls 22 reservations totaling about 1,100 acres (4 km²), with 30 miles (50 km) of trails for hiking, skiing, or other passive recreational use. The largest AVIS reservations are Deer Jump at 131 acres (0.5 km²), Goldsmith at 170 acres (0.69 km2), and Rafton at 226 acres (0.9 km²). Motor vehicles, hunting, fires, or camping in these conservation lands are prohibited. Volunteer wardens are responsible for the care and oversight of each reservation.

With the rapid suburbanization and development occurring in Andover since the 1970s, AVIS has played a vital role in preserving Andover's land.

Properties

As of August 2007, AVIS owns 22 sites with approximately 1,100 acres (4.5 km2).

Name Size (acres) Date Acquired Location
Baker’s Meadow 59 1958
Burns Reservation 5 Clark Road in Ballardvale section
Collins Reservation Pine St. in northeast section
Deer Jump Reservation 131 1960-1973 Merrimack River west of I-93
Goldsmith Woodlands 170 1977 East of Foster's Pond
Greene Reservation 26 1969 Bordered by Dascomb and Bannister roads and Andover Street
Hammond Reservation 38
Indian Ridge Reservation 40 1897 near High School
Keck Reservation 49 1963-1968, 2008
Lupine Reservation 2
Purdon Reservation 9 1964,2001
Rafton Reservation 226 NE of High Plain Road, NW of I-495, and SW of I-93.
Sakowich Reservation 9 2011
Sanborn Reservation S of Shawsheen river adjacent to I-93.
Shawsheen River Reservation 27 1963
Skug Reservation 37
Smith Reservation 54 1963
Spalding Reservation 16 1973
Stanley Reservation 8 1988
Sunset Rock Reservation 9
Taft Reservation 64
Vale Reservation 47
West Parish Meadow 28 1992
Wilkinson Reservation 23 1981

See also

Trustees of Reservations

Ward Reservation

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, October 23, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.