Sudbury Valley Trustees

The SVT mission is to conserve land and protect wildlife habitat in the Concord, Assabet, and Sudbury river watersheds in eastern Massachusetts, one of the most scenic, culturally rich, and historically significant regions in the United States, for the benefit of present and future generations.

SVT achieves its land protection objectives by collaborating closely with landowners, businesses, local conservation commissions, and government agencies.

SVT has taken a significant leadership role that has been instrumental in preserving an additional 6,000 acres (24 km2) now under the permanent protection of public agencies, including the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

Realizing that the open spaces would be lost forever unless action was taken, he gathered together six friends (B. Allen Benjamin, Dr. George K. Lewis, Henry Parker, Willis B. Ryder, Richard Stackpole, and Roger P. Stokey) and founded Sudbury Valley Trustees to protect the natural resources of the area “on the theory that if we sat back and did nothing, certainly nothing would happen, and if we tried, maybe something would happen.” They mailed a form letter inviting people to become members for a fee of $3.00.

Thanks to SVT advocacy, most of the towns in the Sudbury Valley had established floodplain zones that protected upwards of 6,000 acres (24 km2) without having to spend dollars to acquire them.